Fresh, healthy, fast and easy: Strawberry jam

This was too easy. Homemade strawberry jam in under an hour - without all the fuss and production of my tried and true methods of the past.

An old friend of mine in Salt Lake City married this woman from France. She and I were trading jam making war stories, and it seems like I’ve been doing it the hard way all this time. To loosely interpret from the original French:

Valerie: “WTF? I just boil the fruit until it gets thick.”

Maven: “Huh?”

What? No pectin? No tons of sugar? No big pots? No MGM production? Yup. These French women. They are wily. And they know how to look great without makeup. Hmmmm. Simple jam process, no makeup. Could piss me off.

Oh, la la. I had a three pack of great big fat strawberries from the Whole Paycheck market sitting in the refrigerator. Mr. Maven and I were’nt eating them fast enough. Gotta do something quick.

This was too easy. Although I’m an experienced jam and preserve maker, this was a more relaxed approach, without all the equipment, measuring and fussing. While I waited for the jam to cook to the right consistency, I had time to go out and refill the birdfeeders and other small chores - all the time checking and stirring.

The final results were stunning. This jam had a very clear, honest strawberry flavor to die for, without an awful lot of sugar like store bought jams. Tonight, we spooned a bit into some Bulgarian yogurt for dessert after dinner, and “Oh, yum”. This tasted like those expensive gourmet jams, at about a third the price.

Ingredients - makes two half pints plus a bit more. Time: under one hour

Three heaping baskets of strawberries, sliced

1-3/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup agave nectar

pinch of sea salt

Juice of one lemon

Juice of one tangerine, or a half orange

Zest of one lemon, grated or very finely minced

Note: you can use all sugar if you wish, and omit the agave nectar.

Technique

In a large, heavy bottomed pot combine the fruit, sugar, citrus juice, zest and salt. Heat over medium high, stirring frequently, until it comes to a boil and the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Reduce heat, maintaining a low boil - watch carefully if you’re new to this - stirring occasionally.

Test the jam on the back of a cold spoon, or keep a couple small pyrex dishes in the freezer for testing. Just take a spoonful of the cooking jam and put it into the cold dish to see how fast it thickens.

When the liquid starts to reduce about half way into cooking time, you need to closely monitor the mixture so that it doesn’t scortch or burn on the bottom. Stir well into the ‘corners’ of the pot.

When it reaches a thick syrupy consistancy, it’s time to turn off the heat and ladle into clean, hot jam jars with lids. Lightly screw on the lids, so the trapped air can escape. Test lids for seal.

For further technique on traditional jam making, see my other posts.

I’m looking foward to trying this with other fruit as it comes available. Stay tuned.

-maven

P.S. - A reader and neighbor keeps telling me that I should offer informal classes in some of this stuff … like the jam making. What do you think? Would you be interested in spending a few hours on a Saturday, so that you have the confidence to do this on your own?