After going strawberry picking, we had an over abundance of fresh, local berries on our hands. Though I’ve never done it before, I decided I was going to make some strawberry jam. I did a little research and came up with my own recipe. As I was looking up methods I was horrified by the amount of sugar in some recipes. I mean, four pounds of berries and four pounds of sugar boiled down for an hour - are we making syrup?
So, I came up with my own take on a classic. There isn’t a lot of sugar in this recipe, nor is it cooked for nearly as long as others. I wanted it to taste like freshly picked berries. And guess what – it does.
Strawberry Jam with Honey
Ingredients
5 cups of thickly sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup of local honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 packet of fruit pectin (the un-sweetened kind)
1-3 tablespoons of cornstarch
pinch of kosher salt
1.) In a large pot combine all ingredients but cornstarch
2.) Bring to a boil
3.) Simmer over moderately low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4.) If not thick enough*, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Repeat as needed. I wound up with 3 total tablespoons.
*This jam doesn’t thicken as well as others because of the shorter cooking time and reduced amount of sugar. I figure a little cornstarch doesn’t hurt, and it created the outcome I was looking for.
REVISED TO NOTE: I didn’t actually go through the canning process. I just kept some in the fridge (you can keep it in the fridge for about 2 weeks) and froze the rest in small containers. Pull it out of the freezer and de-frost in the fridge when you want some delicious jam in later months! It can stay in the freezer for about 1 year.
sweetersalt
Wow Laura, this looks amazing! I’ve always been really scared of making jam, I don’t know why. Maybe it is time for me to give it a try, because this looks delicious!
Oh, I have another question — how did you jar them? Do you have to do the whole canning thing in hot water (a total mystery to me and I think what scares me away from jam making)?
Woops – should have mentioned that in the post. Duh. I didn’t actually mess with any canning, it scares me too. Botulism… shudder. Maybe some day I’ll read up and try it out though.
I just kept some in the fridge (I read that you can keep it in the fridge for about 2 weeks) and froze the rest in small containers. That way, I can just pull it out of the freezer whenever I want some.
I like this idea!! Very cunning, avoiding the canning process altogether. I went to college with someone who is huge into canning and she has a great blog at hungrybruno.blogspot.com if you want to check it out. Perhaps we could try canning sometime together, since I don’t think I can handle the process on my own. But I like your idea of just freezing it and taking it out as needed, I think I’ll do that! Thanks!
i’d be happy to come can with you ladies!
So cool! Thanks for sharing?
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