Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Summer = Strawberry Season

I know everyone is bursting with joy since today is the Summer Solstice. Being the longest day of the year, you'd better make the most if it!

With strawberry season underway I'll be picking up strawberries like there's no tomorrow. I won't necessarily be picking them, although I do have the fondest memories of sneaking samplers while picking fresh strawberries in the fields. In Ontario, we are very lucky to have fields devoted to strawberries so this is our chance to get the freshest local fruits and the best way to savour the flavour is by preserving some extras for those long cold winters.


Jam is typically made by either cooking down the fruit until its own pectin is released to thicken the jam or by using a commercial pectin mix (usually extracted from citrus fruit peels). I still find it best to use the Pectin, that way I save the cooking time and don't need to sterilize the jars ahead of time. Just wash them in hot soapy water. Now there's no excuse why I can't make my own.  


30 Minute No-Cook Strawberry Jam Recipe

1 3/4 Cups Crushed Strawberries
4 Cups Granulated Sugar*
1 Pouch CERTO Liquid Pectin
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Makes 5 Cups

Note: Pectin types (liquid, crystal, etc.) are not interchangeable with this particular recipe. Each will have their own similar recipe on the box.

*You can substitute an equivalent of Organic Cane Sugar, Honey or Agave Nectar. Results and flavour may vary.

This becomes 'freezer jam' which you can store in the freezer for several months. I personally try to keep some to last all year round until I make the next batch. The freezing aspect prevents mould. You can also keep it in the fridge if you'll use it within the first couple months. You'll be sharing some too, right?


My mom sometimes does the whole nine yards with cooking the berries and sterilizing the jars. This still has the sugar or equivalent, just not the pectin. She has a lot more patience than me.

Cooked Strawberry Jam Recipe

4 Cups Crushed Strawberries (about 2 pounds whole) 
4 Cups Granulated Sugar*
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice           

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan, stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F. Pour into hot sterile jars, leaving about a half inch from the top. Seal on lids. 

If you will be sharing the jam and it will be eaten right away, simply place in the refrigerator. If this will be your winter supply, submerge sealed jars in a water bath. For detailed instructions on a water bath canning, click here 


Bon Appétit!
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4 comments:

Unknown said...

I TOTALLY want to do this! There's nothing I love more on a French baguette that strawberry preserves.

Michaela {au naturel design} said...

Heather, I'd love to see what else you could come up with since you always have delicious recipes. It's always a treat drizzled over cheesecake.

Bekah said...

I just LOVE strawberries! It's too bad that they make me break out in hives, but I might have to sacrifice my skin in order to try this. My students made strawberry lemonade the other day and it was so delicious, but my skin had to pay for it later that day. I guess the strawberries will always win.

P.S. You always comment on my posts and I am so bad at doing the same back, so I am going to get better at it. Just give me a brake, and I promise I will do a better job at commenting on your posts too.

Michaela {au naturel design} said...

Hey Rebekah, I read your post and thought, OMG she's going to make herself sick...I can't be promoting that! Can you have raspberries??? Raspberry lemonade is amazing. Raspberries are actually my favourite fruit. Wash a bunch and put them in a container or covered on a tray and eat them frozen. So simple but so refreshing. I have never made raspberry jam, probably because I would just eat the bowl before it turned into anything. My mom makes cherry jam every year (from our cherry tree) and has made blueberry jam on occasion.

Please do not eat any more strawberries. If you need fruit ideas let me know because the creative juices might be flowing (ha! lame, I know).

p.s Don't worry so much about reciprocating. I'm glad you came by. Sometimes I have all the time in the world, while other times I might skim past or read through but don't have the time to be commenting. Talk soon.

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