Bursting with lovely flavour and full of fruit chunks, the strawberry preserve is a treat in itself. Spread it on toasts and paranthas, enjoy with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or eat it straight out of the jar. It is addictive!
Making jam is such a pleasurable experience. Nothing beats
homemade jam with fresh seasonal fruits personally picked and processed for
making jam. This is the best way to preserve seasonal fruits and relish them for a long time. I have a variety of jams in my pantry that I made some
time ago. Once you make jam at home, you will never like the store-bought
version that generally has loads of
preservatives, artificial colour, pectin and flavouring agents.
Last week during a weekly trip to the fruit mart we got two
packs of strawberries and made Jam.
It is a spreadable jam with loads of fruit pieces bursting with flavour.
Strawberry Preserve
Ingredients
- Strawberries
- Sugar (depends on the quantity of fruit)
- Lemons
You will also need-
A plate kept in the freezer
Instructions
Wash the strawberries; keep them for some time to dry.
Hull the strawberries and chop
them.
Measure the chopped fruit and
transfer it to a heavy bottom steel wok.
Measure equivalent quantity of
sugar.
Mix sugar and fruit well and let
it rest for two hours. The strawberries will become soft and release juice.
Add the juice of half lime to every
cup of chopped fruit.
Cook over medium flame stirring
at short intervals to avoid jam from sticking to the bottom and burning.
When the quantity of jam reduces
and starts attaining jam-like consistency, reduce the heat and cook on low
flame stirring constantly.
To test doneness, drop some jam
on the cold plate. Return to the freezer for a
minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate. If it doesn't try to
run back together, it is done. If it is runny, it needs to be cooked for some more
time.
While
the jam cools, sterilise the bottles. Place the washed and dried bottles
with the lids in the oven. Set the temperature to 100 degrees and set the timer
to 10 minutes. Remove the bottles and their lids from the oven.
Ladle hot jam
into the jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Secure the lids tightly.
Absolutely loving that bright ruby red jam..you are right nothing can beat homemade stuff.
ReplyDeleteLove the colour Namita. I was on a lookout for strawberries here in Bangalore. Couldnt find it anywhere :( Guess the season is over? I love this jam and would love to make it the moment I get myself some fresh strawberries!
ReplyDeleteOh, the Jam looks really delicious! We love the touch of lemon...
ReplyDeleteYum Yum!! Love strawberry jam!! This ones got a beautiful colour and the strawberries look so plump and juicy in the preserve.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I found my way here, but I did, and I fell in love with your strawberry jam. Made a batch myself yesterday, and it tastes delicious. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI will be back for more, because I love your approach towards food.
Thank You Natasha! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a wonderful recipe... That jam turned out yummy...and its color is superb.
ReplyDeleteLove your recipes! Ever since I tried this one I stopped buying jam :) just made my second batch...thanks Namita!
ReplyDeleteHello Swati, thank you for your kind words. I am so happy that you made jam at home. It gives great pleasure to make things at home ......this is the passion that connects us I guess :)
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