Thursday 18 April 2013

Strawberry Preserve

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.

9 comments:

  1. Absolutely loving that bright ruby red jam..you are right nothing can beat homemade stuff.

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  2. Love 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!

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  3. Oh, the Jam looks really delicious! We love the touch of lemon...

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  4. Yum Yum!! Love strawberry jam!! This ones got a beautiful colour and the strawberries look so plump and juicy in the preserve.

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  5. I 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.
    I will be back for more, because I love your approach towards food.

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  6. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe... That jam turned out yummy...and its color is superb.

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  7. Love your recipes! Ever since I tried this one I stopped buying jam :) just made my second batch...thanks Namita!

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    Replies
    1. Hello 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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