I have made many jars of jam over the years and I used to sell it in my cafe.
This week I bought some lovely ripe strawberries, so I decided to make it into jam so that I could use it in my baking.
It has so many uses apart from spreading on bread or scones. I can be used in cake and frangipani tarts too.
I bought 1kg from my local supermarket and this made me 4 jars. If you have more or less fruit then just adjust the sugar. You need the same amount of fruit to sugar.
To start put the jam jars in the oven at 140 degrees centigrade (120 fan) faced down on a baking tray.
Place 2 saucers in the freezer to use later.
De-hull the strawberries and cut the smaller ones in half and larger ones into quarters.
Put them into a large pan or jam pan if you have one. Add the juice of 2 lemons and on a low heat stir until the strawberries start to go soft. If you push them against the side of the pan they will squash slightly.
Then add the same weight in sugar and dissolve the sugar on a low heat stirring all the time so the sugar doesn’t burn.
Once the sugar is fully dissolved turn the heat up and boil for about 10 minutes until the fruit starts to break down and the jam starts to thicken.
Take one of the saucers from the freezer and take a small amount of jam and put on the saucer and place in the freezer for a minute.
Then rub your finger through the jam and if it wrinkles then it is ready. If it doesn’t then continue to boil and keep testing every 5 minutes until it wrinkles.
Add a knob of butter after setting point is reached as this will reduce any foam on the surface of the jam.
Take the jars out of the oven and fill them with the jam and put the lids on tightly.
Strawberry Jam
Sarah's servings: 4 Jars
Sarah's skill: Easy
Ingredients:
1,000g Strawberries
Juice of 2 Lemons
1,000g Granulated sugar
Method:
To start put the jam jars in the oven at 140 degrees centigrade (120 fan) faced down on a baking tray.
Place 2 saucers in the freezer to use later.
De-hull the strawberries and cut the smaller ones in half and larger ones into quarters.
Put them into a large pan or jam pan if you have one. Add the juice of 2 lemons and on a low heat stir until the strawberries start to go soft. If you push them against the side of the pan they will squash slightly.
Then add the same weight in sugar and dissolve the sugar on a low heat stirring all the time so the sugar doesn’t burn.
Once the sugar is fully dissolved turn the heat up and boil for about 10 minutes until the fruit starts to break down and the jam starts to thicken.
Take one of the saucers from the freezer and take a small amount of jam and put on the saucer and place in the freezer for a minute.
Then rub your finger through the jam and if it wrinkles then it is ready. If it doesn’t then continue to boil and keep testing every 5 minutes until it wrinkles.
Add a knob of butter after setting point is reached as this will reduce any foam on the surface of the jam.
Take the jars out of the oven and fill them with the jam and put the lids on tightly.
Sarah's Extra slice........
I bought 1kg from my local supermarket and this made me 4 jars. If you have more or less fruit then just adjust the sugar. You need the same amount of fruit to sugar.
Strawberries are low in pectin so I added the lemon juice to aid the setting.
Make sure you keep stirring the jam so that it does not burn.
Add a knob of butter after setting point is reached as this will reduce any foam on the surface of the jam.
If you intend to make a lot of jam I suggest using a jam pan like this one
Using a jam funnel makes filling the jars easier but it is not essential.
The jam will keep for a year in sterilised jars - if you don’t use it before then!!! Jam is a great thing to make if you have excess fruit in your garden as it will keep for a year and you can use it in your baking even when not in season.