It is springtime in Sydney and strawberries are in season. Sweet strawberries are flooding the supermarkets and I have managed to create simple exciting things with strawberries. I will be posting them one by one. Today's post is about homemade strawberry jam. Strawberry jam is very easy to make and it is much better than the store bought jam without preservatives.
In my schooldays, my friend Ramya used to bring tomato jam which her father makes. We literally licked each bit of it and I always ask mom to make it for me. Also, in my native in wedding along with ghee rice and biryani they serve tasty pineapple jam and I am a big fan of that too. So homemade jams are always my weakness and I want to try many other jams too. Let us move on to the preparation steps:
Ingredients:Strawberries - 500 grams(16 big sized)
Sugar - 1/2 Cup
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
1. Wash the strawberries and hull it(remove the leafy portion and the stem). Check the third tile in the below image to see the strawberries after hulling.
2. Chop the strawberries finely. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and mix it well. Leave it aside for 15 to 20 minutes. (I kept it in the fridge overnight at this stage and proceeded the next day with the jam preparation).
3. The sugar gets dissolved and you will find the juicy strawberries. Check the below image to see the juicy strawberries. Mash the strawberries roughly with a potato masher. (you can mash it before adding the sugar too). Transfer it to a pan and add the lemon juice.
4. Bring it to a boil and add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Reduce the flame to low and keep stirring until the sugar gets dissolved. Now bring the flame to high and allow it to boil. You will find a lot of foam formation at this stage. After 10 to 15 minutes, the jam starts to thicken and the foam starts to reduce. Keep stirring continuously, else the bottom will start to burn. At this stage, the color changes to deep red and looks glossy.
5. Now it is the time to switch off the stove if the consistency of the jam is perfect. To find the correct consistency: Place a small plate in the freezer for 10 mins. When you want to check the consistency, remove the plate from the freezer and place a little jam on the plate. After 30 seconds, tilt the plate well. If the jam slides from the plate, then it should be on the stove for few more minutes. The jam should not slide from the plate for the perfect consistency. The jam thickens further after we remove from flame. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer it to a sterilized glass bottle. After transferring to the bottle, allow it to cool completely at room temperature. Then keep it in the fridge.
The yummy strawberry jam is ready to be served along with bread and butter. Generously apply the butter and jam between two slices of bread. Trim the edges and cut it into triangles to serve.
The jam stays good for a month in the refrigerator if handled properly. I used this jam for trying strawberry yogurt and few other recipes. I will be posting those soon.
Points to remember:
- The sugar added is based on the tanginess of the strawberry used. You can add 1/4 cup of more sugar if you have a sweet tooth. My jam was little tangy.
- Choose dark red and ripe strawberries for making the jam.
- The perfect consistency is required for the jam. If not it will be sliding out of the bread when applied or it will be difficult to spread.
Happy's Cook - Divya
Love those vibrant colors.. Healthy share..
ReplyDeletepriya @asmallbite
ReplyDeleteLooks so colorful and delicious.