I promised to write about what I did with 26 pounds of strawberries in three days. The answer is a lot. Our household now has more strawberry jam than any house should (and I still feel like it might not be enough for the year).

I made two batches of strawberry freezer jam. Freezer jam tends to taste a bit fresher than cooked jam, and strawberry is one of my favorites--it was, in fact, the jam that made me fall in love with jam. To make freezer jam, follow the directions on the box or packet of pectin. Every brand of pectin I’ve used (Ball, Sure-Jell, and Certo) calls for different amounts of fruit and sugar, and one pectin cannot be substituted for another. Ball makes instant pectin that uses significantly less sugar than others if you’re interested in a low sugar jam.

I made one large batch of canned strawberry jam that I added a vanilla bean to for a subtle vanilla flavor. Other strawberry-vanilla jams tend to be too floral tasting for me, but I do like a little bit of vanilla.

A double batch of preserved strawberries in syrup along with the leftover syrup (pictured above) is in the pantry, but may not be enough to get us through the winter. We’ve also loved strawberry syrup added to lemonade, club soda, and margaritas on these hot summer days.

For the first time, I made one batch of Christine Ferber’s Strawberry jam with Pinot Noir, cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise. It is quite delicious, but mine set much too hard and is almost the consistency of Jello. Still tasty, but will need to be warmed up a bit to serve to guests.

My favorite new preserve is Strawberry-Balsamic Jam. I used four cups of berries and two and half cups of sugar, allowing them to macerate for a day or two in the fridge. I brought the strawberries and sugar to a boil, then strained the berries and cooked the syrup down until it was thick and slowly dripped from the spoon I was stirring with. I added the berries back to the pot, gave them a quick mash with a potato masher, and let the jam cook until it looked like a good jammy consistency. Then I stirred in two and a half tablespoons of good balsamic vinegar and put the mixture in jars to process for 10 minutes (15 in Spokane). The balsamic vinegar makes the strawberry flavor much more rich and deep. Great on French toast, especially.

I also started a batch of strawberry infused vodka, some vinegar, additional simple syrup, and ate plenty fresh. Twenty-six pounds of berries will go far, but I still haven’t made a pie or shortcake. That might have to change next week!

Have you been up to Green Bluff yet or picked berries where you live?

 

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