Strawberry Jam: With a little help from the sun

When I was a kid, I was lucky enough to spend time with my great grandma who not only had great stories to tell, but was also a great cook. I remember watching her make pickles in winter months and jam from all sort of fresh fruits in summer. She made it look like it was a lot of fun…

Jam is a great way to preserve fruits and it is so easy to make that I think everyone should give it a try. It makes a great gift as well. After all, who could say no to homemade jam?

When making jam, I don’t use pectin and I always get a little help from the sun (yes, you can use solar energy when jam making!). That’s how my great grandma used to make it… She used to say that this way the jam would end up having more flavor and aroma and I couldn't agree more. Here's how I do it- I cut the cooking time and instead pour the jam into a pan, cover with cheesecloth or muslin cloth and place it under the sunshine for 1 or 2 days until it has a gel like, thick consistency.

I was at the farmers’ market the other day and when I saw fresh strawberries which were small, but packed with intense strawberry aroma, I knew that I need to take some home and turn into jam to enjoy all year long.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg fresh strawberries
• 1 kg sugar
• 1/2 tsp butter
• 1 tsp citric acid

- Wash and hull the strawberries

- Pour 1/3 of the sugar into a pot, add 1/3 of the strawberries, and repeat until you place the last strawberries into the pot

- Let them sit overnight until their juice is released and the sugar is dissolved.

- Next day, place the pot on a medium heat. Do not stir until it starts to boil and a white foam is formed on the surface.

- Using a spoon skim off the foam. You can start stirring the jam at this point. Keep skimming the foam off occasionally (about three times or so) until you start to see big bubbles forming on top of the jam.

- Stir in the butter

- Add the citric acid

- Boil for an additional 5 minutes *

- Let the jam cool for 10-15 minutes

- Transfer to a pan, cover with cheesecloth or muslin cloth (the cloth shouldn’t be touching the jam)

- Place it under direct sunshine

-  You can check at the end of first day whether the jam has the desired consistency. If you would like it thicker, you can put it under the sun once again the next day. 2 days should be more than enough.  

- Transfer the jam into sterilized glass jars and keep it refrigerated. 

* If you don’t want to place it under sunshine, you can continue to cook until the jam thickens to the consistency you prefer.


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