This vibrant strawberry jam has all the power of lemon, but with the flavor of strawberry. It is so delicious spooned over a buttered English muffin, that it borders on sin. Want to cross the line? I know you do: give your buttered, lavishly-jam-covered muffin a wallop of sour cream.
This is an easy, fairly quick recipe that you could knock off in your spare time without breaking a sweat.
What you need to make 1¼ cups
1 lb. strawberries
¾ cup sugar, or more to taste
Juice and zest of 1 of a large lemon
1 tsp vanilla, optional
How to do it:
- Hull and halve the strawberries. Place in a medium-sized saucepot and stir in lemon juice. Cook gently over low heat until there is no trace of undissolved sugar. Raise heat to high and continue to cook at a hard boil, stirring occasionally at first and constantly in the end, until jam is thickened, 15 minutes. Off heat, (stir in vanilla). Transfer jam to a jar and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
Notes:
This recipe does not take you through the steps necessary to preserve the jam. This jam will need to be kept refrigerated.
You can check the jam’s thickness by placing a dab onto a frozen saucer, returning it to the freezer for 30 seconds, and then drawing your finger through it. It should wrinkle and should not run back into the area through which you drew your finger. (This also allows you to taste test.)
According to the BBC, you can put the prepped strawberries in a bowl and gently toss with the sugar. Leave uncovered at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight. Then proceed with remaining directions. They say that this process helps the sugar to dissolve, results in a shorter cook time, ensures the fruit doesn’t disintegrate too much, and helps the strawberries to keep their color over a long storage time. That might be helpful should you decide to preserve this jam.
This jam has a lot of lemon in it, but calling it a Strawberry-Lemon jam would be misleading. It doesn’t taste like lemon. Maybe if your taste buds really knew what they were doing, and you were deliberately searching for it, you might identify the lemon. It definitely has the sharpness of lemon juice, but it has the flavor of strawberry.
Variations:
Here are some variations I think I’ll explore:
- Cardamom, chile, Grand Marnier, rum, or rosemary…
- Strawberry Balsamic Jam: reduce the lemon juice to ½ tsp and add 1½ tsp good-quality balsamic vinegar
- Peppered Strawberry Jam: stir a dash of freshly ground black pepper into the cooked jam just before ladling it into the jar
- Strawberry-Ginger Jam: add 1 tsp grated ginger to the saucepot along with the strawberries
Backstory
I spent most of my life not making jam, but now that I’ve discovered how easy it is, I’ve been making up for lost time. I’ve been making jam when I have more berries than I know I’ll eat, or when I have berries that have in fact passed their prime.
Buttered toast is one of my favorite breakfasts, and I’m a die-hard bread baker, so toast is always easily at hand. I have no problem going through untold amounts of jam.
Vibrant Strawberry Jam
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! Thank you, Kesor. While doing research for this post, I found these sites quite helpful: BBC, Food in Jars, High Ground Organics.
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Great jam. I just decided to read your bio, cause I don’t think I ever had. Love the explanation. I would have thought “make it like a man” stemmed from something other than men learning to be home cooks. I guess I shouldn’t have made that assumption. So cool you’ve been cooking for so long. I mean, ya gotta eat!
Mimi recently posted…Ratatouille Méridionnale
Ya do gotta eat!
It looks divine! We grew strawberries growing up and often made jam, so good & addictive!
Next time I’ll save you some!
There was a time when I swore that I would stop buying store-bought jam and start making it all myself. That lasted for a while…until Robbie came along. I haven’t made a good batch of homemade jam in a while now, but I’m thinking I need to make this one. I love a good slice of toast, especially when it’s loaded with seeds and grains. And then top it with strawberry jam? You just described my heaven. The only thing that would make it better would be grape jam. 🙂
David @ Spiced recently posted…Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese Crust
Mmm! Grape jam!
It looks so FRESH and divine! Can’t stand those ready made from the supermarkets.
angiesrecipes recently posted…Fig and Coconut Tart with Pistachios and Mint
Thanks, Angie!
Jeff, I like your style! As a fellow home bread baker, I must agree, there are few things that are tastier for breakfast than a slice of one’s home-cooked bread, slathered with butter and spread with a good jam.
I also used to make jams and packed the cupboard and gave away many jars, but then we sort of moved it out of our diet. I love this small-batch concept as you can make up a batch as you need it.
No fresh strawberries here, but I have a few bags of frozen we picked earlier in the summer. I’ll see how your recipe works with them.
Keep me posted on your Cardamom, chile, Grand Marnier, rum, or rosemary versions. I might just add a good pinch of cardamom to see how it taste.
Ron recently posted…Oh, what a Summer!
I hope it comes out well!
Jam is my, well, jam. 🙂 This looks really good. And really easy — my kind of “preserving.” Thanks!
John / Kitchen Riffs recently posted…Mexican-Spiced Green Bean Salad
You’re welcome!
I’m all about the dollop of whipped cream on top. Looks delicious. I’m still finding super sweet strawberries at my Farmers Market. Perfect. 🙂 ~Valentina
🙂
Like you Jeff I have spend most of my life not making Jam! I do need to sort that because my brother, mum and gran all make / made homemade Jam. And we have some wonderful strawberries here in Scotland! Thanks for this Jam recipe. Topping an English muffin with it and then with some sour cream is a great idea. I wish I could have that for breakfast here right now!
Neil recently posted…30-Minute Sweetcorn Soup
It was an absolutely decadent breakfast, Neil.
Il love a good jam on a buttered toast or on waffles, pancakes… This one looks REALLY good. Unfortunately I don’t find good strawberries at this time of the year, so I guess I have to save it for next spring 😉
Not parisienne recently posted…Spécialité belge : nids d’oiseau
Thanks!