Recipe

Strawberry jam

Home-made strawberry jam is simply the best. Make it at the height of the season, when the berries are cheap and plentiful. If you're near to one of the pick-your-own places, all the better.

Aug 25, 2006 2:00am
  • 30 mins cooking
  • 4 hrs marinating
  • Makes 5 Cup
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Ingredients

Strawberry jam
  • 5 punnets strawberries, washed, hulled, halved
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 1 kilogram sugar
  • 2 tablespoon citrus pectin (use 1 tablespoon for every litre of jam to be set)
  • 100 millilitre 100ml water

Method

Strawberry jam
  • 1
    In a large bowl, combine strawberries and lemon juice. Pour on 3/4 of the sugar and set aside 3-4 hours or overnight to macerate.
  • 2
    Combine remaining sugar with pectin and mix well (this will prevent the pectin from clumping).
  • 3
    Transfer strawberry mixture to a large non-reactive pot. Add water and stir to combine. Sprinkle over pectin sugar mixture and continue stirring until completely incorporated.
  • 4
    Bring mixture to a slow boil. Stir occasionally and cook 20-25 minutes, skimming toward the end of cooking time to remove any impurities, until fruit collapses and jam reaches the jelling point. Test for gelling point toward the end of the cooking time, then remove from heat.
  • 5
    Meanwhile, choose appropriate jam jars with lids and sterilise in simmering water for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water with tongs, drain and fill with finished jam. Clean jar rim with a clean cloth dipped in boiling water.
  • 6
    Secure sterilised lids, return sealed jam jars to simmering water in the upright position (it may help to place a tea towel in the bottom of the pot to prevent jars from bouncing around) and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
  • 7
    Remove simmering pot from heat and cool jars in sterilising water bath.

Notes

To test for jelling point, place a small plate in the fridge or freezer and chill. Take a spoonful of the cooking jam and dollop onto the chilled plate. Refrigerate for 2-3 minutes, then push a spoon, or your finger, through the chilled sample. If the sample forms a distinct skin and wrinkles as it is pushed, then the jelling point has been reached. Sealed jam jars can be stacked in the dishwasher and cycled through once, without detergent, to finalise the sterilising process.

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