I hoped to get some quinces this weekend so I could make quince jelly. I usually get them from an unloved tree in the yard of an abandoned house in Bacchus March. Because it’s a four day weekend I want to spend as much time at home as possible, so I decided to skip my usual grocery trip to Bacchus Marsh and just grab a few things at the little supermarket in Ballan instead.
This meant no quinces and no quince jelly. I really enjoy making jams and jellies so I was quite disappointed – but then I saw punnets of strawberries marked down and decided that I’d just make some strawberry jam instead.
Strawberry jam is probably the easiest jam to make. You just need strawberries, sugar and a lemon.
My recipe needs:
- strawberries – at least a kilo to make the process worth your time
- white sugar equal to half the weight of the hulled strawberries
- the juice of half a lemon (keep the other half handy in case you need it later).
Hull your strawberries and weigh them. Wash them to remove any bits of grit or leaf matter then cut them into quarters.
Add the strawberries to a large pot and add white sugar equal to half the weight of the strawberries. I had 1.4kg of strawberries so I added 700g of sugar. Add the juice of half a lemon, stir thoroughly and let the pot sit with it’s lid on for one or two hours while the strawberries and sugar marinate.
A lot of juice will come out of the fruit and dissolve most of the sugar – the liquid in the picture below left is all strawberry juice that has been drawn out by the sugar.
Before you put the pot on the stove, dip a pastry brush into cold water and brush down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pot. If you don’t have a pastry brush just wipe the crystals away with a damp paper towel. This stops them turning to toffee and either ending us as lumps in the jam or a burnt mess on your pot.
Get the mixture up to a rapid boil and stir frequently. A scum will form on top of the jam – that’s the pale foam you can see in the picture below right.
Skim off the scum with a large metal spoon. Try to avoid getting the clear, red jam liquid and just get the foamy scum. Discard the scum.
Keep stirring the jam as it boils – it should boil very vigorously and double or triple in size as it foams up.
Boil for about 5 minutes and then start testing to see if it’s ready. I use the “sheet from a spoon” method to see if jam is ready. I tried to take a photo (below right) but it was harder than I thought. Here is a better picture of what it should look like. Strawberry jam doesn’t sheet as well as a true jelly will – it runs faster but still sheets. If your jam fails to sheet after 10 minutes of boiling, add the juice of the remaining half lemon to give it a bit more pectin.
If you have a candy thermometer you can bring the heat up to 105C instead of doing the spoon test.
Take the jam off the heat. Pour into sterilised jars and let them cool before putting the lids on. I find that strawberry jam needs overnight to set well – so don’t worry if it looks a bit soupy.
To sterilise jars I give them a very hot, soapy wash and then rinse them in very hot tap water. If you like you can then fill them with boiling water from the kettle but I think a good wash and rinse is enough given they are going to be filled with scalding hot jam.
I do boil the lids in plain water for a few minutes before I put them on though. The lids often have rubber and plastic seals which are more likely to harbour germs than clean dry glass is. As soon as the jam is cool, I put the sterilised lid on while it’s still hot and then I’m all done.
Make a batch of scones, cover them in your homemade strawberry jam and enjoy.
