Strawberry Jam Recipe

We went fruit picking again on Monday and picked, amongst other things, over 2kg of strawberries! We have eaten some and today I used the remaining berries to make strawberry jam.

Makes approx 6 x 454g jars of jam:

Ingredients

1.8kg strawberries
approx 8 tsp lemon juice
1.8kg sugar

Wash the strawberries if necessary and drain well. Hull and remove any soft spots, bruises and blemishes,

Place in a large heavy bottomed saucepan with the lemon juice and heat for 10 minutes until the fruit is soft. Using the back of a spoon crush some of the fruit to release the pectin. I crush most of the berries as my kids like a smooth jam, however you can crush as few as one-third.

Add the sugar to the pan and stir over a low heat until it has dissolved completely. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Continue to boil rapidly for about 15 minutes. Do not stir as this will reduce the temperature of the jam. Check to see if the setting point has been reached*

Once a set has been reached skim off any froth that has risen to the surface.

Remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir to distribute any larger pieces of fruit. Pour into sterilised jars and seal immediately. Store for up to a year in a cool dark place.

*There are a few ways to test for a set. You can use a thermometer to check the temperature, Setting point is reached at 105ºC. Alternatively you can do a “wrinkle test”. Spoon a little jam onto a chilled plate (I place a small plate in the freezer as I start cooking). Leave it to cool for 2 minutes, then push the jam with your finger. If the top wrinkles the jam is set. If it wrinkles only a little or not at all continue boiling the jam for a little longer (2-5 minutes) and test again.