Strawberry Jam

Strawberry Jam has to be my all time favourite, and then it would have to be Blueberry!  This time of year you can pick up masses of seconds strawberries from the berry farms and they are really reasonably priced.

Great thing about Strawberry Jam is its easy to make.  Just need strawberries, sugar and lemons.  You use the same ratio of strawberries to sugar, but keep it under 2kgs - its heaps easier to work with smaller amounts.

So this is what I used:

1.8kg strawberries

Juice from 4 lemons

1.8kg sugar

Firstly prepare your jars.  I got 4 medium/large and 1 small jar out of the above amount.  Either wash in hot soapy water, or pop through the dishwasher, then keep warm in an oven at 100 - 120 degree.

Hull the strawberries and put into a large pan with the lemon juice.  Heat gently until simmering lightly and cook until fruit is soft and pulpy.

Add the sugar.  I add by the cupful and stir between each addition until the sugar is dissolved.  You can add it all at once but I think you could be at risk of burning it if it sticks to the bottom of the pan.  Make sure it is fully dissolved before the next step.

Now bring it up to a good rolling boil.  Watch closely that its not sticking to the bottom.  Boil until its set when tested.  This took me around 25 minutes or so.  To check whether it is set, drop a small amount onto a cold plate and let it cool slightly - it is set when it wrinkles when you run your finger through it.  Apparantly you can add a knob of butter into it just before dishing it up and this will also help it set.

Remove jars from oven, pot the jam, pop on the lids and let cool on bench.  Wash jars before storing.  Once opened keep in the fridge.  I used these cute labels I found here.