Friday, 29 March 2013

Strawberry Jam

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It’s been a year now since I started to make jam at home. Strawberry season is at its peak right now, so why not take advantage and make home made strawberry jam, it is easy to make and only involves a few ingredients. While making jam, it is advisable to simmer the fruit and sugar really slowly. This process extracts the fruit's natural pectin. Once the sugar has dissolved, boil the mixture rapidly for about 10 minutes. Although most recipes don’t use salt while making jam, but I do like to put a bit of salt in too, just to balance the taste…


 Homemade Strawberry Jam


Ingredients:


1 lb of Strawberries (around 500 gm)


1 lb of Sugar ( you can use same amount of sugar or u can also use 3/4 cup of sugar, its all up to you, if you are calories conscious then you can use less)


1/2 tsp salt (optional)

1-2 tbs of lemon juice


one sterilized jar of jam (in a saucepan, boil the jam jar for 10 minutes. Once sterilized, remove from heat and dry thoroughly).

Method:

1) Wash and hull the strawberries. Cut them in 3-4 pieces each, then place the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar in a bowl, some people suggest to leave it in fridge for overnight night, but as i was so impatient to make it, I left it in fridge for an hour only. 


2) Now when u see the sugar has dissolved take it out of the fridge, put it in a large pan. Heat over low heat and let it simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

3) Turn the heat up to medium-high and boil the mixture rapidly for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. To check if the jam is ready or not, place a spoonful of jam on a saucer and put it in the fridge for two minutes. Touch it with your finger and if it "wrinkles", it's ready. If not, boil it for another 5 or 10 minutes and then check again.

4) When the jam is ready (when you feel its getting thick) then remove the pan from heat and let it cool down. Pour it into the jam jar and then let it cool completely before puting the lid on it.

Note:  You can also add a few drops of strawberry extract/essence before turning of the flame to give some extra burst of flavour. 

2 comments:

  1. What is the shelf life of this jam ?can it survive at room temperature or we need to refrigerate it

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  2. Hi Shazia... shelf life is as long as it lasts... ... yes you can leave it at room temperature.. it will stay perfect.. but in very hot and humid weather i would suggest to it in refrigerator :)

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