Strawberry Jam

    The town is painted red with the ruby red jewels called “Strawberries”

Good things comes in small packages, and these little fruits are a proof of it, the tiny strawberries are packs of vitamins, fiber, particularly high levels of antioxidants known as polyphenols. Strawberries are low-calorie food and among the top 20 fruits in antioxidant capacity and are a good source of manganese and potassium. Just one serving -- about eight strawberries -- provides more vitamin C than an orange.

Having these fruits preserved in jars is another great way to enjoy them.  Making jams at home without any preservatives, artificial colors and being able to control the sugar quantity is a very good step towards healthy and hygienic eating and of course home made products are much cheaper then their store bought counter parts. 

With the first sight of strawberries on fruit carts, I ventured into jamming some of the these sweet and tangy berries and a blog post for all to preserve these tasteful delights in jars. I chose firm, deep red and plump berries, for preservation prime quality and fresh produce always yield great results.   

Lets make Strawberry Jams this season!

Before starting to cook, wash and sterilize the bottles or jars in which you will preserve the jam.

Sterilizing Jars:

For canning and preservation, your first step would be to sterilize the bottles and jars you would be using for your produce.

- Boil washed bottles, jars, and their lids for five minutes in a big pot filed with water

- Take them out with tongs and let them dry outside on a clean counter or kitchen towel

Ingredients:

1 KG washed and hulled strawberries sliced

300-400gms white/brown sugar (if not using pectin then increase the amount of sugar to 700-800gms)

75gms pectin

 60ml lemon juice

Cooking Instructions

• Sprinkle half the sugar on fruits
• Leave for 3-4 hours or better overnight in refrigerator 
• Add lemon juice    
• Cook for 15-20 minutes on low heat or until all fruit is mushy 
•  Add pectin mixed in rest of the sugar
• Cook fruit stirring very fast with a wooden spoon for 3-4 minutes
•  Rolling boil the mixture of pectin, sugar and fruit 1-2 mins
•  Remove any foam or scum from the top
•  Immediately ladle into sterilized jars
• Keep the jars undisturbed until set this might take as long as overnight or 24 hours in some cases
• While the jars are cooling dont seal the caps tightly just cover  without screwing the lids
• Keep the jams refrigerated once cooled, since these does not have preservatives they may get fungus at room temperature.