A tasty strawberry jam is fast and easy to make, this simple jam is a delight on morning toast. Store-bought versions are full of sugar and artificial flavourings, make your own during the best of the season’s berries. This strawberry jam is soft, spreadable and delicious without using a pectin.
1. Sterilised glass jar in boiling water for 10 mins. Dry it in oven at 100°C or using a hair dryer. Chilled a dish in the freezer for freezing test later.
2. Rinse strawberries over running water for few mins. Hulled and cut in half, for the big on, cut into four sections.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix strawberries, crashed rock sugar and lemon juice. Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours. This process help to preserve the beautiful red colour of the strawberries.
4. In a saucepan, bring the strawberries to full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring frequently. Skim off an scum as possible. Add apple jelly if you don’t want to cook too long. Simmer for 10 ~ 15 mins and remove from heat.
5. Do a freezing test. If it is done. Ladle into hot jars/canning jars, leaving 1.5 cm headspace, wipe rims and add lids and bands. Over turn the jar to seal. Keep in the fridge for up to 2 ~ 3 months.
4 Ways to Make Sure Your Jam Sets Up
Freezer test. At the beginning of cooking, put two or three small plates or bowls in the freezer. As you begin to approach the end of cooking, pull one out and put a small dollop of jam into the middle of the dish. Gently nudge the dollop of jam with the tip of your finger. If it has formed a skin on top that wrinkles a bit when pushed, it is done. If it is still quite liquid and your finger runs right through it, it’s not done yet.
Drop the boiling jam into cold water. It is done if the jam keeps a solid in the water and drop straightly to the bottom.
Watch the way the jam drips. Swirl your spatula through your cooking jam, hold it up over the pot, and watch how it falls. If the jam runs right off the spoon and looks thin and runny, it’s not done yet. However, if it forms thick droplets that hang heavily off the bowl of the utensil, but don’t immediately fall off, it is either nearing completion or is done.
Use a candy thermometer. When you’re making jam with traditional amounts of sugar, you’re aiming to cook it to105°C/220°F. That’s the temperature at which sugar forms a gel and can bond with the pectin. Monitoring the temperature can give you confirmation that you’re on the right track.
