Strawberry Jam
Strawberry jam: a classic jam but with a "twist", as I've accustomed you to each year when it comes to jams and preserves. An intriguing combination! With this strawberry jam recipe, it has become our favorite among winter provisions.
Ingredients
1.2 kg strawberries (weighed after sorting and removing stems)
500g sugar
60 ml orange liqueur (Cointreau)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Yield: 2 jars of 370 ml
How to prepare strawberry jam
- Sort the strawberries, rinse quickly under cold running water, then remove the stems. Cut them into pieces (in 2 or 4, depending on size), you can leave the smallest ones whole.
- Drizzle the strawberries with 30 ml Cointreau and lemon juice. Sprinkle the sugar on top and let sit for 12 hours at room temperature.
- Place 2-3 small plates in the freezer.
- Wash 2 jars of 370 ml, dry them and put them in the oven heated to 200°C for about 20 minutes to sterilize.
* try to coordinate the jam cooking with the jar sterilization, because it's important that the jam be poured into hot jars taken directly from the oven - Put everything on the heat in a wider pot. Add the salt. Boil the jam over medium heat for 30 minutes (until the syrup reduces well; you'll see the jam has taken on a dark cherry color, darker than at the beginning; stir occasionally); now lower the heat a bit and cook for another 20 minutes (stir more often now so it doesn't burn).
* during cooking, occasionally skim off the pink foam that forms
** the 50-minute cooking time is for 1.2 kg strawberries; if you double, triple, etc. the recipe, the time will increase proportionally; the plate test will tell you when it's ready - When the jam seems set (after the 50 minutes of cooking), lower the heat. Take a little strawberry jam, put it on a plate from the freezer and leave it in the freezer for a minute. If the jam "sets" (when you tilt the plate the jam doesn't run), then it's ready. If not, raise the heat again and cook for 5 more minutes. Repeat the plate test until the jam is "set".
- When the strawberry jam "sets", add the freshly ground pepper and the remaining 30 ml Cointreau. Boil over high heat for another 2 minutes.
- Pour the hot strawberry jam into the hot sterilized jars, wipe the jar rim if it got dirty, put on the lids and tighten well. Turn the jars upside down (resting on the lid) and leave like that for 10 minutes to create a vacuum. Place the still-hot jars under a blanket and let them cool like that overnight (dry sealing method).
- Store in a cool place, in the cellar or pantry.
Strawberries with sugar (after 12 hours covered in juice)
Starting to boil, set heat to medium
After 30 minutes of cooking
After 50 minutes of cooking it's ready
Passed the plate test
