Strawberry jam

I discovered the easiness of making jam just a few months ago when I made the fig jam and I became a totally jam-making obsess. I can just tell but good reasons to go to your kitchen right now and start making jam with any seasonal fruit you have in your fridge: it's easy and cheap; it's healthy as you control the amount of sugar and other components it will bring; you’ll be totally grateful when in autumn you will be able to taste your amazing spring fruits jam and above all, it tastes wonderfully natural. 

I bought 6.5lb of strawberries and I got seven jars of absolutely extraordinary homemade jam. Surely, I am going to can some more before the season is over because I am using it not only for breakfast, but also for desserts and ice creams, so I am going to run out soon. 

My mother uses to make preserves of lots of things; jam, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, fried tomato sauce… and she ha san old fridge specifically for preserves. Now, I strongly believe in the importance of doing these preservations and to take profit of seasonal ingredients we have. In addition, it allows me to control the additives or conservatives I eat in my life, as you can really use high quality ingredients in your preserves.

The preservation process is quite simple, but you have to follow some steps to ensure the quality and the safety of the food. One of these steps is to boil the jars during fifteen minutes to sterilize them and let it cool before adding the jam. The second is to assure all the jars are hermetically seal, and I use a simple method for that, which I’ll explain later.

Strawberry jam

- 1kg (2.2 lb) fresh strawberries.

- 400g (0.88 lb) brown sugar. 

- one lemon juice

Clean the strawberries and cut them in slices. In a large saucepan, mix together the cut strawberries, the brown sugar and the lemon juice. Turn on heat and bring it to boil while stirring often. Let it simmer for thirty to forty minutes until desired consistency. Beat the strawberries and pour into the sterilized jars.

I always cover the jam with a disc of waxed paper before sealing the jars. Now, we are going to seal the jars hermetically and it’s really simple: when the jars are sealed and the jam is still hot, turn them over and let it cool and rest overnight before turning them back. They’ll be hermetically closed.