April 10th, 2009

strawberry jam=simple+sugar+magic

For me, strawberry jam is simple+sugar+magic :) The very first jam I ever made was pineapple jam for my father, it is his favourite jam. I made this when I was around 11, we were driving past pineapple street seller and they looked just amazing, so I asked him to stop and bought some so I could try to make some jam. The inspiration of making jam, came from a book called Tini Belajar Memasak, it is in Indonesian, and I could not remember the author, but I just love that book. So that is where I got my jam recipe from :) I still remember how I was amazed to see the pineapple turns into golden liquid, it was magical! I just made two jars of strawberry jam three days ago, and they came out wonderful, and thinking I would love to share it with you.

Simple Strawberry Jam

Makes 2 jars

500g ripe strawberry, wash, remove the green part and cut into pieces

150g sugar (adjust the sugar, depending the sweetness of the fruit and how sweet you want the jam to be)

1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together and leave for 1,5h. Transfer to heavy bottomed sauce pan and bring to hard boil for 30 minutes, skimming the foam that appears during the boiling (to make your jam look beautifully clear) - you can use the foam after like strawberry syrup, drizzle it over pancakes or eat it with yoghurt or rice pudding - After 30 minutes, remove from heat and transfer the hot jam to sterilized jars. Closed tight and let cool in room temperature.

I ate it jam the day after with fresh ciabatta and unrefined french butter. Beautiful!

Note: I sterilized my jars simply by boiling them in hot water while I was boiling my jam, then when the jam is ready, I quickly lift the jar from hot water, dry them with tea towel (be careful, it is hot!) and scoop the hot jam, the close it firmly. Then I put them again into hot water, covering up to 3 cm below the lid of the jar and boil for another 15 minutes. Lift the jar and dry with kitchen towel and tighten the lid again if necessary. 

Filed under: food, life, sweet tooth