Jammin'

False advertising, not actually mango chutney

In the weekend, I decided to finally get onto my Christmas shopping. Rather than heading into town, I mosied next door to the hydroponics strawberry-growing neighbours and bought two kilos of jam strawberries.

I scrounged some lemons from the yard and discovered that dad mows very close to the lemon tree, resulting in grassy lemons. My ambitious plans for strawberry and lemon zest jam were then scrapped. 

 

Strawberries don’t have very much pectin, which means they need a bit of hand to set, otherwise you end up with liquid jam. I used both lemon juice and tartaric acid because I like the juxtaposition between zingy lemon and sweet strawberry. The great thing about strawberries is that you don’t need to sweat over a boiling pot for long because strawberry is a quick jam!

Do not splash onto skin

  

Preparing for the skin test

To sterilise, place clean jars in the oven at 100°C for at least ten minutes. Boil lids for at least ten minutes, ensuring they stay underwater the whole time. Do this towards the end of the cooking process, so jars and lids are hot while bottling. Pro-tip: funnels are a godsend when bottling molten jam.

Method adapted from Alison Holst's Complete Cooking Class

2kg strawberries
4 Tbsp water
7c sugar
2 tsp tartaric acid
Juice from two lemons

Put strawberries and water in large pot and place over medium heat. Cook until soft and mash slightly to break fruit up.Add sugar and cook until sugar is dissolved. Boil for three minutes then add tartaric acid and lemon juice. Boil for ten minutes further, or until jam passes the skin test. Place a spoonful of jam on a plate and allow to cool. Jam is ready when it forms a skin which crinkles when you run your finger through. Pour into hot jars, filling to the very top. Screw lids on as tight as possible. Listen for the pops of the lids sealing themselves in the coming hour.