The taste of summer - Strawberry jam
Strawberry season in Switzerland lasts from May to July. Far too short! I love the sweet fruit more than anything. So that I can still enjoy strawberries in the fall and winter, I make strawberry jam or freeze the sweet berries in portions to use for lassi, muesli or desserts.
Strawberry jam is super easy to make. You only need two ingredients: Strawberries and gelling sugar.
At the beginning of June, I go to the strawberry field and pick the strawberries for the jam myself.
To make the jam, wash and prepare the berries, i.e. I cut off the green leaves at the top and cut the strawberries into pieces. I use one kilogram of gelling sugar for one kilogram of prepared fruit. Please note! There is also gelling sugar that is used in a ratio of 1:2 (i.e. 500 g gelling sugar to 1 kg prepared fruit). Just follwo the instructions on the jam sugar packaging that you are using.
Bring the strawberries and sugar to the boil, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, sterilize the clean screw-top jars on a baking tray in the oven at 100° C. As I don't like large chunks in the jam, I puree the strawberries as soon as they are soft. Using a soup ladle and a funnel, fill the hot strawberry jam into the screw-top jars up to the rim. Put the lid on, close tightly and leave the jam to cool standing on the lid. That's it!
You can store the strawberry jam in a cool, dark place for six months (or even longer). Once opened, keep the jar in the fridge and consume quickly.
I enjoy the strawberry jam for breakfast on my home-baked baguette or use it as a filling for Spitzbuben (which you can enjoy not only at Christmas but also during the year).
What else can you do with strawberries?
Take a look at my lassi recipe. The mango in the recipe can be replaced with a handful of strawberries and you have a great strawberry lassi.
More summer recipes?
Click here for the elderflower syrup recipe.Was kann man sonst noch mit Erdbeeren anstellen?