There is nothing, in my mind, quite as divine as homemade strawberry jam made with homegrown strawberries. This is a delight I discovered in my adulthood; it’s not something I grew up with. A good friend of mine has a tradition of picking strawberries and making jam every summer, and ever since she introduced me to this delicacy, I cannot entirely appreciate strawberry jam from a store.
The whole canning process is such a chore that I have never taken it upon myself to make my own jam. I make a lot of things, but I have never done canning without my mother. It’s much easier to wheedle a few jars out of a good friend. But when I saw Ina Garten make a homemade strawberry jam on her TV show and store it in the fridge, I knew I had to try it.
Yesterday I stopped into the farm market, and lo and behold, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a table full of LOCALLY GROWN STRAWBERRIES. You can identify them immediately because they are a) teeny-tiny and b) packaged in those open green cardboard containers as opposed to those clear plastic lidded ones. They cost a small fortune, but I gladly dipped into our college fund to purchase a quart of those tasty morsels of summer goodness. Education is overrated anyway.
I came home and googled Ina’s strawberry jam recipe and went to town. I thought I did everything she said, but after boiling for 20 minutes (or it may have been 2 hours, I’m not entirely sure) it was no thicker than it had been after 2.
Finally, I gave up and decided that I was destined to have strawberry sauce instead of strawberry jam. But fortunately I know what to do with strawberry sauce.
That looks so good!! We used to go strawberry picking every summer when I was a kid and my mom made the best strawberry jam. It really does spoil you from ever going back to store bought.
Looks delicious! Just thought I should let you know, for some reason your header is not showing up.
love it!
I’d be willing to share some of that ice cream and strawberry sauce with you.
It looks like it’d be a yummy (and, of course, nutritous) breakfast.
That looks so fantastic! Was the ice cream homemade too????
You definitely want to try freezer jam next time. Easy and perfect results – and no cooking. Look for a product called Certo at your local store. The directions are in the box. Just smash the berries, add sugar, lemon juice, Certo (which is fruit pectin), stir and stir some more and then add to jars. When completely “set” store in the freezer. Excellent and EASY! Trust me.
That looks delicious. Ice cream for lunch anyone?
Yum, yum, yum!
“But fortunately I know what to do with strawberry sauce.”
You got that RIGHT, sister!
Looks good!
Yes – freezer jam is so easy and no cooking required (that I remember). I am finishing up my last few jars and should be able to pick strawberries again in a few weeks. The sauce does look good at least.
Have you ever tried freezer jam? It is way easier to make and tastes better too. Plus the color of freezer jam doesn’t compare to canned jam. You should try it–it’s fabulous!
I make strawberry jam in my BREAD MACHINE!!!! It’s FABulous and ridiculously easy.