Monday 1 July 2013

Strawberry Preserves (no-pectin recipe)

Cincinnati Locavore: Strawberry Preserves (no-pectin recipe):
 "a few berries with green tips - this is the first secret to making no-pectin strawberry jam.
There's pectin in unripe strawberries, and those with a little green left on them have plenty of pectin.

 I wash, hull, and roughly mash the berries - leaving a lot of big chunks, as in my opinion that's what preserves are all about - and then after I've brought it to a full rolling boil for five minutes, I pour the whole thing into a sieve to strain the berries from the syrup and put the syrup back into the pot for further cooking.
 That's the extra work part, but it's also the second secret to making no-pectin strawberry preserves.

So. Wash and hull strawberries.
Mash to big chunks and measure by the cupful into a large heavy non-aluminum pot.
Add 1 cup of sugar per cup of mashed berries, cover, and leave for several hours.
Bring to a full rolling boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the sugar from sticking and burning.
Remove from heat and strain through a sieve into a bowl, allowing syrup to drip through sieve for a few minutes.
Set the sieve aside, return syrup to pot, add lemon juice, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly and boiling on high heat about 15 minutes.
Return contents of sieve to pot and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.
Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and ladle into hot 1/2-pint jars, leaving 1/2" headroom.
Wipe jar rims with damp cloth, cover with hot lids and screw on lid rims without tightening.
(The lid rims are only there to hold the lids in place during processing; tightening them can both interfere with processing and cause you to dislodge the lids when removing the lid rims before storing your preserves.)

Set jars into canning rack and drop into boiling water in kettle.
Cover kettle and process 10 minutes, remove from water, and set on rack to cool.
Once cool, check seals (press gently in the center of the lid - if you feel a slight pop and the center flexes down and then back up again, the lid didn't form a seal and that jar should be refrigerated and used within six months), remove lid rims and label.
And more!

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