Strawberry jam

Making jam is so easy. Yet very easy to mess up; trust me, I’ve made many a batch of overcooked candied jam. This recipe gives you a jam that’s just right with a clever little hack.

What’s the hack?

To make jam set, you need pectin, which is sometimes naturally available in some fruits. Unfortunately strawberries are low in pectin, so they need a little help. A lemon is the perfect way to add pectin into your jam. Lemon peel and seeds contains a good amount of pectin while the acid in the juice helps the pectin do its job. So you have a natural powerhouse of jam-setting goodness.

You could just toss the lemon peel into the jam, but I didn’t want to go fishing. Instead I put the lemon peel inside a tea filter bag that I just happened to have (because my boyfriend recently bought a super-fine loose tea). This way, I could incorporate the pectin from the lemon without the seeds and peel going missing in my jam. Genius idea in my opinion.

Ingredients

500g frozen strawberries (defrosted)

500g caster sugar

Half a lemon

Method

1. Place a small plate in the freezer. Drain the defrosted strawberries and put them in a large saucepan with the sugar. Gently start heating the strawberries and sugar to dissolve the sugar.
2. In the meantime, peel the lemon and place the peel in a tea or coffee filter bag. Squeeze the lemon juice into the berries and sugar. Put the leftover lemon half into the filter bag with the peel, seal or tie it closed and place into the saucepan.
3. Slowly, slowly heat the pan until the sugar is dissolved and the strawberries have softened. Crush them with a masher to the texture you desire.
4. Bring the jam to a gentle boil for approx 5-7 minutes until it starts to thicken. Take the temperature of the jam every minute or so until you reach a temperature between 104-105 C. Take the jam off the heat.
5. Take the plate out of the freezer and place a teaspoon of jam onto the plate. Put it back in the freezer for 2 minutes. Remove from the freezer and slowly push your finger or the end of a teaspoon through the blob of jam. If wrinkles form, the jam is done. If it’s still runny and no wrinkles form, put the jam back on the heat and continue simmering for a couple more minutes before testing again.
6. Dispose of the filter bag containing the lemon, and place your jam into sterilised jars or simply pour into a bowl ready to be stored in the fridge. Fresh jam will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge.