Farm Box V: Getting in a jam with Strawberries

I am something of a crank regarding strawberries. The thing is, I have had , a few times, strawberries so wonderful that I could have cried. I do not, of course, enjoy potato-ish bulked up supermarket strawberries which are all white inside . Sadly, many of the locally grown, organically raised pick-your-own strawberries I have had around here do not strike me as all that stupendous either. This includes the ones I grew in my own garden, with great effort and measly result, some years back, when I actually had a garden not entirely composed of containers and windowboxes. Perhaps it is the soil/climate combo in western PA? Or, it could be that I'm just a crank.

Anyway, I was not expecting too much when I saw the container of strawberries balanced on top of the first spring onions in the farm box this week. They were promising in that they were small and very red (inside too) and they smelled lovely. I sampled a few, and it seemed as if every third or fourth one was really full of strawberry taste, while the rest were less flavorful, or of paler flavor. I suspected that a jam or conserve might be just the ticket- with a possibility for concentrating the strawberry taste which was definitely in there somewhere.

The problem was, I only had a scanty pound of berries. I had to use them up quickly, because they were very ripe. Even with my small batch approach to jam making, this little box of berries was clearly insufficient. And I didn't want to dilute that real berry flavor I had detected with tasteless store strawberries. So I went out and got some rhubarb, to make an amateur adaptation of 2 Christine Ferber recipes-namely, a strawberry/rhubarb conserve with balsamic vinegar. This was somewhat foolhardy, in light of the fact that I have only recently begun making jam, and absolutely everyone advises against altering recipes for preserves.

The main danger in striking out seems to be the possibility that jelling will not occur. While I would aspire to some gelling, I will not be inconsolable if the result is runny, since I intend to use most of this for mixing in yogurt.

Should you be interested in following me into the wilderness, this is what it will take (in addition to 3 days lead time):

1 lb small whole strawberries, weighted after cleaning and pulling off tops
1 1/4 lbs rhubarb, stalks cut into 1/2" triangles
3 3/4 cups sugar
juice of 1 lemon
4 tsps balsamic vinegar -preferably nice, slightly aged sort- but not that 50 year old magic stuff (if you are lucky enough to have some of your very own- I am not)- since it's going to see some heat.
5 peppercorns, ground

Mix fruit, lemon juice and sugar in a ceramic bowl. Cover with a crumpled, dampened piece of parchment paper and put in fridge overnight. Next day, put it in a sturdy non-reactive pan. Heat it quickly to a simmer, stirring gently. Back into the bowl, cover with more parchment, and overnight again in the fridge.

Next to the stove, lay a plump towel on a flat surface. In a big kettle/pan, boil up five 4oz wide mouth ball jars and the screw on part of their lids. When they are boiled up, remove them with tongs, dumping any water back in the big pot. Put them on the towel. Turn off the heat under the big kettle, and slide the 5 round lid pieces with the rubber seal into the water.

Remove fruit from fridge and strain the liquid from your fruit into the jelly pan you used the day before. Boil up the juices for five minutes or so, with a candy thermometer tucked on the side of the pan. (These are very cheap, and really help alot. Otherwise you have to run back and forth to the fridge with smears of jelly on dishes to test for set- you don't even want to know). Put the fruit back in,add the vinegar and pepper, and cook until both of these things have happened: 1) the fruit has cooked for at least five minutes and 2)the candy thermometer reads at least 220 degrees F. Turn off the heat under the jelly pot. Ladle the fruit and juice into the waiting jars. Fill each to about 1/4 " from the top. With tongs- extract the lids from the water. Set one on each jar. Adjust these with your fingers, touching as little as possible. Screw the other part of the lid on each jar, firmly, but not very tightly.

Now you must leave them for 24 hours. You may hear an amusing pinging sound as they cool, and seal.
But you don't always. You check them after this time has passed, to make sure that the lids go concave, and do not boing when pressed. If you have any doubts about the seal- stick that jar in the fridge, and use it first. This is a european method of sealing the jars. If you want to be really safe, you should finish them up by processing them in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes, American style. Processing is necessary for the canning of all low acid foods- in most cases with a pressure canner. Personally, it is my plan that any low acid vegetables I put up will be some very vinegary pickles, which I do feel are in my future.

As I understand it, one should let preserves rest for several weeks before eating, to let the flavors mellow. I'm sure that these will be different after mellowing, but I can confidently inform you that you will enjoy licking the syrupy spoon-it's really good. (Make sure it has definitely cooled off first, you will need your tongue and all of your tastebuds to be intact for future indulgences.) I am looking forward to digging into these sweet little jars in the not too distant future. They would probably be a very sophisticated variant with cream on scones, but I'm thinking bagel and cream cheese at the moment.

Addendum: Viewing pretty little tubby jars when cooled, it became apparent to me that these guys are not jelled- they are instead in a sort of heavy syrup. This is okay for me, as I will mix them in my yogurt quite happily... but don't make this if you are hoping to spread it on bagels.

I also disregarded my own advice, and opened one jar after only a couple of days. It is soooo good-just wonderfully intense true strawberry flavor- on some oatmeal. I am pleased I captured the strawberries before they spoiled, despite the jelling screwup. I am going to try to hoard the other 4 for winter breakfasts when the only fresh fruit on offer is from far away, expensive and less good. I guess that's why they call them "preserves".

Comments

[Bakerina]

Oh, Lindy, this post has everything. A fellow strawberry crank, a farm box, Christine-Ferber-based technique, a picture of fruit in beautiful fruit in one of those sweet little half-pint jars. All this from one of my most favorite cities on earth. (I am a Chatham College graduate, so I spent a *lot* of time stomping around Squirrel Hill.)

Many thanks for the link, btw. As soon as I finish writing my post for Is My Blog Burning? you had better believe I'll be linking. And I'll be back, too. :)

[Annie]

I'm amazed that you actually receive strawberries in your farm box however small the quantity - I can just imagine the resulting strawberry/rhubarb syrup on some oatmeal buttermilk pancakes some Sunday morning next winter.

[Lindy]

Bakerina-I really enjoy your blog, and think you have a very distinctive voice.
Re the 'burgh- I am thinking about posting on shopping in the Strip at lunch hour.
Re Chatham-know it well, as my father, brother,late spouse, daughter (redfox of the hungry tiger), and I all worked at the summer Music and Arts Camp there at various times.
Thanks.

[Judy]

Strawberries can be very slow to set since they are so low in pectin. One old recipe I have gives directions for sun-cooked strawberry preserves (strawberries and sugar set in a shallow pan, covered with a pane of glass propped up a little, and set out in the sun durring the day, brought in at night - not that we've had much sun over here east of the Delaware River in NJ.Bottle after 3 or 4 days. Recipe says it can take a couple of weeks before the bottled preserves actually set.

[Lindy]

Does this mean that this may yet jell? That would certainly be dandy (although I fear I am beyond the "couple of weeks" already.) I live in hope.