I could talk on and on about the value of simplicity — simple ingredients, simple work, simple living — but sometimes, I can honestly say you just have to make a royal mess of things to appreciate a job well done. Last night, while I scrubbed a few dishes and Jared helped tend to a bubbling pot of fruit and sugar, I thought to myself how lovely and simple the evening felt compared to the past few weeks. The thought barely escaped my mind when, quite suddenly, that bubbling pot turned into a red hot spring of craziness, spewing very boiling and very staining liquid from one end of the kitchen to the other.
Now I don’t know if it’s because I was watching 19 Kids and Counting at the time (the Duggars have a strangely calming effect on me) or because I slept a full eight hours the night before, but rather then send me into the typical stress-filled cleaning frenzy, this volcano of sticky preserves only fueled my satisfaction in the entire jam-making process. What is jam without the mess anyway? A sugary fruit mash at best. The real secret is in the chaos.
Oh, and good croissants. The other secret is good croissants. Few things are more delicious than homemade jam on bakery-made pastry, and we’re fortunate to have an awesome German bakery nearby. Next time you’re cruising around Durham, be sure to check out Guglhupf. And order a few extra cherry Danish to take home because, well, you need no excuse.
So back to the jam. This super simple recipe, which I happened upon while browsing one of my sister’s Pinterest boards (hey, gurl!), is a mere three ingredients long and takes little more than a bit of active stirring to get the job done. Yes, it might leave an impressive mess in its wake, but as noted earlier, that’s part of the process. It’s all worth it. Of course, it’s entirely possible that I was cooking with some exceptionally fervent strawberries, and perhaps the tamer varieties are less likely to bubble so enthusiastically. But I’m no scientist. Just a girl who’s a few splatters short of a clean kitchen.
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Simple Strawberry Jam
From Martha Stewart
• 1 ½ pounds hulled strawberries
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Place the strawberries in a food processor, and pulse until they’re coarsely chopped. Transfer the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice to a large skillet, and stir until combined.
Cook the strawberries over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the jam is thickened and bubbles cover the surface, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the jam to a jar (or two small jars), and allow it to cool to room temperature. Jam may be kept sealed in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
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In case it helps put the flavor or texture into perspective, my mom says this strawberry goodness sounds a lot like the freezer jam my grandma used to make all the time. It’s sweet but not overly sweet like the store-bought stuff, and there’s plenty of zing from the generous bit of lemon juice. And we’re just jumping into strawberry season, so now’s the time to jam away! Just don’t forget those croissants!
XO,
Katrina
I think I need to try this soon! 🙂 Yummy!
It is soooo easy peasy! Hope you like it! 🙂
Katrina that looks like a angel’s breakfast <3
It is!!! I could eat it all. day. long!
I wonder if raw sugar would work as well as white sugar. Ever since we watched this documentary about white sugar being almost as addictive as cocaine, I’ve been feeling guilty (read: haven’t stopped eating sugary things, just felt guilty) about eating it–if I can make a raw strawberry jam, I think my life might go to cloud nine. Have you cooked with sugar in the raw, or anything like it? Stevia?
I haven’t cooked with Stevia, but I did read a review of this recipe on the Martha Stewart site by someone who substituted 1/4 cup Stevia and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for the white sugar. She said it turned out great! Hope that helps! Let me know if you try it that way and how it turns out! 🙂
This sounds like jam that we got from The Amana Colonies in Iowa. We could freeze it. It was excellent.
I haven’t tried freezing this recipe, but I’ll have to do that next time around to see how it holds up. 🙂
Can you freeze this recipe?
I haven’t tried freezing this exact recipe, though it does keep wonderfully in the refrigerator for a week or so. Most freezer jams I’ve looked at are similar but use some sort of pectin in addition to the other ingredients, which does change the consistency a bit (and might make it hold up better in the freezer). If you try freezing it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Is it ok to freeze this or will it go bad doing that??
I haven’t tried freezing this recipe, so I can’t give a definitive answer, though my inclination is that it would hold up well (most freezer jams do include pectin, though, so I’m not sure how that affects the freezing). I’ll have to give it a go soon and report back. Fortunately, it’s quick to make, and, at least in our house, those two jars disappear in no time!
Do you think that this technique would work with peaches or blackberries?
I bet so! Peach would be delicious! It might just take a bit of watching to see if you need to cook it more of less to reach the right consistency. Happy jamming! 🙂
I made this tonight and It was fantastic! I uses only a qtr cup of sugar and should have prob reduced the amt of lemon juice, but it’s still so good. And easy!!
So glad you liked it! It’s definitely a good one for adjusting the flavors to fit your fancy. 🙂 Now enjoy all that jam!
Yuuuum!! Just made it, it’s still warm but seems so liquidy… when should I start to get worried that it won’t set? lol 🙂 but it smells and tastes amazing. My partner is getting me to make a jar just for him to take to work 😛
Hmm, if it doesn’t seem to be setting as it cools to room temperature, then it probably could have used a bit more time on the stove. It should start to thicken a bit while you’re still stirring it over the heat. Hope that helps! And I hope yours turned out! 🙂
I tryed this today. I was short on strawberries, so I added kiwi and 1/2 apple. It’s is delishes !
That sounds amazing! So glad it turned out for you!