Preserves Online: Jam Preserves

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Jam Preserves

The idea behind the recipe was that the extra resting time in the recipe took the place of having to cook the jam (which is made without pectin) for a long period of time on the stove. I was skeptical, but willing to give it a try. The process was easy… The first day I chopped strawberries and combined them with sugar. The next day I cooked them for a few minutes and then let them sit for another 24 hours. Then, I reheated the jam and canned it on the third day.

I added my own slight twist on the recipe by scraping some vanilla beans into the jam on the second day and letting them marinate with the jam overnight. When all was said and done, I really loved the flavor of the jam. It turned out to be a bit runnier than I had anticipated, though. That could certainly be remedied by cooking the jam a bit longer over the stove, but I’m not sure it really needs it.

Even though the jam didn’t set perfectly, I still wanted to share the recipe with you. The slightly runny jam (or, as I prefer to call it, preserves…) is actually quite wonderful just the way it is. It may not make the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich for your kid’s lunch box, but it’s wonderful slathered on fresh biscuits in the morning. And, I think it would be fabulous as a thick dessert sauce for pound cake or as a topping for your morning waffles or pancakes.