Strawberry Preserves
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine 2 pounds of sugar and ½ pint of boiling water in a tin pan over a kettle of boiling water.
Add the strawberries once the sugar is dissolved and hot.
Place the pan directly on the stove and boil for 10 minutes, or longer if the fruit is not clear.
Gently remove the strawberries with a small strainer and keep them hot.
Boil the syrup down until it is thick and rich.
Fill and seal the jars
Drain off the thin syrup from the pan and pour the thick syrup over the strawberries to fill the jars.
Screw down the tops immediately.
Boil the thin syrup again, bottle, and seal for sauces and drinks.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Sweetens the preserves and thickens as the syrup reduces, helping it set.
- Strawberries
- Provide the fruit flavor and pieces that hold their shape in the thick syrup.
The step that matters
Boil the syrup down until thick and rich. Sugar concentration drives setting. Syrup that is not boiled down enough stays runny and will not gel, while overcooking makes it too stiff and can darken the sugar.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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