Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove the stalks from the strawberries.
In a preserving pan, layer the strawberries and cover each layer thickly with sugar.
Cook the jam
Place the pan by the fire and bring the mixture slowly to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Skim off any foam, then boil gently until the jam sets when tested on a cold plate, stirring carefully to keep the fruit whole.
Pot and store
Pour the jam into pots and cover with paper brushed on both sides with egg white. Store the pots.
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
- Strawberries
- Provide the fruit, flavour and bulk of the jam, along with natural pectin and acid that help it set.
- Preserving sugar
- Sweetens the jam and draws moisture out of the fruit, helping it thicken and keep.
The step that matters
Boil until the jam sets. Boiling drives off water and concentrates sugar and pectin so the jam gels. Undercooking leaves it runny and prone to spoiling, while overcooking can darken and toughen the flavour. Testing on a cold plate shows when it is ready.
“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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