I Be Jammin!

Strawberry Lemon Grass Jam

There’s no way around it. Summer is all about fresh fruit, which in my book means making pies, cobblers, and jam. I’ve only recently forayed into the world of canning and I have to admit, I love it. I love the process of it, the results, and how I get to look all modest and happy (while being secretly a little smug) when people exclaim, “I can’t believe you make your own jam!” Plus, I get to enjoy summer fruit for many, many months to come. Berry season at the farmer’s market lasts for a limited time only and when they are gone, its back to berries shipped from California or some other far away place. They aren’t really bad, per se, but they are never as good as a really fresh, juicy, strawberry picked just a short ways away. There is something just more intensely fruity and delectable about berries in the summer and if you could have that all year round, why not make some jam?

It turns out there is really no reason to feel smug about making jam because it really isn’t that hard. It seems to be a much more complicated, drawn out, and intimidating process than it actually is. I’ve thought about canning or preserving in the past, but quickly decided it wasn’t for me. I thought I would have to buy a lot of specialized equipment and spend a ton of money to buy fruit and strange ingredients like powdered pectin (which just seems really un-natural and weird to me). I was also worried that I would inflict third degree burns upon myself when removing hot jars from a rapidly boiling pot of water. I wasn’t sure how long to boil the jars to kill all the germs and when I took to the internet to find out the answer, I couldn’t really find a clear answer. Every website I looked at had a different set of instructions for canning. Some even went into details for the various bacteria that could grow in canned food and the scary things that it could lead to. Just reading one article about botulism stopped me in my tracks. For fear of making anyone who may be reading this blog click away immediately; I will spare you the gory details.

What made me dive right into canning was ultimately my love of fresh, really good produce and a desire to mostly eat food that I made myself. There is something so satisfying about seeing a shelf full of jars of something that you made with your own hands and your own time. They also make really great, thoughtful gifts that, in my experience, people really appreciate. In this world of immediate gratification and take out, what could be more heartfelt than a very tasty, homemade gift?

I also have fond memories from my childhood of my mom canning things. I think the older I get the more I find myself cooking and just doing things the way she would, which I never expected. I remember watching apprehensively and with awe as she stood at the stove with potholders and tongs. I remember the clatter of the jars bouncing around in the pot and being afraid that they would shatter into a million bits. I remember at the time thinking that my mom was some sort of very brave culinary magician. I remember hearing the sounds of the jars popping for the rest of the evening when they sealed at intermittent times while I watched TV. I remember how neat it was, when in the middle of the winter, she would whip out a can of home made tomato sauce or dill pickles. It still tasted like summer. Furthermore, she never gave any of us botulism, so I figured it was worth a shot. It turns out you don’t really need a whole lot of skill to make jam, just some really good fruit, a big pot, jars, tongs, some time, and a little courage.

This recipe comes from Christine Ferber, who is considered the jam expert in France. It is much more gourmet sounding that my mom’s jam but I think if you are going to take the time to make your own jam, it should be kind of different and really spectacular….and this jam really is. It includes slices of lemon that are lightly boiled in sugar to candy them. The lemon cuts the sweetness of the jam and adds the perfect amount of acidity and zippiness. The natural pectin in the fruit also eliminates the need to buy powdered pectin, which I thought was pretty cool. As a result, this jam is a little looser than what you may be used to. I liked that and sometimes find store bought jam to be oddly jiggly but if this is off putting to you, you could just reduce the jam to a thicker consistency. The recipe also includes lemongrass. I had to journey to many Asian markets in the area to find it. You could easily leave it out but I think it adds something to the jam that makes it taste unlike anything you could buy from the store. Oh, and actually as it turns out, I’m really just a big scaredy cat and jam making is actually pretty safe…the sugar and the acidity of the fruit kill the bacteria but just to be safe, I always sterilize the jars, lids, and bands in boiling water. After I fill the jars I then submerge them in pot of hot water and bring to a rolling boil. Let boil for at least 10 minutes and then you will have killed all the germy buggers!

Strawberry-Lemon Grass Jam
Makes five ½-pint jars

2¾ pounds strawberries
4 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Scant ½ cup water
10 paper-thin slices lemon
10 fresh lemongrass leaves, cut in half crosswise

1. Prepare your jars, lids, and bands by submerging in boiling water. Due this shortly before you go to fill the jars with jam. If the jars are not warm they could crack when you go to fill them with hot jam. Keep the water boiling to process the jars when they are full.

2. Pick over the berries, discarding those that are green, white or mushy. Rinse briefly in a colander and shake off the excess water. Hull the berries and slice coarsely into a 6-quart pot. Stir in 3½ cups sugar and set aside.

3. In a 2-quart pot, combine ½ cup sugar with the lemon juice and water. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add lemon slices and simmer gently until translucent, about 15 minutes. Pour over the strawberries and stir in the lemon grass. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Then bring to a boil. Stir gently and skim the foam from the top. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the temperature reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer. When done a spoonful of the jam should gel when placed on a cold plate. You can also check the consistency by observing if the jam thickly coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove the pieces of lemongrass.

4. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean, damp cloth. Place a hot lid on each jar and screw down firmly. Submerge in rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove jars with tongs and set on a towel 12 to 24 hours. Do not disturb the jam while cooling as this could cause a seal not to form. Check later to ensure the jars have sealed. If not make sure these jars go in the refrigerator and are eaten in the next few weeks. The rest of the jars can be stored in the pantry for 6-8 months.