We found our chicken freezer bags, but the store has expanded since we were last there, and they've added a produce section. We found the most beautiful, fresh-picked strawberries that I've seen in a long time, so, of course, I came home with a flat to make some homemade jam - and a lot of other things for canning and smoking fish later in the season. And some homemade pecan-topped cinnamon rolls. And cheese curds. Good thing we don't live next door to this place!
I love to make jam, but I hate the fact that so many jam recipes take a ton of white sugar, something I've been trying to avoid. Last summer I made several different jam recipes and substituted honey for the white sugar, so I decided to do the same with these gorgeous strawberries.
I used a raw buckwheat honey, which was delicious on its own, and the result is amazing strawberry jam. I did use pectin, which I don't normally do, because there isn't a lot of pectin in strawberries, and I didn't want to add apple (a natural source of pectin). Two quarts of berries yielded 5 half-pints of jam in the end.
Strawberry Honey Jam
Ingredients:
2 quarts freshly picked strawberries, washed and hulled
1 1/3 cup unprocessed, raw honey
1 box powdered pectin
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Wash and hull strawberries. In a large pot, add the strawberries, and mash well. Add honey and powdered pectin to the pot. Stir until combined. Heat mixture to a boil, and stir constantly until the jam starts to thicken. The length of time depends on your pot size, how juicy the strawberries are, etc. I stirred this batch for approximately 20 minutes.
When thickened, ladle jam into sterilized jam jars. Add lids and rings; tighten just until finger-tight. Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
Yield: 5 half-pints
