The summer months are always a welcome time of year for me. This is the time of year when the warm summer sun shines at daybreak, when longer days grant us the sun's glow trickling into the late evening hours, when the vast realm of fragrant summer fruits invite us into the bustling marketplace. I always like to meander in the fruits section during the summer to take in the array of beautiful colors: the rich violet-blue hues of sweet blueberries, the vibrant reds, yellows, and greens of juicy mangoes, the potent aromas from the lightly speckled green and yellow pears, and the striking, deep, rosy reds of succulent strawberries, a small basketful of which I scooped up to make a home-made jam preserve. To fully enhance the flavors of the strawberries, I also grabbed a bright orange and a small box of confectioner's sugar to add to the jam; possibly the zest from the orange will add some acidity, and the powdered sugar (on sale!) will lightly sweeten the preserve? I had never made my own fruit jam and was looking forward to slathering sweet jam preserves over a small croissant or some bread.
Here's how I did it:
* 10-15 ripe strawberries
* 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar (or regular cane sugar)
* 1 teaspoon orange zest
After washing the strawberries, lop off and discard the green leaves and stem of each strawberry. Cut the strawberries in half lengthwise.
With a grater, carefully slide the orange over the grater once, then turn the orange and repeat, taking care to grate only the orange surface of the rind, as the white surface of the rind can be quite bitter.
In a small saucepan on medium heat, add the strawberries, orange zest, and sugar, and stir until well-mixed. When syrup juice begins to bubble at the bottom of the saucepan, turn heat to low. Allow strawberries and syrup to simmer at a low heat. The jam preserve should be ready to be removed from the heat when the strawberries are a soft texture (check by lightly mashing the strawberries against the side of the saucepan; if ready, the strawberries will be very easy to mash). Remove the saucepan from heat and allow the jam preserves to cool. Enjoy it right away or spoon into a glass jar and refrigerate.
* I couldn't help myself and sampled the strawberry preserves right away. It was a spoonful of a delicate sweetness, very light, and the chunks of strawberries melted as soon as they hit the roof of my mouth!
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