sprinklefingers

this past spring i was crazy excited about strawberry season.

what did my excitement get me? flat after flat after flat of oregon strawberries. strawberries that have an extremely short shelf life and basically need to either be used or frozen upon returning home from the farm or market or farmer’s market.

and it’s not like you can just toss them in the freezer and be done with it. oh, no. you first must wash them. then hull them. then dry them. THEN freeze them. if i had allowed myself to buy just one or two flats of berries this season i wouldn’t be complaining. but i’m telling you, i have had some kind of strange compulsion when it comes to this stuff. i see them and something inside me clicks and i must buy them. i actually can’t explain it. but i’d be willing to have it checked out by a scientist if you know anyone.

thankfully, i just purchased my last flat of strawberries. half of which i froze. half of which i turned into this late summer strawberry jam.

late summer oregon strawberry jam
makes 8 half-pint jars

note: strawberries that grow in late summer in oregon are not the luscious hood strawberries of early june. most late summer varieties are puget summer strawberries. that said, jam made with late season berries is going to taste different than jam made with first-of-the-season berries.

you need:

• 1/2 flat (6 pts) strawberries - washed and hulled
• 4 cups sugar
• 4 T bottled lemon juice

make jam:

1. prepare your sterilized jars and water bath canner.
2. put the berries in a nonreactive pot perfect for jam making and partially crush them using a potato masher.
3. put the partially crushed berries over medium heat and allow them to warm up. don’t let them boil, just get them warm.
4. add the sugar to the warm berries and stir well to incorporate.
5. let the mixture come to a simmer and hold at a simmer for 10 minutes.
6. raise the heat and let the mixture come to a full boil. hold at a full boil for 1 minute - stirring all the while to prevent burning.
7. remove from heat and ladle into prepared jars leaving 1/2” head space.
8. process in your water bath canner for 10 minutes.
9. remove from canner and let sit 24 hours. check seals. store the sealed jars in the pantry. any jars that failed to seal can be stored in the fridge for 4 weeks.

until next june, glorious oregon strawberry!