sprinklefingers

oregon berry season is right around the corner. while i feel like i’ve been waiting forever, it also seems like just yesterday (or was it last summer?) i was washing and hulling strawberries to stock the freezer for winter.

speaking of stocking the freezer: i just took the last of my last summer’s strawberries out of the freezer and embarked on a preserves journey with them. and because this treasure trove of last summer’s sweetness is so special, i decided to preserve them using a method completely new to me. so. exciting. (if you like watching paint dry.)

usually i cook my preserved fruits with sugar and lemon juice until they reach the desired jammy stage. but this new process involves a lot of waiting time. you mix the berries with sugar and lemon juice. you let them sit. you boil the mixture. you let it sit. and, sometime during all the sitting, you magically make the most authentic tasting preserved fruits, ever.

actually, it’s not magic that does it. it’s the waiting time. allowing the berries to sit in sugar draws moisture out of them. that moisture evaporates during the short cooking time. the results: you cook the fruit less, so it retains more texture, flavor and color. honestly, this is my new favorite way to preserve - i’m seriously looking forward to a summer full of it.

now, the following recipe should not be doubled. actually, it’s already quite large in terms of preserving and if you make it any bigger, you’ll end up ruining the fruit before you ever get it to a high enough boil to thicken it properly. and speaking of thick - i prefer my jams and preserves to be spoonable. loose yet full of fruit - with no need to reach for a knife to cut a wedge of jam out of the jar. besides, it’s much easier to eat a bowl of strawberry preserves using a spoon. [oh, wait, did i just admit that?] because i prefer my preserves loose, this recipe will yield exactly that: perfectly spoonable preserves. (oh, one more note: i call jam preserves and preserves jam all the time. of course, preserves have larger pieces of fruit and jams don’t. but we spread both/either/any on sandwiches, mix them into yogurt, plop them over ice cream and scoop them up into our mouths with spoons. jam? preserves? yes, please.)

another note: this preserves journey takes 3 days. you’ll basically start it friday night and then actually can the preserves on sunday. the actual work time is so short though - most of the time the berry mixture is just hanging out on your countertop.

in addition, as you will see below, i drew on a host of references to sort out my recipe for preserves. all are listed, all contributed some tip or idea that resulted in my recipe for true strawberry deliciousness. (if you buy just one of these books, make it christine ferber’s. i have such an enormous crush on her.)

practically no work strawberry preserves
yields 6 pints

references used:

• mes confitures (all hail christine ferber!)
• the complete book of small-batch preserving
• the joy of jams, jellies and other sweet preserves
• the river cottage preserves handbook
• the farmer’s wife canning & preserving cookbook

prepare to preserve:

1. gather your sterilized pint jars, lids and jar bands.
2. gather your canning tools - canning pot, rack, funnel, jar lifers, etc. refresh your canning memory here.
3. find your largest non-reactive pot. make sure it’s clean.
4. now, let’s jam!

you need:

• 5 1/2 - 6 lbs washed & hulled strawberries, left whole if small, halved if large
• 2 1/2 lbs granulated sugar (if you have vanilla sugar around, even better!)
• 4 oz bottled lemon juice (i always use bottled lemon juice to be sure the acidity is consistent.)

start your preserves journey:

1. in the non-reactive pot, layer the strawberries, topped by the sugar, with the lemon juice poured over the top.
2. put a lid on the pot and let it sit for 8-10 hours or overnight.
3. remove the lid from the pot and put it on the stove over medium heat. as soon as the sugar has melted, raise the heat to medium-high and bring the entire mixture to a boil. boil 3-5 minutes.
4. remove the pot from the heat, place a lint-free kitchen towel over the top and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
5. remove the towel and put the pot back on the stove top over medium heat. press a few spoonfuls of strawberries up against the sides of the pot to mash them slightly. (don’t mash all of the berries, just a 2-3 spoonfuls.)
6. once the berries have warmed up, increase the heat and boil the mixture hard (a boil that cannot be stirred away) for 3-5 minutes. 
7. ladle your preserves into your sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes. (remember, complete canning instructions here.)

see? your actual cooking time is really only 6-10 minutes total. you so totally can do this. pun completely intended.

and now, preserves in photos:

strawberries, sugar, lemon juice:



berries after sitting overnight:

berries after first boil and sitting 24 hours:



bottom of the pot - thick & sticky:



all canned up:



tomorrow i’ll be back to show you the sad truth of just how much of these preserves i’ve eaten this week. wait. wait. it’s not sad, it’s glorious.