A Strawberry Jamboree

Sally — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:16:14 +0000

I was recently reminded of small batch jam making, which simply means that you make a few jars at a time and repeat the process whenever you have an hour and a few cups of fruit to spare.

Preserving any food is a satisfying experience, and in this case you have luminous jars of ruby-colored jam to swoon over afterwards. Overbearing to-do lists, if I’m not careful, can seem more important than a basic endeavor like preserving food. Used to be our survival depended on it. Anyway, this small batch approach was an efficient and satisfying alternative to rolling up my sleeves and spending hours canning a couple of dozen jars.

I used the simplest whole foods, just strawberries and honey, a bit of lemon juice. With about 4 cups of strawberries that needed to be eaten immediately I made a small batch without much fuss. A Saturday morning, Tour de France in the background, I said to myself ‘just do it’, and start to finish it took about an hour, truly.

It helps to have supplies on hand and the great thing about small batch jam-making is that you’ve probably got what you need already. Jars, seals and lids in the basement, I grabbed three of each, washed them thoroughly, placed them in a pot of barely simmering water and got down to it.

Here’s the routine: Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil for the purpose of processing the jam later on. Clean and roughly slice 4 cups of strawberries and simmer gently in a large, flat saucepan for 8 – 10 minutes; smash the pulp gently and add 1/3 -1/2 cup honey ( or 3/4 – 1 C sugar), 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and simmer for a few more minutes. Adjust sweetness to taste, and remember honey is sweeter than sugar – a little bit packs a big punch. The mixture thickens and reduces, it’s time to fill jars and process in a hot water bath, which means that you place jars in a pot of simmering water – jars should be immersed and covered by an inch of water.

This version, an experiment using honey instead of sugar and no added pectin, is thick enough and perfect on toast, a hotcake or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream; the jars of crimson deliciousness are something to behold, a beautiful sight in the cupboard and even better in the mouth – essence of strawberry on a piece of toast.

Making and preserving jam is another small action toward sustainable living, and it’s not so mysterious once you get organized. And within the realm of our daily tasks, this one is satisfying. Lots more fruit coming on in the next few weeks – let the Jamboree begin.

Before preserving jam, acquire a book or two, or use reliable online resources for technical information. Below are links to informative sites, book suggestions, and a 10-minute video about small-batch jam making that’s very helpful.

Thanks to Cooking Up A Story for another great video demonstration.

Small Batch Fresh Strawberry Jam

How to Make Jam – Easily!

From Planet Green, Preserving the Harvest: Making Strawberry Jam

Two well-used books that are constantly helpful resources about preserving food:

Stocking Up, The Third Edition of the Classic Preserving Guide

Putting Food By

This post is from the MixedGreens archives, July 2008.

Crank It Out: Ice Cream & Sorbet

Poppy Barach — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:12:51 +0000

A couple of years ago I started hinting that I wanted an ice cream maker for my birthday. My hinting must have been effective because I ended up with two, luckily two different styles. Last weekend I pulled them both out of the basement after coming home from the Farmers Market with half a flat of strawberries. I decided to make strawberry tarragon sorbet in one and strawberry ice cream in the other — that way I could compare the two desserts and the two ice cream makers at the same time. It was a little hectic but well worth the effort — one scoop of each makes a memorable dessert. If you have an ice cream maker stored somewhere other than in your kitchen, now is the time to pull it out and get ready for your 4th of July picnic.

I started with the strawberry tarragon sorbet using a maker that has a canister you pre-freeze for 24 hours before using. It worked beautifully but does take some planning to put it in the freezer ahead of time. This along with chilling the mixture before churning are the most essential steps, the rest is easy. If you have room in your freezer, you could keep the canister in and even use it as an ice bucket so you are ready to go whenever you are inspired.

For the ice cream I used a more traditional ice cream maker that calls for 8-12 lbs of ice. It sounds like a lot but is actually 2 bags of ice. Since it was the hottest day of the year, all but 1 bag was sold out at the corner store and that turned out to be plenty. Both ice cream makers are electric so if you want to conserve, use the kind that you hand-crank.

Strawberry Tarragon Sorbet

2 pints strawberries

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

a couple sprigs of tarragon (optional)

Squirt of lime juice

Wash and drain the strawberries. Remove the stems and cut each berry in half. Toss berries and sugar together in a bowl. Combine berries, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the fruit comes to a boil, add the tarragon and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let the tarragon steep in the fruit for 5 minutes. Remove the tarragon.

Blend the berries and their liquid until smooth. I used a hand blender but you could also use a food processor. Pass through a fine mesh strainer, pushing the fruit through with a wooden spoon or spatula. Discard the seeds and pulp. Place the bowl in an ice bath to chill. If it needs more sugar, add a few teaspoons of superfine sugar. Transfer to the fridge and chill for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Churn according to ice cream machine directions. This sorbet is best served 4 to 6 hours after churning, but will keep in the freezer up to a week. This recipe is adapted from The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle by Kate Zuckerman. This book is a wonderful resource for desserts using local ingredients.

Strawberry Ice Cream

3 egg yolks

3/4 cup half-and-half

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 pints strawberries

a couple drops vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

In a small bowl whisk 3 egg yolks briefly, just enough to break up.

Measure 3/4 cup half-and-half and 1/2 sugar into a heavy-bottomed pan. Heat over medium heat stirring to dissolve the sugar. When hot, whisk a little of this mixture into the egg yolks, then whisk the warmed yolks back into the hot half-and-half & sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and quickly strain.

Add 3/4 cup heavy cream. Cover the mixture and chill in the fridge for several hours.

Wash, dry and hull strawberries. Mash with a potato masher or puree in a food mill. Stir in 1/4 cup sugar. Let the berries macerate in their own juices, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has melted. Add the berries to the cold cream mixture and flavor with vanilla and a pinch of salt.

Chill thoroughly and churn according to ice cream machine manufacturer’s instructions. This recipe can be adapted to all kinds of fresh fruit. It is from The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters.

Mixed Greens Blog » strawberries

A Strawberry Jamboree

Crank It Out: Ice Cream & Sorbet