Soon, many of you will be spreading out over Virginia’s farmlands to pick your own batch of sun-soaked strawberries. But some of these berries won’t be eaten fast enough. To avoid waste and allow you to enjoy summer fruits later in the year, we’re sharing our favorite recipe for making strawberry preserves.
We love it because it’s simple, natural, and will yield about a half pint of preserves. The resulting preserves will nicely fit a clean, empty jar you probably already have at home. Besides that, all you need is a saucepan or pot and a ladle or large spoon.
Once jarred, these strawberry preserves will keep for up to a month refrigerated, and three to four months in the freezer.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (approximately ½ pound) fresh strawberries
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash strawberries gently and allow most of the water to run off (it doesn’t matter if the berries remain wet). Remove and discard the green caps and drop the hulled strawberries in the pot or saucepan.
- Break the berries to your desired size. Some people like to chop or slice each berry to roughly even sizes. I like to work them over with a potato masher, just like my mom did.
- Next, add the sugar and lemon juice to the strawberries and stir to combine. (Be gentle if you want to keep the shape and size of your berries intact.) Let this sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature to macerate the strawberries. Longer maceration results in more complex, fused flavors, while just 30 minutes will let you retain more of the fresh-fruit flavor. If you want to macerate for more than 2 hours, be sure to refrigerate it.
- It’s time to start cooking. Over medium-high heat, stir the mixture until all the sugar dissolves and it has come to a full boil. Then, reduce to a simmer — you want to see small bubbles on the surface of the mixture with the occasional larger bubble popping, but no vigorous bubbling or splatters. Stir frequently to prevent sticking or burning.
- About 8 to 10 minutes after the strawberry mix first boils, start testing to see if it has reached the setting point. The easiest way to test is to dip a spoon or ladle you’ve been using into the mixture, lift it out, and leave it hanging in the air for a few seconds. If the liquid coats the back of the spoon, wait another few seconds and then run your finger along the back (carefully — it’s still hot!). If the liquid forms ripples and/or your streak leaves a space with no liquid on the spoon or ladle, the mixture is set. You can turn off the heat now, or let it simmer for longer if you want a thicker consistency.
- Once the strawberry mixture is set to your desired level, take the saucepan/pot from the stove. During the simmering, a foam may have formed on top. You can skim that off at this time (this is purely aesthetic; leaving it there won’t affect the flavor).
After letting it cool down for a minute or two, transfer everything into a clean jar. You want to leave 1/4 of an inch of room at the top, or 1/2 an inch if it’s going in the freezer. Wipe the rim, put on the lid, and let cool at room temperature completely.
If you have more of the mixture than fits your jar, you can find some vanilla ice cream, a slice of bread, or maybe some yogurt and granola and start enjoying your homemade strawberry preserves! Once the jar feels room temperature, put it in the fridge or freezer to enjoy the rest later.
Feature image by Priya Konings
