We went out in search of strawberries this weekend and found a great farm that had just opened for the season, we were the only people picking in the field, with bright red berries and a beautiful day. We had to contain ourselves and settled on picking 4 buckets, even though I am sure we could have easily done twice that. The next step was figuring out what to do with them. Besides the easy answer of just slicing them over ice cream, I decided to have some fun as well. This morning I made strawberry muffins with strawberry butter. I would post the muffin recipe, but it really wasn't that special and needs some adjustments before posting for the world. The butter on the other hand was wonderful and will definitely be made again. Besides putting it on muffins, I would suggest tossing it on pancakes, bagels, english muffins or any other foods that you want, it was delicious.
Strawberry Butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1 C powdered sugar
Fold all ingredients together until combined. Chill until ready to use.
Showing posts with label Strawberries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Strawberries. Show all posts
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Fun with Jam
As I was excited about fruit in the store, I decided to have my first canning run of the season. This weekend, we made 4 jams: Cherry Bourbon Jam, Nectarine-Rhubarb Jam, Cherry Jalapeno Jam and Strawberry Nectarine Conserve. The best of the bunch seems to be the Strawberry Nectarine Conserve and conveniently it was the easiest to make too!
Strawberry Nectarine Conserve
Makes 3 12oz jars
1 1/2# Nectarines, peeled and pitted
8 oz Strawberries, cut in half
2 C sugar
4 T powdered pectin
4 T lemon juice
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan (don't go too small on the pan as this will bubble up quite a bit). Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Turn up heat and bring to a rolling boil for 10-15 minutes or until it has reached the setting point (see below). Remove from heat and put into sanitized jars. Seal in hot water bath (see below) for 5 minutes, then remove and place on kitchen towel for 24 hours.
Setting Point: This happens at about 220 degrees, however to test, remove pan from heat, put a small amount of jam in bowl and with a spoon allow some to cool for a moment. When it has reached its setting point, the last of the jam should flake off the spoon in a larger clump rather than drizzle off in small drips.
Hot Water Bath: A boiling pot of hot water where the jars can sit freely without touching and will cover the jars by at least one inch.
If anyone has other fun jam recipes, let me know, I would love to find more. Strawberries are right around the corner and I will be looking at many ways to use these.
Cheers!
Strawberry Nectarine Conserve
Makes 3 12oz jars
1 1/2# Nectarines, peeled and pitted
8 oz Strawberries, cut in half
2 C sugar
4 T powdered pectin
4 T lemon juice
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan (don't go too small on the pan as this will bubble up quite a bit). Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Turn up heat and bring to a rolling boil for 10-15 minutes or until it has reached the setting point (see below). Remove from heat and put into sanitized jars. Seal in hot water bath (see below) for 5 minutes, then remove and place on kitchen towel for 24 hours.
Setting Point: This happens at about 220 degrees, however to test, remove pan from heat, put a small amount of jam in bowl and with a spoon allow some to cool for a moment. When it has reached its setting point, the last of the jam should flake off the spoon in a larger clump rather than drizzle off in small drips.
Hot Water Bath: A boiling pot of hot water where the jars can sit freely without touching and will cover the jars by at least one inch.
If anyone has other fun jam recipes, let me know, I would love to find more. Strawberries are right around the corner and I will be looking at many ways to use these.
Cheers!
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