Spiced Berry Conserve
I made a strawberry-balsamic jam that was far too sweet, even for Steve (see below). I really liked the concept of a spiced berry jam and thought I would experiment:
- 1 cup cranberry, whole (frozen or fresh)
- 1 pint of strawberries, hulled and finely diced
- 2½ Tbs balsamic vinegar
- 2½ cups sugar
- ½ tsp of butter (optional) to minimize foaming
- Let the strawberries (and frozen cranberries, if using) stand in 1 cup of sugar for several hours to draw out the juices.
- Transfer to an enamel pot and add the remaining ingredients (FYI, I used the balsamic vinegar to gather the settled sugar and scraped it all in). Bring to a boil over med-low heat, then cook gently until the cranberries have ruptured and the liquid gels. It took about 25 minutes once it reached a boil.
- Ladle into clean, hot jars. Wipe the rims and assemble the lids. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes. Let stand and then remove to cool.
The total fruit to start was approx 4 cups and yielded 3 cups of jam.
You could probably made this recipe using crushed raspberries instead and add the lemon zest. Since it is such a small yield, you could also use the flat 250mL Ball jars in an asparagus pot. I may try for next time because I don’t like strawberry jam, but I could eat this ’till the cows come home, which is a long time because I don’t have cows!
Original Bernardin recipe (don’t recommend this much sugar!):
- 1 pint strawberries, crushed (one layer at a time)
- 3Tbs Balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbs lemon juice
- grated zest of lemon
- 6½ cups sugar
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp butter (optional) to keep the foam down
- 1 pouch liquid pectin
Prepare the strawberries, which should measure 3-¾ cups. Stir in vinegar, lemon juice and zest, sugar and pepper, plus the butter if you are using it. Bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add the pectin, being sure to squeeze all of it out of the package. Return to a boil and maintain for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and skim off any foam.
Ladle into clean, hot jars. Wipe the rim and assemble the lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before removing to cool.
Made 6 jars, possibly more if you really crush the berries. Would not make again, but the colour is lovely.
