Strawberry season has arrived in Georgia. Here the season starts at least a month before it does back home in Britain so it is more of a spring than a summer fruit. When friends and family are enjoying berries at their peak across the pond it will already be too hot in the US South for this fragile fruit.
So we have to take advantage of the strawberry crop while it lasts, and we normally do, stocking up at local farmers markets and making a few trips to our favourite pick your own place where we invariably get carried away and fill far more buckets than we originally intended.
Luckily, we have a range of strawberry related recipes up our sleeves to make the most of the fruit now and preserve some to enjoy all year round.
The obvious starting point is to enjoy some of the berries as soon as possible, usually with ice cream, whipped cream or with added meringue to make an Eton Mess.
Next our thoughts turn to jam. Our go-to strawberry jam recipe (details below) is based on one from the excellent “River Cottage Preserves Handbook” by Pam Corbin.
Once you’ve made your strawberry jam you can treat yourself to a cream tea, or even make some cream tea inspired chocolate truffles.
One great way to preserve the strawberry harvest is to turn it into a drink. Strawberries make a great dry, rosé wine for summer sipping. You can find the recipe here. Winemaking is relatively straightforward but does require a bit of equipment and some patience, but liqueurs and infusions are pretty simple, and you can infuse your harvest in something a little stronger to make strawberry liqueur or a strawberry bourbon.
I don’t like anything to go to waste in my kitchen so I have even found a way to turn the leftover, strained strawberry pulp from making liqueur into chocolate truffles as well as a delicious dessert.
Strawberries also make a great vinegar. You can use it in dressings or drizzle it on both sweet and savoury dishes but we usually drink it, diluted with sparkling water. Again, we use a Pam Corbin recipe.
I’m also a big fan of Marisa McClellan’s recipe for strawberry chutney at Food In Jars. It’s a wonderful accompaniment to an aged cheddar.
Strawberry Jam
2.25lb strawberries, hulled and quartered
2.5 cups granulated sugar
2.25 cups granulated sugar blended with 1 tsp pectin powder
0.66 cup lemon juice
Put 7oz the strawberries in a preserving pan with 1 cup of the plain granulated sugar. Crush with a potato masher. Place over gentle heat and when the mixture is warm add the rest of the berries. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. After bringing the berries to a gentle simmer, cook for about 5 minutes until the berries have softened.
Whilst it is cooking, place a couple of saucers or small plates in your freezer to enable you to test later for when the jam has set.
Add the remaining granulated sugar and the sugar and pectin blend. Stir gently to prevent sticking until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the lemon juice. Increase the heat and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil rapidly for 8-9 minutes then test for the setting point.
Test for a set by putting a small spoonful of the jam onto one of the frozen plates. Return it to the freezer for a couple of minutes then test by pushing your finger through it. If it is thickening and the surface “crinkles” when you push it, it is set. If the consistency is still liquid carry on cooking for a little longer.
When the setting point has been reached, remove the pan from the heat and stir gently to disperse any foamy scum on the surface.
Pour the jam into sterilised jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace and then process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes. If you need to know more about water bath canning there is a good introductory guide on the Ball canning website.
