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Wild Strawberry Jam
4 cups wild strawberries (generous)
2 ¼ cups sugar
Lightly crush berries. Cook on medium heat until berries begin to
release juices. Gradually add sugar. Cook on high heat until full
rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring for
about five minutes. Lower heat a bit as mixture thickens. At about 4
minutes jam will be a good sauce/topping consistency. At about 5 minutes
it will be thicker, but not stiff.
Pour into hot jars, wipe rim, and seal. Yield: about 3 ½ eight oz. jars.
Note: If you like a sweeter jam, increase sugar to 2 1/3 cups.
Store in a cool, dark place. I keep most of mine on a back shelf in the
refrigerator to help retain color.
This is very good on ice cream or as a cheesecake topping. And of course
it’s superb on biscuits or homemade bread.
Wild strawberries, abundant in our fields and meadows, begin to ripen
around the first of June and last about two weeks. It takes three hours
to pick enough for one batch of jam and another two to three hours to
cap the berries and cook the jam. The results are truly extraordinary.
Picking is my favorite part – the perfect excuse to be out in the fields
all day, taking inventory of all the grasses and flowers and what is
growing where. Swallows revel in the insects I scare up, and I delight
in the swallows’ pure grace in flight.
From Nana’s Kitchen
May 2004
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