That sounds wonderful. We won't have good local berries here in the nw until june or so, but I'm going to try it then. Do folks think this could be canned for future use?

I'm planning to freeze it in 1/2 cup containers.

Copied. That sounds like a winner. I will boiling water bath process, though.

Eileen

I made it too, couple of years ago, it was very good. But I left out the pepper. If I can score some good strawberries this year I might make again. Although I'm still trying to get the "old fashioned" preserves method down for strawberries.

There's no reason not to can it.

I'm trying to figure out the reason for the added water. You add it then have to boil it out to reach the jell point.

I'd skip the water, heat the mixture gently until the sugar was dissolved then bring to a quick boil and cook to the appropriate temperature.

Carol

Wow! My eyes zoomed into this when I saw the words "strawberry" and "balsamic," but to see "pepper" in there as well? This sounds amazing, I can't wait to try it!

I agree with Carol, there's no reason that I can see not to can this jam. Perhaps because it's such a small amount, the original authors felt no need to can or freeze it, jam lasts for quite a long time just refrigerated.

As, also as mentioned by Carol, I never did understand why water was added, then boiled out, it seems like an unnecessary extra step and takes extra time. I'd leave it out.

Annie

Do you think the water is to give the pectin time to develop/gel before the jam gets too thick? Just wondering.

Strawberries generally are low in pectin, though that varies somewhat depending upon growing conditions and region, which is why so many strawberry jam recipes rely upon commercial pectin.

But the pectin doesn't need time to develop. The acid in the berries and vinegar weakens the bond between the pectin and water (in the fruit) and the sugar pulls the water away. Then the pectin molecules are free to "connect." They form a network or mesh that traps the remaining water. Hence, jelling.

Adding more water just slows down the process because it takes about a 65% sugar concentration for jelling to occur. You have to boil off the excess and the longer that takes the more "cooked" the preserve tastes. Who wants that?

One way old-timers improved the setting qualities of a traditional no-commercial-pectin preserve was to use 25% slightly underripe fruit, which has more natural pectin.

Pectin is contained in the cell walls of the fruit. As the fruit ripens the cell walls collapse and the pectin level goes down, which is why dead-ripe fruit generally does not set well.

Ellie Topp has a lovely recipe for an oven-baked strawberry preserve with balsamic. The berries remain whole and you have lots more control because you're pulling off the water very slowly.

Carol

I started to try the Helen Witty method, which has very little cooking, but lots of sitting time. This is how someone on Chow explained it:

Rinse, dry, and hull 2 quarts of berries. In a big (non-aluminum) bowl, cut larger berries in halves or quarters (small berries can stay whole) and layer berries with 3 cups sugar. Stir up the whole thing with a wooden spoon, cover and let sit for at least 6 hours at room temp or overnight in the fridge. Soon you will have a whole lot of bright-red syrup with a bunch of shrunken berries bobbing around. Dump the whole mess into a big wide non-aluminum pot with juice of 1 lemon and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Let simmer for 2 minutes only, then pour back into your big bowl. Again, let sit for a few hours. Now, put a colander into your big pot and pour in the berry mixture. Let all the syrup drain into the pan. Remove the colander and bring syrup to a simmer. Let simmer, stirring often, until reduced by about half; syrup should darken somewhat and start to look thicker and a little sticky. When that happens, dump in your berries. Stirring frequently, simmer the berries until they begin to break down and look translucent--anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes, usually.

Take off heat, and scoop into sterilized canning jars (the Ball-jar kind with the two-part lid--you can find these at most hardware stores, sold by the case for about $8-$10). Wipe the edges of the jars with a paper towel dipped in boiling water, put on the tops and rings, screw lid on. If you want, you can put filled jars into a pot of boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes to ensure a good seal.

As it is, I'm pleased with the results of the epicurious recipe.

Wow, just saw this thread. Sounds very good. We've been getting some exceptionally good strawberries this year. DH has been buying them twice/week but they're not local. I'll wait for the local to buy enough to make several batches of this jam. Planning on canning them for holiday presents.

Thanks for the recipe.

/tricia

Helen Witty is a treasure, not just her preserves but so many of her recipes and techniques. Her Fancy Pantry is one book I'd never want to give up.

Carol

I've made a similar jam now for 2 years with berries we pick locally and it is fantastic. I'm going to be away during berry season this year so I am hoarding the jars I have left!