Old-fashioned strawberry preserves?
Hi,
I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction on this one. i'm looking for traditonal/old-fashioned recipes for strawberry preserves. Not jam, but preserves. Something with no pectin.
I've seen some recipes that require several boilings, some where you boil the syrup and not the strawberries first, etc. and they look rather complicated. Also, the directions for the few recipes I found have a ton of sugar and no mention of water bath processing. Is that typical?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
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nofunlatte
Jun 12, 2012 06:41 AM
There is a recipe for strawberry jam (not preserves, though I don't see why you couldn't "preserve" it) in Sherry Brooks Vinton's Put 'Em Up. It's a no-pectin recipe calling for 8 cups strawberries, 2 cups sugar, and 1/4 bottled lemon juice (for consistent acidity). The berries are mixed with the sugar and macerated overnight, then cooked into a jam without added pectin. I have made this recipe twice (halving it each time to accommodate the smaller amount of strawberries I had on hand) and have been pleased with the result.
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re: nofunlatte
From what I was told, "jam" and "preserves" are different. I think the difference in the method of preparation makes a difference in taste and consistency.
Am I wrong?
Looking around, it seems that "preserves" are a little bit runnier/thinner than jam and preserves have the whole fruit (or large chunks of fruit, but it still looks like the original fruit, at least for strawberries).Thanks everyone for such great information.
Does anyone have experience in freezing strawberries? do they taste OK after they're thawed? I imagine they won't do well for a salad/eating straight up, but should be OK for smoothies/fruit drinks/baking purposes.
Any thoughts on the best way to do this? I do have a stand-alone freezer (though it's completely packed), but I can move things around and probably fit a baking sheet in there to freeze the berries. would that work? (just wash, stem, cut in half. dry. lay out on cookie sheet and stick in the freezer. once frozen, pack into bags.) would there be freezer burn on them? I got a lot of freezer burn on veggies I stored last fall, so they're good for only soups and stews.
Thanks again everyone for such great information.-
re: annasrecipebox
Although I often use them interchangeably, you are correct about "jam" vs. "preserves". My thoughts (completely my opinion here!) are in the scheme of things:
jelly - juice only, lots of sugar, pectin added
preserves - chunks of fruit, with a syrup/jelly type component as well, moderate sugar, maybe pectin added
jam- fruit more cooked down, more even consistency, sugar amount varies, maybe pectin added
fruit butter- fruit cooked way down and broken down, sugar amount varies, typically no pectinI don't have a lot of experience with butters except apple. I try to stay away from recipes that require overnight maceration. When we preserve, we do mass quantities (100+ jars) so, I quick and easy is what I'm after because we are racing against the fruit spoiling. Off season, I like to play around with recipes.
You could freeze them, but I've never had much luck with defrosted strawberries. Cooking is fine, but they are best eaten partially frozen in fruit salads or in smoothies. I'm sure kids would love them frozen as an alternative to popsicles in the Summer!
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re: annasrecipebox
nofunlatte
Jun 15, 2012 10:20 AM
Preserves typically have larger chunks of fruit (and, in the case of berries, may have whole fruits). Jams have finer pieces of fruit. Both can be equally runny or equally solid and both can have plenty of sugar.
BTW, I regularly freeze leftover strawberries specifically for smoothies--works great! I slice them and just throw them into a ziploc bag. Might have to give them a couple of whacks with a meat tenderizer if you use them in smoothies, as my haphazard way of freezing them does mean they wind up in a big clump!
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re: annasrecipebox
If you have a dehydrator, sliced, dried strawberries are amazing. One could use the oven, but I've really grown to appreciate my dehydrator. They aren't great rehydrated (did that to make strawberry shortcake while camping), but are wonderful as a munchie in their dried state.
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re: annasrecipebox
nofunlatte
Jun 16, 2012 04:23 AM
You make a very good point, Anna. They ARE different. I usually measure things cut up or sliced ( however I plan to use the fruits in a recipe). A good reason for recipes to use or include weight measurements! If a recipe says " one cup sliced strawberries, then measure them sliced. If it says "one cup strawberries, sliced", then measure whole, then slice. However, many recipes state neither.
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Strawberries don't need pectin for jam. I just made the recipe out of the Ball book that called for 8 cups of strawberries, 4 cups of sugar, and 2 T of lemon juice. I only had 4 cups when I cut the strawberries so I halved the recipe. It worked out fine (no pectin here). I cooked it down until the jam sheeted off the spoon. Then BWB canned 3 jars.
Using pectin is far quicker and would have a better yield: 5 cups strawberries, pectin (1 package dry or 1/3 cup), 2 T lemon juice. Boil hard 1 minute, add 7 cups of sugar. Boil again for 1 minute. BWB can for 10 minutes. This yields about 7 jars.
It's best not to change the ratios of a pectin recipe. A fruit and sugar recipe you can change and just cook appropriately until you get the consistency you want. I believe both have the same shelf life unopened, but lower sugar recipes have shorter shelf lives once opened and refrigerated.
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re: chrishel
Sorry, it was 8 cups strawberries, 6 cups of sugar, 2 T lemon juice for the strawberry jam without pectin. Too early. Hadn't had my coffee yet.
I chopped up the strawberries, but I've made jam also where I left them halved or quartered (I cut off moldy parts of forgotten berries) added lemon juice by eye and sugar by eye and just cooked it. I didn't BWB the results, but I don't see why you couldn't.
We made stuffed french toast one day (2 pieces of french toast, smeared one with mascarpone cheese and one with jam and made a sandwich).
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One time I added a quarter cup of vodka to grape jam (a standard "batch" as per the package), and a quarter cup of rum to peach... the alcohol really kicked up the flavor, couldn't taste the alcohol at all. I added it when I took it off the heat, right before adding to the jars.
Warning... unless you want a quick buzz, don't stand over the pot and inhale while pouring in the alcohol. ;-P›2 Replies -
i realize this might not be the answer you are looking for --- but our all-time fav is strawberry FREEZER jam ----- come to think of it - i should make some and get the delish white bread and best butter for toast etc.
i have had great success using the "low sugar" product (Benardin) ---- i use Splenda - tho the yield is way less --- but thankfully OK -- because we don't want lots of sugar, and frankly, we think the taste is better w/o all that sugar covering up the taste of the farm fruit --- i make jam/jelly and then freeze it in zip loc bags --- then just cut a small corner off and dispense in to a jar for the 1-week of fridge life expectancy ---- (or the one day of people over for brunch)
ps - i believe that pectin is made from Mexican limes -- the white layer under the skin? Maybe someone has more info about it.
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re: Georgia Strait
Freezer jam all the way, especially since you have a stand alone freezer! The strawberries aren't cooked so they retain their fresh summer strawberry taste all winter, it's runnier, and you can leave in big pieces if you want it chunky. Plus it's way easier than regular jam and you use a lot less sugar. Just mix the freezer pectin into your sugar, chuck it in the blender with your strawberries, and pour it into any freezer safe container. Once I move it to my fridge for eating I find it lasts a really long time.
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roxlet
Jun 10, 2012 11:22 AM
We buy our strawberry preserves/jam at a farm stand on Long Island called Briermere Farms. The two ingredients are strawberries and sugar, and the preserves are not thin at all. The strawberry jelly has pectin in it. The taste is pure strawberry. I don't know how they do it...
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http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Old-Fashioned-Strawberry-Preserves-1906
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/recipe/for/real-old-fashioned-strawberry-preserves/12233
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1932,156169-225198,00.html
http://www.thedailymeal.com/web_recipes/old-fashioned-strawberry-preserves-jam/b0764bb4-30fc-11e1-b971-38607703 -
mtoo
Jun 9, 2012 11:27 PM
if you have the Ball Blue Book, there is a recipe for strawberry preserves in it.I made them last year and they were sweet, required lots of sugar. can't find the recipe online but this blog has it exactly the way I made it from the book (Not my blog, btw.)
http://thepotlicker.com/2010/07/11/yo...
Sugar the berries, let them sit, boil and rest over night, heat again and boiling water bath.
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For preservation purposes, jams and jellies need to be at 67% sugar by weight, regardless of whether you use pectin or not - if you're going lower than that, you're going to need pectin, and you can't store it at room temperature as long.
If you want a preserve that gels properly, using a low pectin fruit, and no added pectin, then you're going to need a lot of boiling, because the main thing that is making it thick is the sugar, and you're boiling to increase the sugar content to the right point. Doing the syrup and then adding the fruit is probably for a chunkier texture and fresher taste.
If you're pouring hot jam with a proper level of sugar into sterilized jars and putting sterilized lids on, then the water bath step isn't strictly necessary - everything should be sterile already. You can do it for added security if you want, without damaging the jam, though.
I usually make jams without commercial pectin (using lemon pith for low pectin fruits), and they inevitably involve lots of sugar, and a long, hot boiling process. I'm planning on making mango jam, which is aways a *really* hot and sticky process, given that mango season means 35 C weather, and my kitchen is not air conditioned.
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re: tastesgoodwhatisit
Thank you all for such great information.
Last year, I made the jam, followed the directions on the back of the pectin package and it turned out how it was supposed to. But other family members like the more traditional kind that doesn't solidify quite as much as it does with pectin.Right now, I have about 15 pounds (maybe more) of strawberries and it looks like I can't process them all at once since the recipes call for smaller quantities. Should I just refrigerate the berries till I'm ready? Or have a few batches going all at once? My fridge is already overflowing, so looks like I"ll have to have a party! :) Need lots of people to come and eat all the food.
Also does anyone know how they used to preserve strawberries before sugar? Or has granulated sugar been around *that* long? Did they use other sweetners? But I'm guessing the purpose of sugar isn't just for sweetness, right? So I don't know if honey or other sweetners would work (seems like they wouldn't but I don't know why).
Thanks again!
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re: annasrecipebox
Strawberries will NOT keep very long, especially if they're freshly-picked. If you're looking for a softer-set jam, use the low-sugar pectin. You end up with very soft, very fresh-tasting jam.
AFAIK, before "sugar" as we know it, fruit was dried, or preserved in alcohol or honey. I'm sure someone else could add more detail to that.
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Vetter
Jun 9, 2012 09:33 PM
You can water bath an acidic enough recipe. You're not going to hurt anything. Have you checked out any Christine Ferber recipes? She doesn't use commercial pectin and sometimes uses no added pectin. And it's really not too tricky to do the macerate and boil thing - you can stretch the process out over a couple of days. That's part of why there's no pectin required. Lots of sugar...
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In my experience, strawberry preserves without pectin have about the same amount of sugar by weight as strawberries -- i.e., you're going to end up with something pretty darn sweet. I tend to add pectin for that reason, but I would say that yes, it is typical to have a ton of sugar (which is a natural preservative) in an old-fashioned, pectin-free preserve.
