Monday 22 July 2013

Strawberry and Mint Jam

Following on from my strawberry recipe trend, I have yet another recipe to share with you...sorry there's a lot of good strawberries around especially after me and my son went fruit picking :)
Jam making is a lot easier than what you would think and honestly, well worth it, the combinations are never ending and you can adapt a simple recipe to exactly your tastes.
I once went to a restaurant that served strawberries with a lovely mint syrup which worked beautifully and that gave me the inspiration to add some mint to my basic strawberry jam recipe and it worked brilliantly, even my husband who struggles to find any compliment in anything I make, managed to say it was the best flavoured jam that he had ever eaten...quite the compliment! So here it is...enjoy 

Strawberry and Mint Jam

1kg strawberries
700g jam sugar
12 mint leaves (depending on taste add more if needed) chopped
Squeeze of lemon
Knob of butter

If like me, you froze your strawberries, then remove from the freezer and defrost overnight, when they have defrosted they will be very soft and they will have released a lot of juice, this is perfect! 

In a jam pan or a heavy based pan, add half the sugar, all the strawberries and there juices, the mint leaves and then top with the remaining sugar, stir through.

If you haven't frozen the strawberries, then you will need to add the strawberries and sugar together and leave for 24 hours to allow the strawberries to break down into the sugar and release its juices.

Turn on to a medium high heat and allow to heat through until the sugar dissolves, then add the squeeze of lemon, turn the heat up until it boils and bubbles, allow it to bubble like this for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While it bubbles away, add the knob of butter as well

Remove from the heat and allow to cool for around half an hour and then pour into your sterilised jam jars. Allow to cool completely.

The sealed jams will last for a year and once opened pop into the fridge.



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