Texas Strawberry Jam
It’s springtime in Texas, bluebonnets are blooming, farmers markets are plentiful with the bounty of local farmers, and the weather is just right. Vibrant yellows, reds and greens from tables stocked with fresh produce catch my eye every time I head into Stahlmans at Bear Creek, a farm stand just outside of New Braunfels. They source most of their fruits and veggies locally and have a steady supply of strawberries from strawberry farms in Poteet, Texas. There are many local farms you can visit in central Texas and one of my favorite hill country road trips is to Fredericksburg. Lydells is a go to for me but there is also Jenschke and Marburger farm stands are amazing, especially when peach season kicks off in May. Visiting your local farmers market is also a great way to find strawberries in season and to support your local farming communities. Farmers truly are some of the most wonderful people I have met in my life, they love the land and nurture wonderous bounty from our Texas soils. What better way to preserve this season of abundance than making strawberry jam, one of my absolute favorites and a recipe staple in my kitchen.
The fun part, of course, is washing, cleaning, and chopping up your berries. I am usually canning several flats at a time since I plan to give away several jars as gifts and, let’s be honest, my family would go nuts if we ever ran out. The flavor of fresh fruit straight from the farm is unparalleled and truly is the secret ingredient to why this jam comes out so gosh darn good. Strawberries are grown in sandy soil so if you get them fresh from the farm, it’s a good idea to have extra hands to help prep them for the jam pot. We want to make sure they are extra clean, no sandy jam over here folks. I will usually save the hulls, the top green part, as a special treat for my chickens but they make a great addition to the compost pile as well. So, grab a few friends and let’s get jamming!
The secret ingredient is using strawberries that are in season. This jam is wonderful on anything: as a topping for fresh goat cheese on toasted sourdough bread, scooped on top of a piece of pound cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream and of course my favorite, layered onto a delicious Strawberry Shortbread Cookies. Celebrate the fresh flavor of spring and always, always, always, support your local farmers.
Recipe
2 lbs. Strawberries, cleaned, hulled and chopped into quarters
4 cups Sugar
Lemon juice from one lemon
Pinch of salt
Canning jars- This recipe can fill a dozen 4oz. jars
Deep stock pot or saucepan
You can scale this recipe up or halve it as needed. Cooking times will need to be adjusted accordingly
After cleaning and chopping all the strawberries, place them in a large bowl and add the sugar. You want to let the berries macerate in the sugar. This will help the berries release all their juices to before you start cooking them down.
In a large saucepan add in your berries that have been mixed with the sugar. Add in a good pinch of salt, juice of one lemon, and slowly bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Make sure your pan is taller than you think you need, cleaning up boiled over strawberry jam is not fun and it will need to bubble up before you can turn the heat down. You will need to stick around the kitchen to stir the pot every now and then, but it will smell heavenly while it cooks.
When it reaches a boil bring the heat down to a gentle simmer. This can take up to an hour or so depending on how juicy the strawberries are. While your strawberries are cooking, you can prep your canning jars. Wash in hot soapy water and lay out the lids and jars on a dish rack or towel to dry.
You will notice the jam getting thicker and more syrup like after an hour so be sure your stove isn’t too hot; it can burn easily at this stage. A simple way to check if your jam is done is to take a spoon, dip into mixture in pan and drop onto a clean plate. I look for a jam that has a domed drop when it hits the plate. You want it to be thick enough not to run off the plate. Take off heat and turn off your stove. See pic below.
At this point you want to ladle in the hot, caution VERY HOT, jam into clean mason jars, screw the lid on snug and flip them over. If you are using the jam for Strawberry Shortbread Cookies, set aside a half cup in a bowl. Let the jars cool on the counter. Once they are cooled, they are ready to be stored in your pantry to enjoy year-round.
