earthyvirgo
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The kitchen smells of strawberry jam but ...it hasn't set.
Tesco's was getting rid of British strawbs last night at 28p for a punnet for almost a pound in weight. Unfortunately there were only two left but they were too good to leave behind at that price.
So, I de-topped them this afternoon, added almost weight for weight in sugar, a drop of water to avoid them sticking but the result is very, very runny.
What have I done wrong. Do they just need a longer, harder boil?
I was hoping to have whole strawberries visible in the jam.
EV
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Penny
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How long have you boiled them for EV and have you done the wrinkly plate test?
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earthyvirgo
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'bout 20 mins so far, a slow boil and no, I haven't done the wrinkly test, it just looked too wet to even try.
I'll go and do one now.
EV
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oliveoyl
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Have you got some pectin or a lemon/ lemon juice? Strawberries are low in pectin so you'll need to add some to get it to set.
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earthyvirgo
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| oliveoyl wrote: | | Have you got some pectin or a lemon/ lemon juice? Strawberries are low in pectin so you'll need to add some to get it to set. |
Ahhh, I did wonder. I can never remember which fruit had little or no pectin. Plenty of lemon juice available.
EV
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Bebo
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If I recall correctly, strawberries don't have much pectin which could be the cause of the problem. I normally add lemon juice to help.
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Minamoo
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Also, when you're boiling jam to get it to set, it needs to be at a rolling boil. A long slow boil is more likely to make a caramelly tasting jam and you may end up losing that fresh strawberry taste. As far as pectin goes, recipes tend to suggest you either use added pectin or lemon juice. If you have any redcurrants lurking in the freezer, add some of those as they are very high in pectin and shouldn't change the flavour of the jam. Or you could always try making your own home made pectin if you've got lots of apples kicking about (crabapples are expecially good for this) by boiling crabapple juice until it turns into a very very thick liquid and storing in little baggies in the freezer to add to low pectin jams. about a teaspoon should do. It will never freeze though as the sugar content is too high so don't bother with ice cube trays, I used those ice cube bags.
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2steps
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Ooo thanks for that Minamoo 
I normally use jam sugar or as I'm not too keen on very sweet jam add a bit of apple or Gooseberries. Strawberry and gooseberry jam is delicious 
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welsh veg grower
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and is it set ?
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earthyvirgo
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| welsh veg grower wrote: | | and is it set ? |
Nope!
Not yet. I'm going to give it another fast boil this morning.
EV
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earthyvirgo
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| earthyvirgo wrote: | | welsh veg grower wrote: | | and is it set ? |
Nope!
Not yet. I'm going to give it another fast boil this morning.
EV |
I now have a 'loose' set and plenty of whole strawbs still visible
EV
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welsh veg grower
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I like jam that drips of the bread its not a problem
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vegplot
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Me too. It also means you can get the last dregs out of the jar more easily.
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sean
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Where does it say that EV's going to share it?
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welsh veg grower
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because I can do a trade for marmalade (grapefruit and lemon)
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vegplot
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| sean wrote: | | Where does it say that EV's going to share it? |
Because she's a generous person.
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