Strawberry Thyme Jam

Our love for sauces, flavored oils and spreads are abundantly apparent if you are an avid reader of our blog. If you are new to Allons-Eat! – welcome to Kyle’s ode to condiments. You will see that roughly 10% of our posts are dedicated to condiments and, like a dedicated condiment groupie, nothing satisfies Kyle’s love for them like a good ole savory jam and it’s gift of enhancing and elevating any weeknight meal.

Despite the deep love for these savory takes on this condiment, it was quite a surprise when we realized that a more traditional, sweet jam has never been featured on our blog. That injustice ends today! With spring settling in and, with it, bringing us an abundance of fresh fruit, especially strawberries, this was the perfect time for Kyle to get his sweet jam on.

Ina Garten, being the culinary and domestic genius that she is, provided the perfect starting point for creating a strawberry jam recipe. Of course, some thyme was added to the ingredient list. Who can pass up an opportunity to add a slight herbal note to even a sweet jam? Certainly not us!

Kyle also flip-flopped the ratio of sugar and strawberries. The sugar was decreased from 2 cups to 1 1/2 cups. The strawberries were increased from 1 1/2 pounds to 2 pounds. This helped not make the jam too sweet, with this slight tweak to the recipe it can now highlight the natural sweetness of the fruit. The cooking time was also increased, more than doubled, to get the proper jam consistency.

After the 20 minutes of cooking time that the recipe instructs, the consistency really was more like a strawberry sauce. For the last 10 minutes, Kyle absentmindedly forgot to stir the jam. The strawberry pieces began to caramelize slightly on the bottom of the pot. However, this innocent culinary snafu yielded one of the best batches of sweet jam ever.

Now, Ina included instructions for sterilizing and canning the jams. This is the normal process when nearing the conclusion of a jam making session. In our jam’s case, this was not necessary. The strawberry thyme jam only lasted mere days in the fridge before it was all gone, there was just no need to go to all that trouble this time around.

The jam was just too delicious to last more than a few days!

This batch of jam was meant to share the stage to create bigger and better culinary delights…. wait for it….yes, it is Gluten Free Pop Tarts!

Adapted from Ina Garten.

Strawberry Thyme Jam

 

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Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 7 to 8 sprigs of thyme, bound together with kitchen twine
• 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and halved (quarter larger strawberries)

Instructions

1. Combine the sugar, lemon juice and thyme in a large pot and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Add the strawberries and continue to cook over medium-low heat for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries release some of their juices and the mixture boils slowly. Cook until a small amount of the juice gels on a very cold plate. (I keep one in the freezer.)
3. Remove bundle of thyme sprigs and discard. Carefully pour into 2 pint-sized canning jars and either seal or keep refrigerated. Use immediately, or follow proper canning guidelines below.
4. Ina’s sterilizing/canning tips: To sterilize jars, before filling with jams, pickles, or preserves, wash jars and lids with hot, soapy water. Rinse well and arrange jars and lids open sides up, without touching, on a tray. Leave in a preheated 175 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Or, boil the jars and lids in a large saucepan, covered with water, for 15 minutes. Use tongs when handling the hot sterilized jars, to move them from either boiling water or the oven. Be sure the tongs are sterilized too, by dipping the ends in boiling water for a few minutes. As a rule, hot preserves go into hot jars and cold preserves go into cold jars. All items used in the process of making jams, jellies, and preserves must be clean. This includes any towels used, and especially your hands. After the jars are sterilized, you can preserve the food. It is important to follow any canning and processing instructions included in the recipe and refer to USDA guidelines about the sterilization of canned products.

3.5.3226

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