Two recipes for strawberry jam and a bunch of memories

Spring.
Blue skies and clouds that look like whipped cream.
Blooming meadows, the buzzing of bees, and jars to fill with strawberry jam.

At the beginning of the Spring, I start to find the first strawberries at the market.
But only tardive strawberry is the best produce for fragrant homemade jam jars.
Indeed early produce is more expensive, less tasty, and naturally rich in sugar.
I love to make strawberry jam with tardive produce, sweeter and cheaper.

It’s time for strawberry jam.

I fill jam jars with fruit and memories.
Of merende especially. Grandma often made bread and jam.
Her voice used to call for merenda. Remember me running. Sometimes I begrudgingly leave my games, but merenda was the merenda.

I see again around the table hungry cousins, pushes, and smiles.
With my friends, we already look a little ladylike. But it is only appearance. We were kids and would remain so for a long time. There was a time when childhood lasted longer.
Or does it look like me?

I love to share the genuine and sincere flavors of those jam jars where the fruit kept its aroma and character intact. It seems to me to share even some of the love I felt in my childhood snacks.

I’m going to leave you not one but TWO recipes for making strawberry jam.

But before I add a note on the Italian jams and marmalade.

Jam, marmelade, jelly and conserve.

In Italy, jam is a thick mixture of fruit, lemon juice, and sugar boiled gently until the fruit is soft and it forms a blob and, sometimes, with little chunks of fruit inside. In addition to being a spread, jams are also good for fillings. Preserves are spreads that have chunks of fruit. That is what Italians call jam.

Marmalade is a citrus spread made from the peel and pulp of the fruit.

Jelly is sugar and fruit, but it is firm enough to hold its shape. You can make jellies using ingredients other than fruit, such as herbs, tea, wine, liqueurs, flowers, and vegetables. In Italy, with jelly, we make super sweet and soft candies.

In the end, conserves. Always in Italy, they are usually made with vegetables.
For instance, passata di pomodoro (tomato purée) is a conserve.

My family strawberry jam recipes.

I remember two different preparations.
The first is quite juicy and full of fruit pieces.
The second is more traditional, smooth, and thick.

Both are good, although my all-time favorite is the first one.
This jam is perfect for spreading on bread. But you can eat or use it with yogurt, to decorate a dessert, or make a tart.

When Grandma Sara made strawberries with cream, she would mix a few spoonfuls of this jam with fresh fruit.

Choose the one you like best or try both.

Buona cucina, Monica

Cook with me

Merenda is a recurring topic on this blog. It brings back so many memories and all of them good ones. I talk about it (also) in the recipe for cocoa cookies with chestnut flour (HERE).

Here find my mini guide dedicated to the perfect homemade preserves.

I have collected my recipes for Jams, Jams, and Chutneys here.

Stay in the know!

Food tip.

In general, but especially with strawberries, use organic fruit.

Strawberry jam recipe with fruit pieces

for some jars
List of Ingredients

organic strawberries, 1 kg
lemon, juice of 1 lemon
brown sugar, 250 g
1 grated apple
natural vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon

Directions

Remove the green part of the strawberries, and wash and dry the fruit.

Cut into pieces and if the strawberries are small, cut in half or leave some whole.

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and stir.

Bring to a boil, immediately lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes.

Using a slotted ladle, scoop out the fruit and place it in a high-sided bowl.

Strain the juice over a medium flame but small stove for the necessary time. It depends on how much water your strawberries will have; it probably needs 30-40 minutes of cooking.
And as you do, add the juice released from the strawberries to the bowl.

The hot liquid will be thick but fluid. Once cooled, it will be just thick.

Put in jars, close with lid, turn upside down to make the vacuum.
Leave the jars upside down until the fruit is cooled.

Or let the fruit cool, fill the jars, and then boil.
I have indicated the boiling times for the jar’s size here.

Traditional Strawberry Jam recipe

Ingredients

organic strawberries, 1 kg
lemon, 1 lemon juice
brown sugar, 400 g
2 small apples
natural vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon

Directions

Remove the green part and clean the strawberries

Peel the apples and cut them into small pieces.

Put all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook on a medium-low flame for about 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat, puree the fruit with an immersion food processor. Then cook for another 30 minutes, or until it has the consistency you like. Always on a low flame.

Put into jars, close, turn upside down to make the vacuum. Leave the jars upside down until the fruit is cooled.