Name: Last-Minute Strawberry Jam
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: about 3/4 to 1 cup
Ingredients: 2 cups (about 300 g) fresh strawberries, hulled; 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice

This quick jam from the KitchenSimplicity archive skips everything that makes jam-making a project. There are no big flats of fruit, no pectin and no canner: a couple of cups of strawberries are pureed, cooked hard in a wide skillet with a little sugar and lemon juice, and reduced to a thick, spreadable jam in about ten minutes.

With only a small amount of sugar, the flavor stays bright and close to fresh berries. It makes roughly a cup, the right size for a week or so of toast, yogurt or pancakes, and it is a good way to use up a carton of ripe strawberries before they turn. It is meant for the refrigerator or freezer, not the pantry.

Tips

Keep the jam in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, or freeze it, with 1/2 inch of headspace, for up to 6 months.
Without added pectin it will not gel like a classic boxed-pectin jam, but it firms up to a thick, spreadable texture once chilled.
A wide skillet gives the berries more surface area, so the liquid evaporates fast and the fresh flavor is preserved. The recipe doubles easily; allow a few extra minutes of boiling.
Frozen strawberries work too; thaw them first and include their juice.

Last-Minute Strawberry Jam

Prep

5 min

Cook

12 min

Total

50 min

Yield

about 3/4 to 1 cup

Ingredients

2 cups (about 300 g) fresh strawberries, hulled
1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice

Steps

Put a small plate in the freezer for testing the jam.
Pulse the strawberries in a food processor or blender until they are as smooth or as chunky as you like.
Scrape the berries into a wide nonstick skillet and stir in the sugar and lemon juice.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Keep it at a brisk boil, stirring frequently and more constantly toward the end, until it has reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes.
Test the jam by dropping a little onto the cold plate: after a minute it should hold its shape and not run when you tilt the plate. If it is still thin, boil for another minute or two and test again.
Spoon the hot jam into a clean jar or container and let it cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before covering it and putting it in the refrigerator.