Thick strawberry jam for the winter: recipes and cooking tips

Jam is a sweet treat, loved by many since childhood. Different and unexpected ingredients can form its basis.However, the most common type of this sweet is berry jam.

It is about him that will be discussed in this article, more precisely, about strawberry jam.

Strawberry is a tasty and healthy berry. It is rich in vitamins, can reduce the temperature during a cold, has a pleasant aroma that can elevate mood and improve well-being.

Strawberry preserves can have a different consistency. Many housewives want to make their delicacy thick. Some believe that a thick product has a brighter taste. Others like that thick jam makes it easier not to stain the tablecloth, because it will not drip from the spoon when the sweet tooth will try to eat it.

To make delicious thick strawberry jam, first of all, of course, we need berries. If you managed to grow the right amount of strawberries on your plot in the garden or in the country, then you can be congratulated. This berry is always the most delicious. But if there are no strawberries from your bed, do not despair. Our tips will help you get good berries on the market or in the store.

Jam will especially please you if:

• berries will be the same size;
• the strawberries are not too large, otherwise the berries may lose their shape, spoil not only the look, but also the consistency;
• the berries are not too small, as very small berries from heat treatment will be hard;
• strawberries will not have any defects (rot, cracks);
• the berries will be moderately ripe (strawberries that overhang will not keep their shape, and the immature berry will not give any taste);
• strawberries will have a specific flavor (this is a quality indicator for berries from store shelves).

So, you found the right berries. Now you need to prepare strawberries. To do this:

• wash the berries well;
• remove sepals;
• put the berries for some time in a container of water (on the strawberries could remain the soil, which is not washed off during washing);
• place the strawberries in a colander to drain water from it.

Not only the berry needs preparation, but also the banks into which you will place a sweet delicacy. They must be well sterilized. Before you sterilize glass containers, they need to be thoroughly washed with soda.

Banks are sterilized over steam. It is necessary to collect enough water in the pan, let it boil. Now, above the boiling pot, you need to carefully place the jar. For this, it is convenient to use a special stand with a hole for the neck of the can. If there is no such device, you can simply use the grill from the oven.

Banks located upside down are thus sterilized for about 10-15 minutes, until the droplets formed on their walls begin to drain. Another way to sterilize cans is to sterilize them in the oven. Banks are placed in a cold oven, which is then turned on at 150-170 degrees. Sterilization lasts 10-15 minutes.

Covers also need heat treatment. If you use screw caps, you can put them in the oven. Covers with rubber bands will have to boil.

There are a huge number of recipes telling how to make thick strawberry jam. Some of them are familiar to our grandmothers, and some recommend the use of modern technology. Thick strawberry jam can be prepared in different ways.

To make jam according to this recipe, you need to take 3 kg of strawberries, 1.5 kg of sugar.

Mix the berries with sugar, leave them for a few hours, then drain the juice, but not all. Let some juice remain on the bottom. Add another pound of sugar, let stand for another 2 hours. After we put the dishes with the berries on the fire, bring to a boil. Make the fire quieter, remove the foam, boil on low heat for an hour, and then lay out the resulting sweetness in sterilized jars.

This recipe is considered more useful, because the process of heat treatment is minimal. Thus, it turns out jam with whole berries, perfectly preserved its shape and almost all the healing substances.

We will need sugar and strawberries in equal quantities, a pinch of citric acid.

We combine the components of the future delicacies, leave until the juice stands out, then put on the fire, bringing to a boil.

Remove the mass from the fire, cover with a clean kitchen towel or other cloth, let cool.

At the end of this time, we put the jam on the fire, cook for 5 minutes, let it cool again. We repeat these processes at least three times (preferably up to 5). The more times the process of boiling and cooling will be repeated, the more dense the texture will be jam.

After all these steps, pour in citric acid. It will improve the color of the treat and will become an auxiliary preservative.

For the preparation of delicacies for this recipe, we should take 2 kg of strawberries, 1.2 kg of sugar, 20 g of lemon juice.

First, it is advisable to dry the washed berries on a towel. Then put the strawberries in a bowl, which will prepare a sweet dish, we fall asleep with sugar and leave for the night.

Starting the cooking process, transfer the berry to another container, and boil the syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved in the juice.

Now add the fire, after 5-7 minutes after boiling, remove the froth, add the strawberries. Without reducing the heat, gently stirring the berries in the syrup, let the jam boil again, and then remove from the heat.

Repeat the process of boiling and boiling another 2-3 times. That stage, which will be the last, will create the necessary density for your creation. Just before this stage you need to pour 20 g of lemon juice into jam. This is done to prevent mold and sugaring.

In the final cooking, you need to boil the strawberry delicacy for another 15-20 minutes, after which you can check its thickness by dropping a small drop on the plate.

Hot creation distributed by sterilized banks.

Delicious thick strawberry delicacy can be prepared using gelatin. The treat according to this recipe is done pretty soon, and stored for a long time even at room temperature.

Take a pound of strawberries, 300 g of sugar, 10 g of gelatin. You can use a little mint for a brighter taste, but it is up to you.

Sprinkle sugar over the berry. If you decide to use peppermint, add it to the berries. Let the berries stand with sugar for several hours, then put on a small fire. Cook, removing the foam, 10 min. Remove the mint twigs. Then you need to pour pre-cooked gelatin, stirring the jam.

How to make gelatin is indicated on its packaging. Just do not forget to do it in advance. Cook the treat for another 5-10 minutes, and then wait for it to cool completely. It will thicken very quickly and become ready to eat.

The taste of jam can be varied by combining berries with any fruit, for example, with a banana.

Take 1 kg of strawberries, 2 bananas and 800 g of sugar. Fill strawberries with sugar, let the night stand.In the morning we put the container with the berries on the fire, the cooking process continues until the sugar is completely dissolved in the strawberry juice.

Dice peeled bananas, add to boiled strawberries. Cook for another 15 minutes. Now remove the jam from the heat, let it stand for 3-4 hours.

This way is especially loved by housewives for their speed in cooking and the opportunity not to lose vitamins in the berries.

Fill 1 kg of sugar with a glass of water (100 ml), mix well. Part of the sugar should be dissolved in water. Now put the dishes with sugar and water on the fire, constantly stirring the sweet mixture. Care must be taken to ensure that sugar does not burn and does not clump. The mixture will begin to turn into a syrup when it begins to boil.

After boiling add strawberries and gently mix the contents, without damaging the berries. Be extremely careful. Berries easily crumpled. In order not to spoil the shape of the strawberry, take a towel, grasp a hot saucepan with it and, gently shaking the berries, immerse them in sugar syrup.

Now bring the jam to a boil, and after 5 minutes, remove from heat. Treats can be immediately decomposed into banks.

This recipe encourages hostesses to use modern technology. Now many people prefer to use the slow cooker in the process of making jam, because this method minimizes the cost of your time and effort. No need to stand at the stove, stirring delicacy.

We need sugar in the amount of 1 kg, the same amount of strawberries, and another 20 g of thickener.

Strawberries with sugar are placed in a multicooker bowl, we wait for the juice to stand out, and then we expose the “Quenching” function on the device for 1 hour. Two to three minutes before the cooking time expires, add a thickener, mix the products.

In order to cook delicious thick strawberry jam, it is not enough just to choose a recipe and a suitable berry. There are still some recommendations, the implementation of which will help to make your delicacy close to perfection.

• Do not leave berries prepared for jam for a long time. Strawberries quickly lose their flavor and beneficial properties. Jam made from long-lying berries will spoil very quickly.
• If you use berries from your bed, pick strawberries only in dry weather. Then they will keep their shape for a long time. Strawberries harvested after rain will lose their shape during heat treatment.
• To cook thick strawberry jam, you need to use a wide capacious dishes, which is a large container made from non-oxidizable material. It is the spacious evaporation area that helps to create a thick consistency. Our grandmothers used Tazas of copper and brass for these purposes, which not only did not oxidize, but also disinfect the product.

• The density of jam is dependent on sugar. The more sweet the ingredient, the thicker you get a treat.
• If you want to enjoy not only the taste and thick texture, but also to receive benefits for the body, then do not choose recipes that talk about too long cooking berries. After a long heat treatment, the jam is really thick, but there are no more vitamins in the berries.
• If you diversify the jam with any spices, you get an interesting original taste.

Properly cooked strawberry jam for the winter is not difficult, given our recommendations and step-by-step recipe.

Now you know many ways to make thick strawberry jam, you have many tricks to achieve a great result. Try, experiment, delighting yourself and your loved ones with sweet delicacy.

An interesting way to make strawberry jam is shown in the following video.