Ingredients

• 2 pints of fresh strawberries (I prefer local & organic where available), rinsed and hulled
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of sugar, more or less to taste
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

1. Quarter the strawberries or, if they are large, cut them up into smaller slices. Place them in a non-aluminum bowl, add the sugar and lemon juice, and toss them around to distribute everything evenly. Cover and let them rest overnight (or about 12 hours) in the fridge to draw out the berries’ juices. Stir the mixture a couple of times to mix the flavor through.

2. After resting, drain off all the liquid from the strawberries into a large heavy-bottomed pan or wide saucepan. Add half of the strawberries and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently until the juices are thickened somewhat, about 15 minutes. Let rest for at least 10 minutes.

3. At this point, you have a choice. The original recipe recommends transferring the mix so far to a blender. I found that I was able to obtain the consistency I wanted by simply mashing the mixture with a wooden spoon and/or potato masher. Return the mixture to the pan, add the rest of the strawberries, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes more. To test if the jam is ready, drop a heaping teaspoonful onto a plate and slightly tilt the plate. The jam should not run off, but cling and slowly glide down. If the jam isn’t ready, put it back on the heat for a while. It should be a lovely red hue and look quite sticky.

4. Spoon the jam into small jars and refrigerate or spoon into resealable plastic containers and freeze. You need to keep it in the fridge and use it up fairly quickly.

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