Strawberry Jam With Kiwi
- 3 pounds ripe fresh strawberries
- 1 kiwi
- 3 cups sugar
- Juice of one lemon
- 4 sprigs of mint, preferably peppermint
- 1 vanilla bean, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter
- Wash, dry, hull and stem berries, then dice into 1/2-inch pieces, about 8 cups.
- Peel and dice the kiwi into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Stir together the berries, kiwi, sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl.
- Add the mint, and split and add the vanilla bean, if using.
- Cover and leave out to macerate for 2 hours, or refrigerate up to 1 day, until ready to cook.
- To process the jam for longer shelf life, begin by sterilizing the jars.
- (If you want to skip canning, the jam keeps in the refrigerator for up to a month; jump to Step 7.)
- Place a round rack or a folded kitchen towel in a large pot, fill with water and bring to a boil.
- Add 5 half-pint canning jars and boil for 10 minutes.
- Jars may be left in the warm water until ready to be filled.
- (Alternatively, sterilize jars by running them through a dishwasher cycle.)
- Place canning rings in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil.
- Turn off heat and add lids to soften gaskets.
- Rings and lids may be left in water until jars are filled.
- In a large, heavy, nonreactive pot, add the berry mixture.
- Clip on a candy thermometer.
- Bring to medium-high, stir often as mixture comes to a boil.
- When it reaches a hard boil, stir relentlessly.
- Cook on medium-high heat, being careful to keep stirring to avoid sticking and burning as the mixture thickens.
- Adjust heat as needed if the jam begins to spit, without losing the boil.
- Continue to stir.
- The mixture will be very foamy.
- After 30 to 40 minutes, the jam will reach 210 degrees; the jam will be thick and the foam on the surface will begin to dissipate, showing clear preserves below.
- Add the butter and stir well; most of the foam will break up.
- Scoop off any remaining foam with a clean spoon.
- Turn off heat and discard the mint.
- The vanilla bean may be reused.
- If youre making refrigerator jam, the preserves are ready and can be stored in a jar.
- If you are processing the jam in sealed jars to keep up to a year in the pantry, carefully ladle the hot preserves into warm jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space.
- Run a plastic knife gently around inside of jar to remove any air bubbles.
- Recheck head space.
- Wipe jar rims clean with a damp towel.
- Place lids on jars, screw on rings and lower jars back into pot of boiling water.
- Return to full boil and boil jars for 10 minutes.
- Transfer jars to a folded towel and let cool for 12 hours; you should hear them ping as they seal.
- Once cool, test seals by removing rings and lifting jars by their flat lids.
- If the lid releases, the seal has not formed.
- Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within a month, or reprocessed.
- (Rings and jars may be reused, but a new flat lid must be used each time jars are processed.)
- To reprocess, reheat syrup to boiling then continue as before.
fresh strawberries, kiwi, sugar, lemon, mint, vanilla bean, unsalted butter
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014783 (may not work)