Summer Fruits

Since I was a little girl, one of the first signs of summer that would always excite me is seeing summer fruit for sale. Watermelon, peaches, plums, berries, and cherries! Because I grew up on the East coast where there are four distinct seasons (that I miss very much), our produce was also seasonal. One of my favorite childhood memories is our summer day trips to the berry farms to pick our own raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. We would pick pounds and pounds of berries and it was so much fun!

Recently, we had a large amount of strawberries that had become slightly bruised and too ripe. Rather than throw them away, I thought that this batch of ripened red berries would make a delicious jam that could accompany our bread and butter for weeks. After all, why waste and when you can reinvent?

Typically, I only post recipes that I LOVE. Although I would have changed a few things (I have already amended the recipe below based on my desired changes) this recipe is so simple I had to share it. Adding to my excitement is that this was my first attempt at making jam. I very much look forward to trying this again with other varieties of fruit and replacing my store bought preserves with homemade jars.

Strawberry Jam

1 cup sugar
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 cups fresh, ripe strawberries, hulled and quartered

Combine the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the strawberries and continue to cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, until the strawberries release some of their juices and the mixture boils slowly. Cook until a small amount of the juice gels on a very cold plate (keep plate in freezer for testing). Pour into clean glass jar of your choice and keep refrigerated.