Recipe: Strawberry Jam

1 Wash, drain, dry, then hull the strawberries.

2 Put the strawberries and sugar in a bowl with the juice of a lemon. Mix and cover with a kitchen towel. Let macerate like this for 12 hours.

3 The next day pour the contents of the bowl into a pot. Cook for 10 minutes at a rolling boil, skimming as you go.

4 Then reduce the heat intensity and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often to reduce the fruit to a puree.

5 After this time, check the cooking by dropping a drop of jam on a cold tilted plate: it should set immediately.

6 Put immediately into sterilized and dried jars. Cover by placing on each jar a square of moistened cellophane; stretch it downward and hold it with an elastic band.

You can also seal the jam with a layer of melted paraffin. Store away from light.

Don't worry if the strawberry jam browns as it ages: it's the vitamin C that causes this phenomenon which is actually a sign of quality!

Some jams are difficult to gel, particularly cherry or strawberry jams. You can add apple jelly to help them set more easily (pectin). There is a gelling product available commercially (apple extract in general) that when added to jam allows it to "gel" more quickly.