Strawberry Jam, No Preservatives
Berries and sugar cooked down until they set on their own. Two ingredients, one pot, no pectin.
- calories
- 210
- weight
- 3 oz
- cal / oz
- 70
- protein
- 0 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 60 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Campfire coals
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Fresh strawberries | 2 lb | hulled; slightly underripe berries set better |
|---|---|---|
| Granulated sugar | 3 cups | about 700 g, roughly 3/4 the weight of the fruit |
| Lemon | 1 | juice only; keeps the color and helps the set |
Method
- Hull the berries and layer them in the pot with the sugar. Leave it an hour if you have one. The sugar pulls out enough juice that nothing sticks when you light the stove.
- Bring it to a boil over a moderate flame. On a campfire, work off coals raked to one side, not over open flame.
- Skim the pink foam off the top with a spoon and throw it out. It is air, and it makes the jam cloudy.
- Keep it at a steady low boil, stirring often as it thickens. Forty minutes or so. The bubbles get slower and wider near the end.
- Test it: put a spoonful on a cold plate or a rock in the shade. If it wrinkles when you push it, stop cooking.
- Stir in the lemon juice off the heat. Jar it hot, lid it, and turn the jars upside down until cool.
There is nothing in this but fruit, sugar, and time. Sugar at roughly three quarters the weight of the berries is what makes it keep — it ties up the water so nothing grows in the jar. That is the whole preservation system, which is why cutting the sugar hard also cuts the shelf life.
Strawberries are low in pectin, so the set comes from boiling water off rather than from a packet. That takes patience and a wide pot. The cold-plate test is the only honest way to know when you are done; the clock is a guess. Once opened, a jar lives in the cooler.
Packing
This is a camp-kitchen project, not a pack-it-in recipe. Carry the sugar premeasured in a bag and the berries in the cooler top. Bring clean jars with lids and a wide pot; a narrow one boils over.
Variations
- Half a vanilla bean split into the pot in the last ten minutes.
- Cut the sugar to 2 1/2 cups if you plan to eat it within the week. Less sugar, shorter shelf life.
- Cook it ten minutes past the wrinkle point and you have a thick paste that keeps unrefrigerated longer.
https://savoriurbane.com/dulceata-de-capsuni-fara-conservant