Trail Strawberry Jam
Freeze-dried strawberries, honey, and gelatin rehydrated into a spread that holds on a tortilla.
- calories
- 210
- weight
- 2 oz
- cal / oz
- 105
- protein
- 4 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 3 min
- total time
- 6 min
- water
- 90 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Snack
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried strawberries | 1 cup | crushed to coarse crumbs, not powder |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 2 tbsp | squeeze packets or a small screw-top bottle |
| Unflavored gelatin | 1 tsp | |
| Dried lemon peel | 1/2 tsp | stands in for fresh zest |
| Citric acid or lemon juice powder | 1/4 tsp | |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Boil 90 ml of water. Take it off the heat and let it stop rolling.
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the hot water in your mug and stir until no grains are left on the bottom.
- Stir in the honey, lemon peel, citric acid, and salt.
- Add the crushed strawberries. Stir hard. The fruit drinks the water and thickens within a minute.
- Let it sit ten minutes to set up. It will be loose and warm, closer to a compote than a jar of jam.
- Eat it the same day. There is no fridge out here and no preservative in it.
The original is a freezer jam, which assumes a freezer. Out here nothing keeps, so this is built as a single-day batch: dehydrated fruit rehydrated into a spread and eaten before it can spoil. Freeze-dried strawberries carry almost no weight and rehydrate fast, and because they absorb most of the water you add, they do half the thickening on their own.
Gelatin does the rest. A teaspoon in 90 ml is enough to give body without turning the mug into jello. Dried lemon peel and citric acid replace the fresh lemon, which was there for tartness and pectin rather than lemon flavor. Honey covers sweetness and keeps the spread from tasting flat. Spread it on tortillas, stir it into oats, or eat it off the spoon.
Packing
Crush the strawberries at home and bag them with the gelatin, lemon peel, citric acid, and salt. Honey rides in its own packet. Mixing and eating in a freezer bag saves washing the pot.
Variations
- Skip the gelatin and use 1 tsp of chia instead. It sets colder and slower but is vegan.
- Freeze-dried raspberries or blueberries work the same way. Raspberries need a little more honey.
- Cold-soak it in a jar for an hour if you would rather not run the stove.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/no-cook-freezer-strawberry-jam