strawberry jam



Many of my childhood memories of my grandparents center around breakfast; sitting in a high-backed wooden chair with my feet dangling above the ground,my grandfather puttering around the kitchen cutting fresh fruit and toasting sourdough to perfection, my grandmother sitting and eating with us. Fresh jam and real butter and all wrapped up in family. Not to mention the promised excitement of the tide pools later.

Since switching to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I have missed jam. I am well aware that it is very easy to make jam SCD compliant and that it is my own fault that I haven't ever gotten around to doing it. At various times I have used the excuse of not having enough fruit, at others it's because I don't have the time.

Well, neither of those are true right now and my grandmother took advantage of that and made us some glorious strawberry jam. The lemon juice in it gives it the perfect zing and keeps the berries from being too sweet.

We first ate some with the toasted no-fall bread. As soon as we tasted it, we were over the moon. Neither of us have gotten to eat jam or toast for over a year now and the joy of both at once was delightful.

HONEY-SWEETENED STRAWBERRY JAM

Grandma's

Makes 1-2 cups

2 lbs (6 1/2 c smashed) rinsed, dried, and hulled sweet strawberries

3 T honey

1/2 t butter

3 t lime/lemon zest

1/4 c freshly squeezed lime/lemon juice

Place in a 2 1/2-3 quart ceramic/glass dish.

Allow to stand until juices form, about 30 minutes.

MICROWAVE

Cook uncovered on high power until it starts to boil (about 6-8 minutes).

Stir and continue cooking, stirring every 2-3 minutes until it has cooked a total of about 15 minutes.

Spoon out 1 T into a cup and cool in the freezer 5-7 minutes or in the fridge 15 minutes.

Test consistency.

If you would like it thicker, reheat jam to boiling, boil 2 minutes, then test consistency again.

STOVE TOP

Place in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Stir it as it boils until it has been cooking 15 minutes altogether.

Spoon out 1 T into a cup and cool in the freezer 5-7 minutes or in the fridge 15 minutes.

Test consistency.

If you would like it thicker, reheat jam to boiling, boil 2 minutes, then test consistency again.