Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Strawberry Lime Jam ( Tutorial Tuesday stand in)



Strawberry Lime Jam
(I totally went 100% organic on this one and used no pectin as well...
it worked astonishingly well!)

4 baskets ripe strawberries-cleaned and cut up
4 cups sugar
1/3 cup lime juice
zest of one lime
1 tbsp butter

Sterilize your jars and keep hot in boiling water in your canning pot or time your dishwasher to end just before the canning part. I have to start mine about 15 minutes earlier than I start my stove. Heat your rings and lids in a pot of water and put 2 small plates in the freezer.

Place the berries in a big pot and mash them up with a potato masher or slotted spoon. Pour in all the sugar and stir. Put on medium high heat, add lime juice and zest and stir until all the sugar is dissolved . Stir often, and watch for any signs of burning. As the mixture begins to really boil put in the butter. This is optional, but it cuts out the foam, which I really like. Let boil (stirring quite often, or constantly if you are a worry wart, like me.) If you have a good thermometer, you want the jam to get to 220 degrees, but you also can check to see if it leaves a thick coating on a metal spoon when dipped in.

When it seems like it might be ready, do the plate test: take a cold plate from your freezer and dribble some juice, letting it sun down the plate. Count to 5 and then draw a line with your finger through the line of juice keeping the plate tipped up. If the lines don't reconnect, you are ready to can.
Fill a clean sterilized jar with jam, leaving a 1/4 inch gap at the top. Be sure to wipe the rim and place a lid and ring on and finger tighten the lid. Fill all your jars and then put in boiling water in the canning pot for 5 minutes. Remove with tongs and check for seal. If they don't seal quickly (1-3 minutes.. ) double check that the ring is tight and the turn upside down. Turn over after 10 minutes. If it still doesn't seal, refrigerate, and eat that one first!

Here are some more beautiful "artichokes in bloom" pics.
( click to enlarge.. it's worth it.)

I really can't imagine why all this deliciousness was allowed to turn into all this beauty, but I sure am glad I got to see it! (almost as glad as if I had gotten to eat it!)

The etsy update is coming, with lace necklaces, utili-obis, and sign language sampler kits but it has been delayed by a combination of a power outage, internets failing, and photography class homework. The Bitter Betty Industries prognosticators are guessing sometime between tomorrow night and Friday... Stay tuned to this blog for further info!

25 comments:

goosefairy said...

oh yummmmm. i have never canned anything before but this may just tip me over the edge. that sounds delicious!

also, i never new artichokes bloomed! they're gorgeous. i love that purple thistle-like center. :)

Amy said...

thank you for the recipe!

Simply Organized 4 Life & Koaching by Kimberly said...

Oh, dear Lord, I can't believe all of those delectable artichokes went to seed, but you're right, they are beautiful. I would much rather eat them though. When I was growing up a neighbor of ours used to grow a few plants (25) in his yard because they were "pretty". He never ate them and he wouldn't let anyone in the neighborhood eat them. It used to crush our artichoke-loving family of five. LOL. Beautiful pictures.
Creatively,
Kimberly
www.kimberleekreations.blogspot.com/
p.s. The Jame looks STupendously good. Wish I knew how to can

Natasha said...

The jam looks lovely, I scorched the heck out of a batch i made yesterday and am still bitter (so is my pot). I may have to try your recipe though as soon as I get over it.

I have never seen an artichoke except in the store-WOW they are beautiful and they grow in what looks to be so barren of a place. The earth all dry and cracked yet it can spit out all that beauty:::oh Mother Nature you are amazing!!

Lisa B (Moon) said...

mmmmmm artichokes.....

how do you cook yours?
I steam mine with an oster steamser machine-ey thingy mcbob.
;0)
I cut them in half, lemon them and olive oil them, steam them then serve drizzled with a 3/4 butter- 1/4 olive oil- minced garlic mixture...spinkle with sea salt and dig in! heaven!

mamafitz said...

that jam looks great. can you give a cup measurement for the strawberries? we pick by the pound, and so i'll come home with 20# in a big box.

also, is it fresh lime juice or is bottled ok?

we're going picking on tuesday, and i'll put up bunches of strawberry and peach-strawberry jam. this would be nice to add to the variety. ^_^

Sonya said...

That looks delicious! I need to get over my fear of canning. The lime makes it exotic.

Dot said...

yeah, i have a fear of canning too... my grandmother used to make us all kinds of faboo jams and jellies... have you ever made fig preserves? that was her speciality!

anyway, fyi i linked to your post here: http://www.dabbled.org/2008/06/inspirations.html

Thanks for the inspiration!

dot

Kai said...

Sigh ... I don't even LIKE strawberries (I'm a cherry freak!) but you make me want some of that jam! It looks super GOOOOOD! I used to can ALL the time when we had a garden. It's been awhile. And I never saw artichokes in bloom (just on my plate - heehee)so it was a surprise to see such a gorgeous FIELD of them! THANK YOU foR the photo AND the recipe!

Anonymous said...

mmm yummy I love lime!!

Anonymous said...

I been seeing strawberry jam recipes on blogs all month...and as much as I wanted to make some...I got a bit intmidated (pectin or not, rhubarb added or not...and on and on) so, when I saw this recipe I knew it was a winner. I'm going to make some next Saturday after Farmer's market!

Strawberry Lime...what could be better!

Teena Vallerine said...

this sounds wonderful but the strawberry harvest here is poop with all the rain! I am off tomorrow in search of strawberries as I have got to try this jam!! thank-you for the tutorial! t.x

Lorraine said...

Just had to check out a blog called Bitter Betty....LOL....great recipe...and enjoyed reading earlier posts....loved "how to stand"...what a hoot!!

val of the south said...

I made the jam last night (okay, it was really early this morning!) and YUM! It was a hit with the whole family.

My husband can't wait to try it on vanilla ice cream tonight!!

Thanks for sharing - I would never have put those together - but what a great combo!

Neus said...

Thanks for the recipe. It was my first foray in jam making and it turned out delicious.

cindylou said...

Wow! i have never seen artichokes like that, I guess I never gave them much thought. Next time I see one I will remember how beautiful they are in bloom. the Jam sounds great, I might give it a try.

Mary-Laure said...

I love making jam during the summer. And this one looks soooooooo yummy!

Nancy at ManicForMosaics said...

I guess I should've had lunch before I checked out your blog cuz when that picture of the jam & bread popped up I started to SALIVATE! Yummy!

I'm not an artichoke eater so I never thought about how they looked when they were growing but they are beautiful. The colors are glorious and I never realized it. Thanks for sharing the pix.

Lindy has moved on but will live in my heart (& blog) forever!

Wendy said...

I absolutely love the artichoke field!!! So amazing. I shared it with some family and friends too. I love your blog and all that you post.
Wendy

brittany said...

i have been wanting to try canning all summer, and this just might be the recipe that gets em to finally do it. i, too, would like to know approx. how many cups of strawberries to use, and also, about how many jars, as i will have to go buy some jars for my first canning adventure. thanks!

Anonymous said...

Me again...I'm usually OK with just winging recipes, but jam is new to me...is it about 4 pint baskets or quarts? Thanks...I made some with pectin, but want to try it without.

Anonymous said...

I just made this jam - and it is so good! I tried it while cooking and it tasted a little too "limey" but after it finished it was just right - lots of strawberry sweet and just a little tang!
Thank you so much for the recipe!

Unknown said...

The last time I attempted jam it was ok.. but it wasn't something I would want to make again, until I tried your recipe! It drew my attention because I absolutely love Strawberry and Lime Cider, and I am so glad I tried it!

This is easily the best jam I've ever had, and the household loved it too! Thank you so much for this

Anonymous said...

Wow! Where do you live that you can grow artichokes? I'm going to try your Strawberry Lime Jam w/o pectin because strawberries are so cheap-$2.00 a basket for organic ones. We recently remodeled our home and I added a warming drawer and steam oven to my kitchen. So I don't have to boil anything. I just put the jars & lids into the steam oven and put it on "cleanse" while I make my jam and use it to seal the jars as well. It's so easy. I made rhubarb jam.
Rosemary

Anonymous said...

I tried making your jam yesterday but had some "issues." First I used 4 baskets, 16 oz each, of strawberries. I followed your directions, but cooked it for at least an hour or more. It never reached 220 degrees. It was so "soupy" that I had to add pectin before it would jell. Lastly, it only made 7-8 oz jars. Is that what you got when you made it?
Rosemary

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