Strawberry Cinnamon Jam
Strawberry Cinnamon Jam
Making homemade jam isn't nearly as intimidating as one might imagine. Our take on strawberry jam, sweetened with syrup, not sugar, is a fab accompaniment to your morning toast, a PB&J sammie, or my favorite - a block of fresh, creamy cheese!
Ingredients
- 1 quart of organic strawberries, hulled
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 TBSP water
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Directions
- Step 1 Roughly chop strawberries in a food processor (or by hand), then place them in a sauce pan with maple syrup, water and lemon juice.
- Step 2 Whisk over low heat until incorporated, then increase heat to medium high and bring mixture to a rolling boil. Continue to boil, allowing jam to thicken for about 10 minutes. Use a masher if necessary to get desire consistency. Ours boiled down just to the texture we wanted.
- Step 3 Stir in cinnamon and then test for sweetness. Add more maple syrup if you think it needs it.
- Step 4 Transfer jam to a glass jar and let cool to room temperature before serving.
This week was a foray into condiments for me, as we took full advantage of strawberry season to make a Strawberry BBQ sauce, a Strawberry Syrup (for ice cream sundaes!) and last but not least, this delicious Strawberry Cinnamon Jam, ALL FROM SCRATCH! On a related note, I also made a Rhubarb Salsa to serve with my new Yuzu Glazed Flounder recipe so stay tuned for that too.
We scored a delicious round of Camembert from the Chaseholm Farms stand at the local Pleasantville Farmer’s Market (which we frequent on summer weekends!), so I actually dreamed up this jam as an accompaniment. We love pairing strong flavorful cheeses (like Camemberts, blues and goat cheeses) with jams and honeys for contrast, and I just couldn’t resist using our fresh juicy strawberries – they were just screaming my name!
The only trick part of boiling down the berries to a jam is to get the right proportion of sweetness. Depending on the ripeness of the strawberries, the jam can be quite tart (in which case you probably want to add more syrup), but it’s a very delicate balance. I would recommend tasting as you go to adjust the sweetness to your liking. Many other recipes I found used granulated sugar instead of syrup, but I think that the syrup lends itself to a much purer, more robust flavor.
It was the perfect summer night to enjoy this cheese plate al fresco, so we sat on our patio with our cheese, fresh baguette, and our mock/cocktails – it felt so French! You might not believe it, but that full round of cheese disappeared between the two of us. I only made enough jam to pair with the cheese, so that too disappeared, but next time around I’m definitely making the full recipe. I never full appreciated the art of making my own homemade jam, but now that I’ve tried it, I can one hundred percent say it was worth the extra effort! We hope you’ll agree.
