🍓Strawberry Maple Jam

a small batch recipe {makes one pint}

The unofficial start of summer arrived when I noticed the hand painted sign with strawberries scribbled on it at Davenport’s farmstand on Hurley Mountain Road a few days ago. I almost jammed down on the brakes to make a u-turn but past years have taught me that the first strawberries of the season are always the most expensive and not necessarily the sweetest. Combined with the fact that I had no cash on me, I decided to continue on my way into Kingston for an errand. 

One big surprise when I moved up here 10 years ago is just how expensive local produce costs. In many cases it’s more than when I shopped at the farmers’ markets in New York City. A bit mind boggling since I’m so much closer to the source. Farming is hard work, though, and there’s a good argument to be made that the small scale farm model is not an effective or efficient way to feed the majority of people, at least not in a fair and financially equitable manner for both the farmers and consumers.

Another reason I was able to keep driving after seeing that strawberry sign at Davenport was knowing I had a quart sitting in the fridge. It was far from local, unless you count me buying it from the Hannaford’s in Kingston. As one might suspect, the strawberries were just okay but I had a plan for them: homemade jam.

I’m not new to jam making as anyone who’s followed me for any length of time knows. Come September, my basement is usually stocked with a few dozen jars of homemade strawberry, apricot, blueberry, and cherry jams. I make a combination of pure fruit jams and infusions, with flavors like apricot vanilla, strawberry rosemary, orange passion fruit marmalade, and every berry.

Back when I first started jamming 14 years ago, I used natural pectin to avoid using copious amounts of sugar. As the years progressed, I switched to a more traditional all-sugar method, adding in a thick lemon peel for an extra pectin boost (the white pith is rich in pectin). My general rule of thumb is a 2:1 ratio, with 2 parts fruit to 1 part sugar.

I’ve played around with natural sweeteners while still relying on just the lemon peel for added pectin because I don’t like the cloudy nature of jam made with powdered pectin. It sets up looser, more akin to a French-style jam. I love this runny texture. You can slather it on toast, swirl some into yogurt or even stir it into seltzer for a homemade soda. The strawberry, honey & rosemary jam in this strawberry e-cookbook is a favorite.

I decided to branch out from honey this week, and use maple syrup. Balance would be key here since maple is a very distinct flavor and runnier than honey, so I compromised, and decided to use half maple syrup and half granulated natural sugar, a slightly less refined option, to ensure the maple wouldn’t overpower the flavor of the strawberries, and also to make sure it would set properly. The result is a wonderfully runny jam filled with plump strawberries. 

I’m looking forward to enjoying some with a homemade gluten-free boule if I can make that happen this weekend amidst my plans to  move Bella out of college for the summer. Hope the week has been a gentle one. Happy June 1st! –xo, j.

The recipe related to this post is available for paid subscribers only. Join hundreds of other subscribers now for only $5/month or $30/year (that’s six months free!). Specialty  e-cookbooks are an additional benefit of paid membership at no extra cost.