Strawberry Balsamic Jam
Whoa. I just need life to slow down right now. My hubby has been home nursing a back injury for a few weeks and all my kids have been home being actively involved in summer activities like swimming lessons, building forts in the woods, and prepping for the county fair. I’ve also decided to participate in our local farmer’s market selling fresh made artisanal mustards, sauces, and jams this year so it’s been a madhouse around here making all sorts of goodies. This week will be the first market here and runs through September so I should be plenty busy the rest of the summer as well. This strawberry balsamic jam is one of the many awesome jams I’ll be selling at the market next week!
Strawberry balsamic jam is a perfect blend of sweet meets tart and tangy in the form of an aged balsamic vinegar. It’s like an upscale dessert in a jar that you can smear on toast, bagels, crackers, you name it! It’s super awesome warmed up and drizzled on this homemade dairy free ice cream. Traditional jam recipes usually contain a LOT of sugar but I’ve recently discovered a citrus based pectin that sets with calcium rather than sugar. This allows you to use much less sugar or to substitute honey, xlitol or even use no sweetener at all! With most other pectins using the low sugar recipe, I’d often end up with a softer set jam or it wouldn’t set up at all which is always disappointing so I’ve switched completely to the Pomona’s Universal Pectin because of this and I’ve had NO set failures yet. I use this pectin now exclusively in my jams because I do believe that having less sugar in our lives is a VERY good thing.
As strawberry season comes to a close here in the northern states, I’m hoping to harvest a few more pints to make more of this jam and some other unique combinations like strawberry passionfruit and strawberry margarita! I’ll be jammin’ out over here and if you’re interested in seeing the selections I’m taking to the farmers market, take a gander at my Etsy shop, Firewater Rustics!
- 4 cups strawberries, crushed or pureed (about 2 pounds)
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons calcium water (directions for mixing this are with the pectin package)
- 1 to 1½ cups organic cane sugar (can sub 1 cup honey, or use xylitol for no sugar recipe
- 2 teaspoons Pomona's Universal Pectin
- If canning this recipe, fill a waterbath canner with water and start heating it. Sterilize jars and lids and keep hot.
- Combine strawberries, balsamic and the calcium water in a stockpot and bring to a boil. To reduce foaming, you can add a small amount of butter if desired. Otherwise, just skim off the foam that forms and discard.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sugar/honey/xylitol with the pectin.
- Once strawberry mixture is boiling, pour in the sugar/pectin mixture all at once and stir to combine. Bring back to a full boil and boil for 1 minute.
- If using immediately, you can ladle into airtight containers and keep in the fridge for a few weeks. For canning, ladle into sterilized canning jars to ¼ inch headspace.
- Wipe the rims of each jar with a hot water dampened or vinegar dampened paper towel to remove any residue.
- Place lids on each jar and secure bands to finger tight.
- Process in boiling waterbath canner 10 minutes for 8 oz jars.
- Remove jars from canner and let sit on a kitchen towel on the counter for 24 hours. After 24 hours, check to be all jars have sealed, label and store at room temperature until opening.
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