Have you ever tasted anything better than your Mum's home-made jam? Neither have I. And believe me, I have tried. Boy, have I tried. Finally, I have given up and decided to only cook jam that she would never make herself. Strawberry, for instance, she doesn't like strawberry jam. And I said to her the other day "Wrong! For once you're wrong!" and set out on a mission to make one that she will like. I am pretty sure her taste memories are of tough-jellied, far-too-sweet-and-tasteless strawberry jam - so this should be easy to beat, right? I have since created strawberry & rhubarb, cherry & strawberry, recipes for which will follow shortly, and the following strawberry, lemongrass & mint jam...
The two added flavours are very subtle but refreshing and the sugar content is really on the very low end - so not one to keep for ages, but I hope she'll gobble it up in no time - if she'll get any, that is, it's only three weeks until she comes to visit and the folks in the house love it, too, so no guarantees! ;-)
Strawberry jam with lemongrass and mint
(makes 4 medium-sized jars)
1 kg strawberries
250 g jam sugar
juice of 2 lemons
3 tbsp pectin (Certo)
2 stalks lemongrass
1 handful fresh mint leaves (chopped)
Clean the strawberries and remove the green stalks. Cut into small pieces. Combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and sugar in a heavy-based pot. Add the pectin. Half the lemongrass stalks lengthways and cut them into 3 cm pieces. This will ensure that they release a maximum of their aroma. Put in a disposable tea paper filter, or a tea-egg, and hang in the fruit mixture. From the moment the fruit is boiling, cook for ca. 30 minutes, then transfer half of it to a tall recipient where you puree it using a hand-held blender. Return to the fruits in the pot. Remove the lemongrass and add the mint leaves. Cook for another 20 minutes. Test to check of the jam has set, if not continue to boil until it does. Transfer into sterilised jars.
Comments