Grown-Up's Jam

Nature gives to every season

a Beauty all its own 

~Charles Dickens

The last of the season's strawberries found their way into my kitchen and I decided I'd make another batch of my Strawberry/Jalapeno Jam or like my dear friend, Nicole, calls it...Jam for Grown Ups!  The first batch I made several weeks ago had a mild "kick" of jalapeno in it and everyone I gave the jam to said, "it could be hotter."  I listened...and added more heat!

This was the first summer I've played around with combinations of fruits and spices and I've come up with some good ones.  The first time I made Strawberry/Jalapeno was an idea I had for a jam for our son-in-law, Matt, who eats jam on his eggs.  Apparently, this is a mid-west thing and I'm not one to judge with my quirky combinations, but others I sent it to paired it up with cheese & crackers and my sister used it on panini's!  Today, I sampled the "heat" with a little cream cheese spread on a cracker, but a nice cherve, brie, or even Vermont cheddar would be perfect.

As the nights turn cooler, the leaves change then, fall, it will be nice to cuddle up by a fire (in our case, a gas fire :), pour a glass of wine and enjoy the Beauty of the season.

Strawberry~Jalapeno Jam

4-5 pints of strawberries, washed and hulled

3 Jalapenos

juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp. unsalted butter

7 cups of granulated sugar

1 box Sure-Jel powdered pectin

6-7  8oz. jars - Prepare jars as discussed in earlier.

Prepare the strawberries and jalapenos.  After washing the strawberries, I use a strawberry huller to remove the stem and core.

I like to remove the hard "core" so I have nothing but sweet berry in my recipes.  Remove the stem from the jalapeno and slice in half.  I removed some of the membrane, but made sure, this time, I put in the seeds from 1 1/2 jalapenos.  The first time I made this jam, I only put in seeds from one-half of a jalapeno!  Place the strawberries and jalapenos in a food processor and pulse until you have a puree.

You need five cups of fruit for this recipe.  Place the fruit, lemon juice, butter, and powdered pectin in a large Dutch oven.  I use a Le Cruset that is an enameled lined cast iron pot.  I've found this provides the most evenly distributed heat to jam making.

On a medium/high heat, bring this mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  Add the sugar, all at once and stir to combine.  Bring the mixture back to a boil, then set a timer for one minute, stirring constantly.  Turn off the heat and ladle into the hot, sterilized jars.  Seal and turn upside-down.  After 10-15 minutes, turn the jars right-side-up and you should hear them "pop" indicating they have sealed.  

Jam keeps on the shelf for a year, although, between giving it out to friends and family, all the baking I do, and all the peanut butter & jam sandwiches I eat, it never lasts that long.  This is definitely a combination I will make for many years to come.  Enjoy!