Strawberry preserves are a popular spread made from strawberries, sugar, and water. They can be made at home or purchased at grocery stores. The process involves boiling the mixture until it thickens and then storing it in sterilized jars. Pectin can be added for a gelatin-like consistency.
Strawberry preserves are flavored fruit preserves often sprinkled on toast, bagels, and other similar items. This type of spread can be purchased at grocery stores, although many people prefer to make preserves from scratch at home. The process of making and storing strawberry preserves is mostly the same as that for other types of preserved foods. The challenge many novice preservative producers face is properly sealing the finished product in sterilized jars.
Ingredients for strawberry preserves usually include water, white granulated sugar, and ripe strawberries. The simplest recipes for these homemade preserves often call for the strawberries to be rinsed, dried, cut into medium-sized pieces, mixed with the required amount of sugar, and left to sit for 24 hours. This mixture is then steeped in boiling water until the sugar dissolves enough to cause the preserves to thicken. Strawberry preserves often have foam that must be skimmed off before canning to prevent air bubbles from forming in the finished concoction.
Some cooks like to chill their strawberry-sugar concoctions in the refrigerator for about three hours before thickening in boiling water. To prevent the sugar from sticking to the sides of the pan, this mixture usually needs to be stirred for about 3-5 minutes. Once the thickening is complete, the sweetened and cooked fruit is stored in the refrigerator for another 24 hours. The cooled fruit preserves are then boiled and stirred for another five minutes before being transferred to the preserving jars with a ladle. Strawberry preserves generally last longer and stay fresh when stored in preserving jars with rubber seals designed to keep bacteria out.
While basic recipes for strawberry preserves can normally be thickened to some degree with sugar alone, cooks desiring preserves with a consistency closer to that of gelatin usually need to add pectin. This gelling ingredient is a common requirement for various fruit preservative flavors and can be found in both sweetened and unsweetened mixes. Pectin with added sugar is a popular alternative for preserves made with strawberries that may not be ripe as recommended for the best flavor. Preserving strawberries are ideally ripened to a deep red color, although they may not always be available in every area at certain times of the year.
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