I found this recipe in Food and Drink, a magazine
published in Canada that a neighbor gave to me. I had never
made jelly before but this peaked my interest. And I fell in
love with this sophisticated version of jelly. As I had been
using fig spread to enjoy with my cheese and crackers,
this sounded like a nice alternative.
After the juice is rendered, it goes back in the pot to pick
up at Step #5 in the recipe. (Assuming you have already
completed step #4)
Instead of using 5 1/2 cups of sugar, in an effort to
cut down on the sweetness, I used only 3 cups, unaware
that I would end up with a less than thickened jelly.
My result was a beautiful ‘syrup’ of sorts which I just
decided to use and drizzle, rather than spread, on
my cheese and crackers.
But just yesterday, I took my arrowroot powder, made a
slurry (add a bit of water to dissolve the powder and
avoid a lumpy result), heated up one of the jars of ‘syrup’
and add the slurry a bit at a time to thicken the syrup.
By slowly adding the slurry to the syrup, you can control
the level of thickness. It doesn’t take long, with
continuous whisking, about 1 min. to see results and
then immediately remove from heat and let cool.
- 16 cups strawberries, hulled (fresh) may sub frozen
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar may use regular balsamic
- 1 pkg pectin crystals
- 5 1/2 cups sugar
-
Combine strawberries and water in a large pot; crush lightly with a potato masher to start to release juice. Bring to a boil over high heat, crushing and stirring often. Reduce heat and boil gently, crushing and stirring often, for 5-10 minutes or until strawberries are very soft and juicy. Stir in basil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let steep for 20 minutes to infuse basil flavor.
-
Moisten 1 or 2 pieces of double thickness cheesecloth and wring out until damp. Place in bowl large enough to transfer strawberry mixture. You may do one large or 2 smaller batches. I found the 2 smaller were easier to manage.
-
Gather edges of cloth and tie securely with kitchen string with a long tail so you can then hang from a cupboard handle. Let drip, without squeezing bag, for about 2 hours or until juice measures 4 cups. Any extra juice can be refrigerated and used for cocktails or spritzers.
-
Boil balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until reduced to 1/4 cup. Let cool.
-
Combine 4 c. rendered strawberry juice and reduced vinegar in a clean large pot; stir in pectin. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often. Gradually stir in sugar. Return to a full rolling boil, stirring often. Boil vigorously, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Let stand, stirring often and skimming off foam, for 5 minutes.
-
Pour jelly into glass jars leaving 1/4 inch at the top. Let cool before putting lid on. Store in freezer if not using right away.
-
Makes about six 1-cup jars.
- I used 3 cups of sugar because I wanted a less sweet jelly but I ended up with syrup instead of jelly.
- The syrup is great for making cocktails
- I use the syrup when serving crackers and cheese, drizzling onto the cheese.
- I experimented with thickening with cornstarch which worked but made the mixture cloudy and kind of goopy.
- What worked much better is to use arrowroot powder to make a slurry and then add this in small increments to the warmed syrup to thicken to the desired consistency, as is shown in image at the top of the post.
