Pickled Strawberry Jam

Was it just a few weeks ago that I wrote about making refrigerator pickles? Well, since then I've made all sort of veggie pickles; cucumbers, green beans, carrots, sugar snap peas (recipe coming soon!) And now, Pickled Strawberry Jam. But don't be scared of that "Pickled" in the title. Really the jam just starts out with a little vinegar, a few spices, and lots of sugar but ends up just barely tart with a hint of something extra. Something delicious.

The recipe is by Christina Tosi, the genius behind the desserts at Momofuku Milk Bar and the other restaurants in the Momofuku empire. Katy came across the recipe at The New York Times online and sent me the link, knowing it was right up my alley. Two hours later I was buying two pounds of strawberries, cardamom pods and powdered pectin. And seven hours after that I was dripping molten strawberries on my brand new mint green tennis shoes. The shoes survived, but next time I'll definitely use a larger saucepan. Mine bubbled over and made a sweet smelling mess all over my stove top.

I halved my strawberries instead of just hulling them because I prefer smaller chunks of fruit. But next time I might crush the strawberries a bit. Even halved the pieces were a bit difficult to smoosh with my spoon during the cooking process. I used Rice Vinegar instead of Rice Wine Vinegar. The jam wasn't quite as "pickled" or sour as I was expecting and I wonder if the switch contributed to the subtlety. I might add an extra cardamom pod next time and/or crush the coriander a bit to increase the spice presence. Either way, the jam tasted fantastic. I loved it on plain Greek yogurt and with a little butter on hot biscuits. I can't wait to try it spooned over vanilla bean ice cream (update : best sundae ever!) or maybe on my little chocolate cakes.

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Pickled Strawberry Jam

by Christina Tosi May-16-2011

Fresh, sweet and just a little tart, this jam tastes like summer in a jar. Recipe by Christina Tosi, of Momofuku Milk Bar fame, as printed by The New York Times.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups Sugar 1 tablespoon Powdered Pectin 1 teaspoon Salt 3 cups Strawberries, hulled 1 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar 2 tablespoons Sherry Vinegar 1 Cardamom pod 5 Coriander seeds

Instructions

In a bowl, whisk the sugar, pectin and salt to combine. If a seedless jam is desired, purée the berries in a blender and strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Otherwise, leave them whole, or cut large ones into quarters.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sherry vinegar, rice wine vinegar, coriander and cardamom. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and immediately remove from heat. Remove and discard the coriander seeds and cardamom.

Return the saucepan to medium heat and add the sugar mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until blended; it will be dry at first. Add the strawberries or strawberry purée, and continue to stir, crushing the berries with the spoon, until the mixture is liquefied and comes to a boil. Continue to boil, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Pour the jam into a heat-proof bowl and let cool completely. Store it, covered, in the refrigerator. The jam can also be frozen for up to six months.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 3 cups