10 minute strawberry jam

Today is a very special day for me because I celebrate the first anniversary of my blog; Drizzle & Dip.

I published my first post on the 3rd of December 2009

When I started out documenting my food experiences, I had no idea how it would work out and how much I would learn. I wanted to cook and bake delicious food, challenge my culinary skills, take pretty pictures of the food and then learn to write about it.

I thought I would create some content and put it on the web as a way to endorse my food styling business, share my recipes with friends and to improve my photography.

I also felt a need to create this blog, which was born out of a deeply personal challenge I had been through.

I had no idea that this endeavour would become an all consuming project that has settled very comfortably into and enriched my soul.  Its a labour of love, become a way of life and afforded me the opportunitity to meet so many wonderful people.

One year down, I am blogging for a few more reasons than I started out with. My eyes have been opened to different possibilities and dreams, and I feel even more inspired and excited to carry on growing and creating.

The thing I love the most about the creative process is that you put so much in but get so much more back.

And lets not forget about all the  magnificent food I have consumed in the last year. Just look at my recipe index to see what I have eaten.

My first post was on a quick and small batch apricot jam (my favourite jam) so I thought is was quite fitting to mark the occassion with a similar strawberry version.

I have become a jam snob since making my own and cannot tolerate a mass produced product.  This recipe is so good because it takes only 10 minutes to make (yes 10 minutes).  The flavour is all about the fruit and less about the sugar and you actually see whole strawberries in the mix.

How to make this jam:

• 3 heaped cups of strawberries (about 500 gms) – it doesnt have to be exact
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

to make:

• put all ingredients in a wide shallow pan/ pot on high and cook for about 8 – 10 minutes
• the wider the better as this facilitates quick evaporation and thus quicker jammification
• to test if the jam is ready, freeze a side plate for 5 minutes. Drop a dolop of jam on the cold plate. Run your finger through the middle. if the jam stays apart and doesn’t immediately join back together, its jammy enough (I set a timer and find that 10 minutes guarantees jam)
• at the same time boil the storage jars in a large pot of water – remove and drain
• scoop the hot jam into the jars and seal
• pop the sealed jars back into the boiling water for 10 minutes (this gets rid of any bacteria etc)
• remove from the pot, drain and allow to cool

I love making jam at this time of year. Put into pretty jars, they make wonderful Christmas gifts.