A quick strawberry jam recipe with pimms, ginger & balsamic

I thought I had made the ultimate strawberry jam with my version with black pepper and orange, but I might even love this version with Pimms, balsamic and ginger even more. It also has a hit of black pepper and we all know strawberries and black pepper go so well together.

It transpired out of the recipe I posted for roasted strawberries with Pimms, balsamic and ginger a while back. I live alone and I just couldn’t eat the entire dish after making it so I thought why not turn it into a jam. I balanced out the ratios of strawberries to sugar and then literally cooked it off via my 8 or 10 minute recipe method which is such a winner for small batch jam making. You can see a video of how to do it here. The strawberries cook on a high heat over a wide surface which facilitates a rapid moisture loss. This is critical to make this jam quickly. you can use a non-stick electric frying pan to increase the surface area (if you have one), but a super wide frying pan over high heat will do the trick. If not, it will take a little longer but will still work.

I have to be a little less specific here with the time as it all depends how large your pan is and what heat you are cooking it at. There is also more liquid than in my straight up jam version, so it will require a little more time bubbling on the stove before it reaches peak jam stage. It’s always better to take it a little over vs taking it off too soon where it will remain a little runny. See the method in my instructions below on how to test whether your jam is ready. Instinctively I know when this happens as some of the jam starts to get really thick around the sides.

One of my favourite treats is to spread a good slice of toast. I love sourdough or a seeded country loaf, and spread this thickly with cream cheese. Add a generous dollop of jam on top of that and enjoy it as if it were breakfast pudding. I mean don’t you think breakfast pudding should legit be a thing anyway? It’s the closest you will get to cheesecake toast.

Recipe – makes about

600g strawberries, washed and hulled (about 2 heaped cups)
1 Tbsp finely chopped preserved ginger in syrup
1/4 cup Pimms
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup sugar

Heat up a large non-stick frying pan or electric frying pan to high.

Add all the ingredients and cook until the sugar has dissolved – stirring constantly, and then cook until you the liquid has evapourated off and the jam starts to thicken – around 10 – 12 minutes.

To test if the jam is ready, place a side plate in the freezer for 5 minutes. Drop a dollop of jam onto the cold plate. Run your finger through the middle and if the jam stays apart and doesn’t immediately join back together, it’s jammy enough.

Store in a sterilized glass jar.

I’m mad about Jam and super proud of my easy whisky marmalade recipe in my second book Sweet. I truly feel that I’ve revolutionised the painstaking way of making marmalade, but you will need to buy my book to check that out.

Here are a few of my other favourite jam recipes:

red pepper & chilli jam

peach jam with red muscadel

quick apricot jam

kumquat marmalade with star anise