Strawberries have been in the San Francisco farmer's markets for a month now, and I have been busy buying them up and making jams! I bought enough strawberries for three batches of jam, so after making one batch of plain strawberry jam, I decided I wanted to try a different variation of strawberry jam. I thought that the delicate, fruity herb tarragon would go nicely with strawberries, and turned out really yummy.
Basically, I followed the instructions for plain strawberry jam from the paper insert that came in my Sure-Jell pectin box, and to that I added 1/4 cup of fresh chopped tarragon leaves after the sugar had dissolved. I imagine this simple step would work with any basic strawberry jam recipe, even low-sugar ones.
This jam, spread on a slice of warm homemade bread, was pure heaven.
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Any recommendations for what makes a good California strawberry? I just moved from Oregon where the strawberries are small, sweet, and divine. I loved making jam with them. I was at the Castro Farmers Market yesterday and the strawberries looked like they were on steroids! I couldn't get over it...
I can't wait to try this!
AnnebelleSF, if you can smell them from some distance away, buy them at that stand! At least, that's how I do it and I've never been disappointed. I have found smaller strawberries in the Alameda Farmer's Market, though I'm not sure they're the same variety as the ones in Oregon. I'm pretty sure they aren't the same variety as the behemoths you see in the grocery store.
Strawberry jam with lavender is yummy and probably what I'm going to make today. It's also good if you mix in some balsamic vinegar or some rosemary prior to canning. The vinegar makes it a little runny, though.
I'm alittle concerned about tarragon and food poisoning in your jam. Are you sure the green, veggie material is shelf stable and won't give you a serious case of botulism or such. I'd be very leery about adding veggie material to my jam.
@lona, well, I cooked the tarragon in the jam for about 7 minutes, then processed them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes, I think that should have killed anything.
Also the lids aren't popping outwards.
I don't think it should be a problem. that which keeps the fruit from turning will also keep the tarragon from turning.
The tarragon sounds like an interesting twist. I just recently made a batch of sun-dried strawberry preserves using Alice Waters' recipe. I think I'd like to try it again, but this time adding herbs. I've made some nice desserts adding thyme to strawberries so maybe I'll try that. You can see my last results here: http://www.salmoncabin.com/2009/05/sundried-strawberry-preserves.html
tarragon sounds great. why would it have caused any spoilage problems...with all that surejell sugar business lol. you may want to try a fruit based packaged pectin available at health food stores or whole foods. you can use way less sugar and taste more strawberries.