The strawberries there looked so big, fresh, juicy and sweet. We tried their samples and they were delicious! Of course, we paid 100% more than if we were to just buy them off the shelf. We were paying for 'THE experience' of picking your own fruits too....what suckers we were, paying them money to do their job but we fell for it and enjoyed the 'work' nonetheless. It was fun peeping around those short little strawberry bushes looking for the hidden big red juicy jewels.
Despite days of munching on them after dinner and bringing some around as snacks on day trips, there was still much strawberries left. We were leaving for Gold Coast and wondered if they will last that long in the fridge. What can we do with it to expire them faster?
The problem is, some of us strawberry pickers are not strawberry eaters. The brother of mine would not eat strawberry in its raw form. He asked if I could turn those strawberries into strawberry ice-cream instead. I searched the web and found out that I would need an ice-cream maker to do that. Sorry, mission impossible, bro.....
I decided instead to bake a pre-birthday cake for Hubby using the fresh strawberries as filling with whipped cream. I baked a Devil's Food Cake and tried to fill the center with as much strawberries as I could. Then the top was coated with chocolate ganache and even more of the red fruits.
Still, there was only so much we can use up. We ended up bringing some of these strawberries to Gold Coast and by the time we returned, I found out there was still a punnet left, on the verge of turning bad.Mum cut them up, taking away the bad parts and KK ate quite a bit, dipped in melted chocolate. Knowing that was no way it will last another day, I decided to turn the remainder into jam. Again, the internet was my teacher and it turned out to be a very simple process indeed.
The chopped strawberries were mixed with an equal amount of sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice and then cooked. Just keep stirring and cooking and after a while, the fruit just melted away and its juices turned syrupy and thick.
God, that was the most beautiful jam I've ever tasted. I've always wondered why people bother to make their own jams when they are all so readily available at the supermarkets. Now I know. I'm not boasting, but no commercial jam can ever beat the taste of freshly made jam from fresh ingredients. Commercial made jams also tend to be very sweet and more jelly than anything. If you make it yourself, you can moderate the amount of sugar. The taste and smell of strawberries is very strong and the aroma fills the whole kitchen as you cook it . The colour is also a bright bloody red, unlike the dark red colour of commercial preserves. I only wished my parents had a chance to taste them before they went back to S'pore.
As the quantity is very little and I intend to finish them up as soon as possible, I didn't bother putting them into sterilised jar or hot bathing them. I just pour them into a small bowl and cling wrap it before refridgeration. I read that hot bathing the preserve could make them last a year outside the fridge. KK loves them and I've been having buttered toast with strawberry jam for the last few days. Really worth doing if you can't finish your strawberries or if they're too sour to be eaten.
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