Courtesy Jordan Champagne, Happy Girl Kitchen Co.
Makes 91⁄2 pint jars
This recipe took a lot of time, trials and patience to create. I wanted a very low-sugar strawberry jam that tasted just like strawberries but still retained its pink color. I tried using sweeteners like agave or honey, but the results were not satisfactory. I found this recipe to be the right amount of sugar to get that perfect gel. People love this jam! The flavor of the lavender adds a pleasant and fresh surprise, but you could leave it out for a more classic strawberry jam.
8 pounds strawberries
2 pounds evaporated cane juice
11⁄2 cups lemon juice
3⁄4 cup lavender buds
1⁄2 cup hibiscus buds (for color and tart flavor)
Wash and de-stem strawberries and drain well. Combine with sugar, lemon juice and cover. Let sit in a dark, cool place overnight or up to two days, if necessary.
Mash the mixture by hand. Add contents to a nonreactive pot and bring to a boil. Boil on high heat, stirring constantly, until the gelling point is reached, anywhere from 30–45 minutes.
Next, put the lavender and hibiscus in a flour sack cloth so that their flavor gets infused in the jam. You can cook the “tea bag” of herbs in the jam for 10 minutes and remove it once the de- sired flavor infusion has happened. You may also choose to add the lavender buds directly into the jam when they are tender enough, as their texture can be a nice addition. These should be added in the last 10 minutes of cooking, as cooking them longer can make them bitter. The dried hibiscus are too tough and should not be added directly into the jam, but infused using the flour sack cloth.
Place finished jam in clean half-pint jars. Process in a hot water bath canner at 210° F for five minutes. The jam will keep for up to one year.
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
