Punch it up with passion fruit and strawberries
Once you’ve had your fill of eating fresh June strawberries, save the season with Camilla Wynne’s strawberry and passion fruit jam.
Passion fruit adds acidity to the strawberries, and their seeds bring the crunch (and a fun polka-dot visual effect), says Wynne, author of is Jam Bake and a master preserver and pastry chef.
Cooking fruit blunts its acidity, though, which Wynne makes up for with a dose of citric acid before packing the jam in jars. (Find citric acid at your local grocery store, bulk store or online.)
“The trick of adding a little bit of citric acid in at the end is so transformative. It really gives the fruit that fresh-fruit acidity, so it’s really delicious in that way,” says Wynne. “I hope people will get inspired by that trick because it works in so many different jams.”
When she was growing up in Edmonton, Wynne’s father introduced the concept of using compounds to enhance flavour. He’s fond of bringing out the tartness in apples, for example, by adding malic acid.
“My dad’s a really great cook and he has a pretty weird pantry. He has different mix-and-match powdered acids that he uses for different preparations,” she says. “I’m glad I got that lesson.”
STRAWBERRY AND PASSION FRUIT JAM
1.2 kg (8 cups) rinsed, hulled strawberries
600 g (3 cups) sugar
160 g (2/3 cup) passion fruit pulp, from about six passion fruit
60 ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice
1/2 tsp citric acid
Step 1
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, sugar, pulp and lemon juice and let macerate for at least 15 minutes, or up to one week, covered, in the refrigerator. Step 2
Prepare the jars (see note).
Step 3
Once the sugar has drawn out some juice and softened the strawberries, mash them by hand and squeeze them with your fists. Not only is this fun, it also makes for a rough, uneven texture that I love. It also takes five per cent of the time it would take to chop them all up with a knife. If this method freaks you out, wear latex gloves!
Step 4
Transfer the mixture to a pot or preserving pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a hard boil, stirring frequently.
Step 5
When the setting point is reached (see note), remove from the heat and add the citric acid, stirring well to combine. Pour into the prepared jars to within 1/4 to 1/8 inch of the rim. Remove any air bubbles, wipe the rims if necessary, seal and invert for one to two minutes. Flip right side up and let the jam sit, undisturbed, for 24 hours. Makes: five 250 ml (8 oz) jars
Notes: To sterilize your jars, preheat your oven to 250°F (121°C). Place the clean jars upside down on a cookie sheet and place them in the preheated oven at least 20 minutes before you’ll need them.
Wynne says she uses all of her senses (besides taste), to determine if the jam is done, but sheeting is the most telling sign. Sheeting refers to how the jam slowly drips off a spatula when lifted to eye level. When the jam clings to the spatula, drops join together, or, in more pectinrich jam, it falls in clumps or sheets, it’s ready. (Wynne devotes a section in the book to “How to Tell if Your Jam Is Done, per the Five Senses.”)