Problem with preserves
Asked on 1 Jul 2020 by Joleen Hayes
I did actually post an email direct to "Delia" a few days ago regarding Strawberry Preserve but I guess it has not reached the right place. So I will repeat it:
My husband has each January since we were married in 1974 made excellent Seville Marmalade according to a recipe received from his aunt. Occasionally he will make jam with varying results: plum usually good, raspberry not so good and strawberry which always becomes sauce fit only for adding to ice cream, rice pudding, etc. but useless for scones. I hoped the recipe which you emailed last week would be the answer, but in spite of using slightly under-ripe small strawberries from Shrewsbury Market, leaving them with sugar overnight and cooking the "jam" the next day, has once again produced Sauce. Can you please suggest why this is?
Joleen Hayes
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Hello Joleen,
Do you mean that the strawberries disintegrated disappear or that it’s runny or something else?
Thanks
Lindsey
Thanks for replying to my question about Strawberry Preserve. My husband's jam simply did not set. The whole strawberries are just swimming about in strawberry syrup which has no substance. They have not broken down - it is just sauce and could never be described as jam!
Hello,
The lemon juice is important as it helps with the setting.
But it sounds like he is just not boiling it enough to make sure it reaches the setting point.
We haven’t got a video of strawberry preserve but we do have marmalade which does show how the rapid boil should look and how to test if the preserve is going to set.
How to make Marmalade
I hope this helps
Best wishes
Lindsey
Well, thank you. We were rather afraid he had overboiled it - far longer than the 8 minutes suggested. But it is good to know you take so much trouble over trying to help us dunces in the kitchen!