Once I became committed to eating fresh, local food in season, I became more aware of the growing seasons of various fruits and vegetables. To eat seasonally, one must know and plan for when a fruit or vegetable can be readily sourced. For example, right now local strawberries are out but peaches are beginning to come in. Although we ate tons of those delicious strawberries when they were producing, I was busy with other things and didn’t ever get around to making any strawberry jam.
When I looked up from my other work and realized that I had “missed the harvest” without preserving any of the strawberries, I was sorely disappointed. Determined not to let that happen with the peaches, I hit up one of my favorite local farm fresh food markets who typically gets peaches in early and purchased a bushel from her.
Much to my surprised delight, she had 4 pints of very fine-looking strawberries. “Stragglers,” she informed me, “the last of the crop for this year.” So of course, I bought them all.
Food preservation via canning is typically a labor-intensive, time-consuming process. Even before I had almost missed the strawberry harvest I had been thinking through ways to simplify the preservation process. I had already settled upon the concept of small batch canning but now with just 4 pints of strawberries to preserve, I was challenged to ratchet my efforts down to the “single jar of jam” approach.
The goal being to make a single (8 oz) jar of refrigerator or freezer jam every couple of weeks, or whenever some fruit I found at the farmers market inspired me to try a new recipe or way to preserve it. This methodology would allow me to skip the canning process altogether with full realization that because the jam has not been canned, it must be stored in the refrigerator to be eaten within 2-3 weeks, or in the freezer for about a month. Since my husband absolutely loves jam of all kinds, this short shelf life would not present any problems for us.
A little research revealed how to safely fill these little jars with delicious fruit and less sugar, no pectin, and in a much shorter processing time to boot. I was able to process both the strawberries and the peaches in about 30 minutes time. You can see how I did it at the end of this post.
Additionally, these tiny jars of delicious sweetness make a wonderful addition to a bread gift basket. The one featured here includes an 8 oz. jar of peach jam, an 8 oz, jar of strawberry jam, a 4 oz. jar of herb butter, a kitchen towel, and a loaf of sourdough bread. Simple.
Gift baskets are fun to create to suit an occasion and/or the person receiving it. The other basket (featured below) was a house-warming gift to friends who had just moved onto a farm with intentions of keeping chickens (thus the egg-gathering basket).
These cute baskets are as much fun to give as they are to receive. There is no limit to how you might pull things together around a theme to suit the recipient and the occasion for the gift.
Instructions for Making a Single Jar of Jam
Ingredients: 2 cups of chopped fruit, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice
*Wash and cut fruit into bite-sized pieces.
*Combine the fruit with sugar and lemon juice and mash with a wooden spoon to release juice.
*Cook in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat to a rolling boil, stirring frequently, until the jam is thick and darkened in color (approximately 20 minutes).
*Transfer the jam to a jar (8 oz) and cool to room temperature. Seal the jar and refrigerate. As with all food preservation methods, sterilize your jars and lids before use, and wipe dry the rims of the jar before sealing.