“Happiness is like jam, you can’t spread even a little without getting some on yourself!”
The first adjectives that come to my mind as a way for me to describe the tastes and flavors of my Balsamic Strawberry Jam are: sweet, tangy, rich, aromatic, succulent, juicy, and robust. Now … imagine a food with all those qualities served on top of a hot, fluffy, buttered biscuit that just came out of the oven. Can you think of a better way to start your day at the breakfast table?
This recipe is partially an adaptation of my Balsamic Fig Jam recipe and was also inspired by The Best Strawberry Jam recipe on the completelydelicious.com website. There are no secret ingredients here but there are several areas of focus. First, use really good quality balsamic vinegar that is at least 6% acidity as shown on the label. Second, macerate the strawberries which will insure that even the sour ones will turn sweet. And last, be sure to continue a low slow boil to reduce the mixture by 1/3 as this will provide firmness to your finished product.
(Note – using these ingredients and this process, my batch of this recipe measured a pH of 3.53 which is well within the safe to eat range.)
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Assemble the ingredients and prepare a canning pot or steamer canner and four 8oz. jars and one 12 oz. jar (or the equivalent).
Prepare the fresh strawberries, i.e. hull, slice, dice. Then, using a large non-reactive pot, pan, or deep dish, combine the prepared strawberries and the 4 cups of sugar. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 10 hours … this is the process of maceration.
Transfer the strawberry-sugar mixture into a wide, non-reactive pot and place over a larger stovetop burner. Add the lemon juice and black pepper. Over high heat, bring to a rolling boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring regularly. Use an immersion blender or a potato masher to crush or mash the diced strawberries to your desired jam consistency. At this point you should start skimming the thick foam from the top of the mixture. Discard the foam.
When the total volume in the pot has reduced by a least one-third and the jam mixture looks quite thick, it is time to add the balsamic vinegar and the vanilla extract. Stir and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Carefully funnel the hot jam mixture into the prepared warm jars leaving ¼ to ½ inch headspace.
Wipe the jar rims with a wet paper towel, apply the warm lids and process in a boiling water bath (or steamer canner) for 15 minutes.
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