Strawberries were beautiful & on sale at the grocery, so I decided to make Strawberry jam. I used (and of course modified Barefoot Contessa's recipe)
fresh strawberries, 3 cups superfine sugar 2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueu (recommended: Grand Marnier) 1/2 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and small-diced
Place the strawberries in a colander and rinse them under cold running water. Drain and hull the strawberries. Cut the larger berries in half or quarters and leave the small berries whole.
Place the strawberries in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot such as heavy Dutch oven and toss them with the sugar and orange-flavored liqueur (I used triple sec, cause it's what I had)
Look at all that sugar? And I didn't even use as much as the recipe called for!
It didn't take long for that sugar to combine into a thick yummy sauce
Granny Smith apple diced, the recipe called for blueberries too, but I didn't have any...so I just didn't use them. Hey, that's the charm of me!
Bring the berry mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Add the apple continue to keep the mixture at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally, until the jam reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer. This should take 25 to 35 minutes. I also added some kosher salt to the mixture, cause I don't cook without it and thought it would be a nice balance to all that dad gum sugar!
Skim and discard any foam that rises to the top. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and then store covered in the refrigerator. It will keep refrigerated for at least 2 weeks. Once the mixture was off the heat I added a few dashes of balsamic vinegar, again to cut the sweetness, & because strawberries & balsamic have such a great summer flavor together.
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