One of my greatest pet peeves is food going bad. One of my greatest problems is, I let food go bad. Unfortunately it happens more often than I would like. You either forget about the object(s), or you don’t know what to do with it (them). Fortunately I have found that making jams and jelly’s is one of the simplest and easiest ways to use up leftover fruit.
You can even use clearance fruit from the market for a cheap alternative. Like this strawberry balsamic jam, I picked up this pack of organic strawberries for $1.67 on sale and turned it into an gourmet jam that would normally cost easily $4+ at the store.
For the jam:
1 regular size carton of strawberries
3/4-1 cup water
1/4 cup organic evaporated can juice (or regular sugar) — add more (optional) to taste
2-3 tsp balsamic vinegar
Clean, de-stem, and quarter the strawberries. Add to medium size sauce pan. Add water and sugar. Cook for 20-30 min or until the strawberries have softened and the water and sugar have reduced into a syrup. Add in 1 tsp balsamic vinegar and mix in.
Blend together in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour back into medium saucepan and add in another teaspoon of balsamic. (You can add more sugar or balsamic at this point to taste). Bring to boil and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour into small canning jar and cover. Place in refrigerator until cool. It’s ready to use!
Also, we are excited to announce our premiere of our own YouTube channel with our very own food videos! This has been a passion of mine (The Wife) to get into video, and while I still have a looooot to learn, I am super excited to finally produce one! Subscribe to our channel for more food videos that show food technique, what we’re making, or just random McClearen lifestyle, all (or mostly) in our very well loved kitchen (aka there are probably messes in the background…)! Stay tuned! Also, we have been moving the blog over to a different server and are working out some of the kinks. If things look wonky, sit tight! It will all be back together soon. 🙂
-The Everyday Chef and Wife
- 1 regular size carton of strawberries
- 3/4-1 cup water
- 1/4 cup organic evaporated can juice (or regular sugar) -- add more (optional) to taste
- 2-3 tsp balsamic vinegar
- Clean, de-stem, and quarter the strawberries. Add to medium size sauce pan. Add water and sugar. Cook for 20-30 min or until the strawberries have softened and the water and sugar have reduced into a syrup. Add in 1 tsp balsamic vinegar and mix in.
- Blend together in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour back into medium saucepan and add in another teaspoon of balsamic. (You can add more sugar or balsamic at this point to taste). Bring to boil and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour into small canning jar and cover. Place in refrigerator until cool. It's ready to use!
Brigitte says
miah is seriously the cutest.
The Everyday Chef and Wife says
Thanks, I use the word ham though!