Recipes for strawberry jam with lemon for the winter

Strawberry jam is one of the most popular homemade preparations. It is valued for its amazing taste and aroma, ease of preparation. However, in addition to the “classic” five-minute, there are other recipes. Many of them include additional ingredients, the taste of the dessert only benefits from this. For example, you can make strawberry jam with lemon. It not only “sets off” the sweetness of the berry, but also increases the shelf life of the product.

Why add lemon to strawberry jam

Lemon is added to strawberry jam for several reasons:

1. Not everyone likes sugary-sweet homemade desserts. Lemon very successfully “balances” the taste of jam, adding a slight pleasant sourness to the sweetness. To determine the exact ratio of ingredients to your taste, you will have to experiment.
2. Home cooking is getting better. Everyone knows that lemon has a high content of vitamin C, which is necessary for strengthening immunity, preventing colds and viral diseases. Ascorbic acid does not tolerate heat treatment without loss, but most of it is preserved in strawberry jam. Such a dessert will help to cope with winter and spring beriberi.
3. The acid found in citrus fruits is a natural preservative. The shelf life of strawberry jam without lemon is less. It is especially recommended to add citrus to the preparation if its recipe provides for a relatively small amount of sugar (it also has preservative properties).
4. Lemon contains pectins. This makes the jam thicker. Subsequently, it is more convenient to use it as a filling for baking, a layer for cakes.

Strawberries and lemon – a very good combination for homemade preparations

Selection and preparation of ingredients

The most suitable strawberry for jam, of course, is the one that is collected from your own garden. The variety can be anything. However, if you plan to keep the berries whole, it is better when they are small or medium in size.

If you don’t have your own strawberries, you have to buy them. If possible, this is done in the market. Jam from store-bought berries is often practically devoid of a characteristic aroma and taste, because they are treated with various chemicals to increase the shelf life.

Strawberries for jam should be ripe, with dense pulp. Neither unripe berries nor the so-called “substandard” are suitable. The first – because they do not have the taste and aroma that should “give away” to the dessert. The finished product does not even have a characteristic color, it is unusually pale and sour. From overripe, crumpled, berries that have already begun to rot, a watery and very ugly jam is obtained. In addition, it will quickly deteriorate if even a small piece of rotten pulp is skipped during their preparation.

Wash strawberries thoroughly before making jam. The pulp of ripe berries is very tender, therefore, in order not to damage them, they are put in a large basin, a bowl and poured with cool water. After about 15-20 minutes, soil particles and plant debris are separated from the skin.

After that, the strawberries are removed from the container in small portions by hand, put into a colander, and the excess water is allowed to drain. Finally, the berries are dried by laying them out on paper or linen napkins, towels.

Wash strawberries carefully, but very carefully

The final stage is the removal of the stalks and sepals. Here, too, you need to act carefully so as not to crush the strawberries.

As for the lemon, any citrus bought in the store is suitable for jam, the skin of which is painted in an even, typically “lemon” color and has no mechanical damage. It must be thoroughly washed, scalded with boiling water. Further, depending on what is indicated in the recipe, the zest is removed from the lemon with a grater or knife (only the yellow layer, white is unpleasantly bitter), squeeze the juice or cut into thin slices, while removing the seeds.

Lemon Strawberry Jam Recipes

Lemon in strawberry jam provides the taste of the “classic” home-made preparation with a certain exoticism and piquancy. There are a lot of recipes with such an ingredient, but the ideal ratio of acid and sweetness for yourself will have to be determined empirically.

How to make Strawberry Lemon Jam

For the “basic” version of strawberry jam with lemon you will need:

• fresh strawberries – 1 kg;
• sugar – 1 kg;
• medium sized lemon – 1 pc.

Prepare it like this:

1. Pour washed and dried strawberries with sugar, let stand for about an hour.
2. When the juice starts to stand out, add a lemon to the same container. It is cut into quarters, each turned into thin slices.
3. Put the container on the stove, on a minimum fire. After 5-7 minutes, if enough juice is released, mix gently.
4. Let the jam boil. Make the fire a little stronger. Remove the foam, cook for another 20-30 minutes, achieving the desired consistency. “Classic” jam is considered ready when a drop of it that has fallen from a spoon does not spread over the saucer. But, focusing on your own taste, you can make it thicker or liquid.
5. Arrange in jars, close with lids.

If desired, the amount of sugar in the jam can be increased or, conversely, take more lemons

Strawberry jam with gelatin and lemon

Strawberry jam with lemon is very thick if you add gelatin. Its consistency is more like jam. Required Ingredients:

• fresh strawberries – 1 kg;
• sugar – 1 kg;
• medium-sized lemon – 1 pc.;
• gelatin – 1 sachet (10 g).

Dessert is prepared like this:

1. Put the strawberries in a suitable container, cover with sugar. Put on minimum fire.
2. When the juice starts to stand out, mix gently and increase the heat to medium.
3. Let the jam boil. Reduce fire to low again. Cook for another half an hour, periodically removing the foam.
4. Pour in the juice squeezed from the lemon, remove from the stove after ten minutes.
5. Immediately add pre-prepared gelatin. Instructions are always on the packaging. The standard option is to fill it with water in a ratio of 1:8, let the mass swell for about half an hour, and then heat over low heat or a water bath until the lumps are completely dissolved.
6. Stir the jam for 2-3 minutes, pour into jars, roll them up.

You can safely decorate cakes and cakes with a ready-made dessert, it definitely will not spread

Strawberry Jam-Five Minute with Lemon

According to this recipe, strawberry jam with lemon juice is prepared very quickly. The ingredients will be the same as for the first recipe.

Next, they act like this:

1. Pour the berries with sugar, let stand for 3-4 hours, periodically shaking the container.
2. Add lemon juice there, put on the stove.
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat, skimming off the foam.
4. Reduce it to the minimum. After five minutes, remove the container from the stove.
5. Arrange the jam in jars, close.

Not very thick dessert is suitable for soaking biscuits

Strawberry jam with lemon zest

For preparation you will need:

• fresh strawberries – 1,5 kg;
• sugar – 1 kg;
• medium sized lemon – 1 pc.

The process is quite long:

1. Pour strawberries with sugar (preferably in layers), leave for 6-8 hours. If you periodically shake the container, you will get more juice.
2. Put on minimum heat, bring to a boil, add lemon zest.
3. Remove from heat after 2-3 minutes and let cool completely. This takes 5-6 hours.
4. Bring to a boil again, immediately remove from heat, cool.
5. The third time, cook until tender – 20-25 minutes after boiling. Arrange in banks, cork.

Outwardly, the zest in the workpiece is not noticeable in any way, but it tastes very good

Strawberry jam with basil and lemon

Required ingredients for this recipe:

• fresh strawberries – 1 kg;
• sugar – 0,75 kg;
• medium-sized lemon – 1 pc.;
• fresh basil leaves – 15-20 pcs.

How to make strawberry jam with lemon and basil:

1. Put strawberries, sugar and finely chopped or minced lemon into a container. Gently mix, let stand for 2-3 hours.
2. Bring to a boil over low heat, add basil leaves. Remove from heat after 15 minutes, cool completely.
3. Repeat twice more. The last time the jam does not need to cool. It is immediately laid out in jars, closed with lids.

Basil can be added not only to jam, but also to other homemade preparations with strawberries

Strawberry jam with lemon and mint

For its preparation will need:

• fresh strawberries – 1 kg;
• sugar – 0,75-1 kg;
• medium-sized lemon – 1 pc.;
• fresh mint leaves – 15-20 pcs.

Cooking strawberry jam with lemon and mint is easy:

1. Pour the berries with sugar, leave for 4-5 hours, periodically shaking the container.
2. Bring to a boil over low heat, after five minutes add mint leaves, after another five minutes remove from heat, cool completely.
3. Put it back on the stove. Five minutes after boiling, add the zest and lemon juice. Cook for another 15 minutes. Let it brew for 8-10 hours.
4. Boil the jam again, immediately after boiling, remove from heat, arrange in jars.

Mint strawberry jam has a very unusual, refreshing taste.

Terms and conditions of storage

Strawberry jam with lemon for the winter, subject to the technology of its preparation, can be stored for up to three years. And it doesn’t have to be kept in the fridge. Any dark, cool enough place will do. In a house it can be a cellar, basement, attic, in an apartment – a pantry, a glazed balcony.

A necessary condition for long-term storage is complete sterility. Therefore, not only berries, but also containers need preliminary preparation. Jars and lids must be sterilized, before which they are thoroughly washed first with dishwashing detergent, then with baking soda.

Classic “grandmother’s” ways – hold the containers over a boiling kettle or “fry” them in the oven. Now you can use modern household appliances – a slow cooker, a microwave oven, an air grill. The lids, immediately before closing the jars of strawberry jam, are placed for 2-3 minutes in any container that is suitable in size and poured with boiling water.

The finished product is laid out in jars immediately, hot. Then the containers are turned upside down, wrapped in a blanket and in this form they are allowed to cool completely. Only then can they be put away in a suitable place for storage. If this is not done, condensation will inevitably accumulate under the cover, provoking the development of mold, and it may also rust.

Conclusion

Strawberry jam with lemon is thicker and brighter than regular jam. But the main difference is, of course, taste. Not everyone likes the sugary sweetness of the dessert. And when lemon is added, especially in combination with herbs, the jam becomes slightly sour, the taste is very balanced. Making such a preparation for the winter is extremely simple, it will not take much time. The presence of several recipes allows you to experiment and find or create on your own the most suitable option for yourself.