The Bountiful Kitchen: Cooking Inn Style with Local, Sustainable Foods (Recipe: Fresh Strawberry Jam, Step-by-Step Canning Instructions Included)

Meet Shirley, who works at the fruit stand near Big Mill Bed & Breakfast

This Earth Day, I’m pleased to introduce The Bountiful Kitchen: Cooking Inn Style with Local, Sustainable Foods…a new feature which will be appearing regularly on Inn Cuisine. With articles contributed by myself and bed & breakfast owner/innkeeper Chloe Tuttle, The Bountiful Kitchen is a new series dedicated to discovering the best in local, sustainable foods and featuring fabulous recipes that highlight the cream of the crop.

If you’re already familiar with, and support the ideas & movement behind local, sustainable agriculture, great! But for those of you not sure what sustainable agriculture really is, Chloe and I will be working to provide you with valuable resources that will help expand your knowledge base and empower you to make informed decisions regarding the food you eat and place on your table.

As busy, enthusiastic cooks, we understand not 100% of every food purchased can come from a local resource, but much of the food we consume can come from a sustainable one—one that does not harm the environment, strives for healthy food production, treats animals humanely, respects their agricultural workforce, and supports both farmers and farming communities.

For those needing an introduction to the ideas behind sustainable agriculture, I invite you to visit Sustainable Table. Also, if you are interested in 10 easy tips for Celebrating Earth Day the Sustainable Food Way, check out this brief, enjoyable article by Robin Shreeves. It’s packed full of simple, do-able ideas that food lovers everywhere can easily enjoy.

And now, to kick things off the Inn Cuisine way…

…the following article, recipe and photos come courtesy Chloe Tuttle, owner Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, Williamston, North Carolina.

Thank you for joining us!

For those of you just joining the effort to eat local, welcome! Allow me to start this series by sharing one of the best resources I know to help find local foods in  your area, Local Harvest. Simply type in a city or zip code and within moments you can see what foods are being grown in your area. In addition to being a first step towards going green, you’ll also be taking a step towards supporting local famers, farming communities and introducing yourself to some great tasting food along the way!

Here in North Carolina, it is U-Pick strawberry time. All across the country there are great U-Pick farms, farmers’ markets and local fruit and vegetable stands where you’ll be able to find plump, juicy berries as they come in season. Last season I visited our local U-Pick strawberry farms about 3 times a week, and always picked more fresh berries than we could possibly serve our guests at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast.

What did I do? I made homemade Strawberry Jam—and canned it—so our inn guests would be able to enjoy this bountiful fruit all-year long. In addition to Strawberry Jam, if you pick more berries than you can actually use, freeze them. Frozen strawberries make great sorbets and smoothies!

Chloe’s Strawberry Jam

(featured on InnCuisine.com, recipe from Chloe Tuttle, owner Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, NC)

Making jam is an exact science, so turn off the radio and the telephone. For a short while, you will need to focus your undivided attention on your jam making—but it is worth the effort. The jam you make from any fresh, ripe berries you pick will be far superior to any jam you have had before. But remember, these perfectly ripe berries won’t keep long. They are best when first picked, so don’t waste time.

• 4 pints fresh, ripe berries (the fresher the better)
• 7 cups sugar (sugar not only sweetens, but acts as a preservative and helps in gel formation)
• 1/2 teaspoon butter, optional (to reduce foaming)
• 1 pouch liquid pectin like Certo (make sure you check the expiration date)
• 8 half-pint jars
• 8 new flat jar lids
• you will also need 8 jar rings, but these don’t have to be new
• hot water bath canner

Fill the canner half-full with water and heat the water to a high simmer. Sterilize the jars and jar lids by pouring boiling water over them (you can also sterilize these in the dishwasher provided they dry on high heat).

Gently wash the berries. Remove the hulls and chop the berries into large chunks. Place half of these chopped berries into another bowl and mash them using a potato masher or wooden spoon, leaving the other half of the berries in large chunks. You will need 4 cups of chopped and mashed berries.

Measure 7 cups of sugar into a separate bowl—this requires exact measuring. Put the berries into a large pot (6-8 quart size or larger); stir in sugar and butter. On high heat, bring this mixture to a serious, full-rolling boil—a boil that cannot be stirred down. Quickly add the liquid pectin and return to a rolling boil.

Boil for EXACTLY 1 minute. I count one-one thousand, two-one thousand, etc. Don’t answer the doorbell or the phone. Pay attention or else all your hard work could fail (the voice of experience is speaking).

Remove from heat and skim off any foam. You can actually eat this, so save it if desired.

Using sterilized and prepared jars, ladle the jam into the jars, filling to 1/8-inch from the top. Using a damp, clean cloth, wipe the rim and the threads of the jar. Place the sterilized jar lid on the jar and screw on the jar ring.

Hot Water Processing:

Using jar tongs, place the jars in the canner of simmering water, enough to cover the tops of the jars. Bring to a boil and process for 5 minutes. Gently remove the jars from the canner and allow the jam to cool. Lay a towel loosely over the jars. Do NOT move them again until they are totally cool and sealed. You will hear them “pop” as they seal.

In times past, folks poured melted paraffin over the jam, omitting the hot water bath, although I haven’t seen this practiced in a while.

After you eat the jam, be sure to save the jars and jar rings as they can be used over and over again (green, huh?). Unfortunately, the flat lids can only be used once to seal a jar.

Yield: 8 half-pint jars plus some extra for eating.

*Note – There is some Sure Jell Pectin that uses less or no sugar, but in my opinion, it will produce results that are rubbery and not as good for this particular jam. This jam could also be made using its own pectin, but more sugar is needed as well as more cooking.

Enjoy—and be sure to share your favorite U-Pick farm experiences in the comment section below!

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