Recipe: Lemon-Kissed Strawberry Jam (makes 1 half-pint jar)

LEMON-KISSED STRAWBERRY JAM

"This is a small-batch recipe: it makes just one perfect jar. Use surplus berries from the garden (or from the farmers' market) to make a jar when you can, then enjoy it with toast and biscuits in late spring, with butter cookies in summer, and with peanut butter for back-to-school lunches in fall."



1 lb strawberries, stemmed and cored
1⁄2 cup (4 oz) sugar
1⁄2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Put the berries in a heavy saucepan. Using a potato masher, roughly mash them, leaving some berries whole. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 cup (10 oz), about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together between your fingertips to release the essential oils in the zest.

When the strawberries are ready, add the lemon sugar and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and is reduced again to 1 cup (10 oz), about 6 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice. Transfer the jam to a clean jar. Cool, then cap tightly and refrigerate. It will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 1 half-pint (8 fl oz) jar
Adapted from source: The Kitchen Garden Cookbook by Jeanne Kelley