Buried in Berries! Our Favorite Strawberry Recipes 2011

The pile of berries that just refused to shrink - batch, after batch, after batch, after batch!!

This year I experienced making jam for the first time.

I’ll tell you one thing, my husband planted enough berries! I made batch after batch, and the pile of berries on the counter did not seem to shrink at all for a loooong time.

I tried jam with pectin, and jam without pectin. I tried low-sugar jam, and regular traditional jam. Once I was all jammed out I made strawberry sauce for pancakes and other goodies, strawberry-guava lemonade, and Sundae-in-a-Jar. From that point on I washed and cored berries, freezing them in gallon-sized freezer bags. I am pretty certain we have enough various homemade organic strawberry products to last us a while!

The family rated all the recipes 5 stars, except for the Strawberry Margarita Jam which boiled far too long and is extremely thick and hard to spread (tastes awesome, though – more for me!!).

The family favorite jam is Strawberry Rhubarb. We love the sweet-tart flavor and heartiness. It’s wonderful!

And, the #1 hands-down favorite of everything I made this year was the Sundae-in-a-Jar. My husband has forbidden me to give any more away.

 

Sundae-in-a-Jar is basically strawberries, raspberries, and chocolate liquor (plus sugar and pectin). It’s unbelievable. Really. One could spread it on bread, but we have found it best on a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream. Or chocolate ice cream. Or cheesecake…obviously this violates our whole low-sugar policy! I think I can find it in my heart to allow this treat in moderation. It’s definitely a recipe I’ll be making again next year!