Strawberry sauce

This post could equally have been called: How I retrieved something delectable from a grievous culinary error.

It was meant to be jam.

With nearly 4kg of just-picked strawberries at my disposal, I followed The Gourmet Farmer’s recipe to a T [or so I thought] only to discover that even my unripest fruit was too ripe, and therefore unsettable [Matthew Evans did try to warn me].

Having no dehydrated citrus pith (albedo) powder at the ready, and knowing that the addition of lemon rind would change the flavour of my jam, I opted for a pectin-based jam setter to thicken my second batch — and still it refused to set. The end result was undeniably delicious, but it was pretty thin for a jam…

So here is my recipe for strawberry sauce. It may not be what I set out to make, but it is amazingly good on Greek-style natural yoghurt — and I can’t wait to try it with ice-cream and bits of gingerbread house on Christmas day.

Recipe #154: Strawberry sauce. You will need only a few utensils for this recipe, including: a large pasta/stock pot; a large spoon for stirring; a ladle/slotted spoon for removing scum; sterilised jars for storing the jam. The whole process, from cleaning/cutting strawberries to adding the jam to jars, takes around an hour and makes around 1.5L of sauce.

You will need:
► 1.2kg semi-ripe to ripe strawberries, washed and sliced [weigh your strawberries after chopping off the greenery]
► 800g sugar [I used muscovado]
► 1 cinnamon stick
► the juice of 1 lemon

To make the sauce:

1. Place all ingredients into the pot on medium heat, stirring frequently.
2. Bring to the boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   >You will need to keep your sauce company during the cooking process, as it will froth up and over the edge of your pot if left to its own devices.
   >If the sugar has not completely dissolved after this time, keep it on the heat, stirring occasionally, until it has.
3. Every time you stir, check for scum on the surface and remove this carefully with a slotted spoon or ladle. Discard scum in compost.

That’s it! Let your sauce sit for 10-15 minutes before transferring to the sterilised jars for storage.
>BBC goodfood tells you how to sterilise and store, if you’re unsure.

Since making two different strawberry sauces, my daughter’s family daycare carer has informed me that the addition of a pulverised apple should ensure I have the pectin content needed for jamming up my sauce. I’ll be picking a ridiculous quantity of strawberries again on Friday, so I’ll let you know how version 3 progresses.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this recipe on your yoghurt, bread, ice-cream, or spoon — however you prefer it.

H 🙂