What is better all summer long than fresh berries? After moving to Seattle and discovering Washington state’s otherworldly berry offerings, I got into the habit of buying way more than (I thought) I could ever eat. But when you’ve got berries so delicious they taste fake, the only thing a reasonable person can do is eat them all, without guilt or abandon.
Alas, what is worse all winter long than unripe, pale store bought berries? Nothing. So, in addition to freezing berries in bulk, making jam is the next best thing to preserve them all year.
Because seasonal and local berries are the most sweet and flavorful, you won’t need nearly as much sugar as most recipes call for (up to 1/2 cup!) Roasting strawberries brings out a deep, rich flavor, and here the recipe only calls for 2 tbsp sugar, which saves you almost 10g of sugars per tablespoon and 35 calories compared with Smucker’s Strawberry Jam. Add more sugar if your berries aren’t particularly sweet, but taste them first!
This recipe as written will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 weeks, so if you want to preserve it all winter, you’ll want to use a water bath canning method.
Add to toast, muffins, as a delicious warm syrup over ice cream, or use for this amazing gluten-free, vegan Strawberry Lavender cake.
Delicious vegan and low sugar strawberry jam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit and prepare a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
Hull and roughly chop strawberries.
Place in the middle of your baking sheet or in a bowl with the sugar and lemon juice to allow berries to macerate, about 5 minutes. If berries are not very sweet, use additional sugar.
Spread berries in even layer on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring 2-3 times.
Remove from oven and pour into a heat proof bowl; allow to cool.
Serve on toast, mix into ice cream or use as a topping, use for cake filling, etc.
For a thicker jam, you can add chia seeds which cause liquids to gel. This will give you a more jam like consistency using a protein rich ingredient.
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