Jammin’

Forget tarts, charlottes and souffles--it has long been my belief that the best thing to do with a ripe strawberry is simply to pop it into your mouth and eat it. This approach, however, has its drawbacks. Perfect strawberries exist only during a few months of the year. Yes, strawberries are available nearly year-round, but I speak of perfection, not availability.

What if you want to experience perfection in a strawberry in October? You’re out of luck--unless you have been wise enough to do the second-best thing with a ripe strawberry, and that is to turn it into homemade preserves.

Why anyone would embark upon home canning--a hot, labor-intensive, time-consuming job--when the shelves of supermarkets are loaded with every type of fruit spread imaginable and imported condiments beckon from the pages of gourmet food catalogues, is indeed a question that begs an answer. I can only say that making preserves is enormously satisfying and, unlike such culinary pursuits as baking bread, the fruits of your labors are around to admire for up to a year, if you play your cards right.

And there’s something special about homemade preserves. They are a pleasant anachronism, evoking a time earlier in this century when made-from-scratch foods were a part of our daily lives.

That’s one reason why homemade preserves make wonderful gifts. When I give someone a jar of my jam, marmalade or chutney, I feel that I’m giving a symbol of personal time and care spent on a gift, rare in this age of credit-card purchases by telephone.

But the best reason to can your own preserves, of course, is that the flavor is so superior to that of commercial products that it will permanently spoil you.

Successful home preserving and canning begins with top-quality fruit. You can’t decide to make strawberry preserves and count on being able to find good berries; rather, seeing a flat of perfect berries should trigger the immediate impulse to transform them into preserves. Ideally, you should pick your own fruit; failing that, look for berries that are heavy, firm, succulent and sweet without being overripe.

If you have never ventured into canning and preserving, you may be intimidated by the notion that it requires special equipment and is fraught with the potential danger of food toxins. I know I was.

The facts are as follows: Home canning does require special equipment, and there’s no point in attempting it without the proper tools. The musts for home canning are a large, non-reactive saucepan (for cooking preserves); a deep canning kettle with wire inserts designed to hold jars upright in a boiling-water bath; jar-lifting tongs; and canning jars, screw bands and new lids made by one of the major manufacturers, such as Ball or Kerr. Not mandatory, but very useful, are a candy thermometer, rubber gloves (to avoid danger of burns) and a wide-mouthed canning funnel.

The basic equipment costs less than $60, an investment that, for me, has been amortized over dozens of glistening jars of home preserves in my larder.

What about the safety issue? When I made my first preserves (strawberry), I called my mother (not a preserve-maker) to proudly report on the jars of jam displayed on my kitchen counter. “Well, I hope you were careful,” she said, in what I call the Voice of Doom. I assured her that I was and later reported that the suspect jam had been consumed with no ill effects.

If the recipe comes from a modern, reputable source and you follow it carefully, there is nothing dangerous about home canning. However, if you change proportions in recipes, reduce cooking times, use recipes from cookbooks published in 1912, omit steps or otherwise fail to follow instructions, the danger of bacteriological contamination is very real. It’s that simple.

As home canning goes, making strawberry jam is relatively easy. There is some dispute over whether a boiling-water bath is necessary for jams. The “Ball Blue Book” (a home canner’s Bible) insists upon it, while many other reputable cookbooks, including “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook” and “The Joy of Cooking,” say that pouring the boiling-hot jam into hot, sterilized jars and sealing them immediately with sterilized lids (the so-called open-kettle method) will suffice.

My interpretation of the evidence is that the open-kettle method works for careful cooks most of the time, but a boiling-water bath ensures sterility and strong seals on the jars. Personally, I always process jams and preserves in a boiling-water bath. It may be overkill, but I have a clear conscience as I slather preserves on my English muffins.

What about pectin? Commercial pectin is a convenience item that takes all the guesswork out of preserve-making and shortens cooking times considerably. It is, however, completely unnecessary in making strawberry jam; strawberries and other fresh berries thicken naturally when properly cooked. Also, jams made with commercial pectin require far more sugar. This results in a sweeter, stiffer product, more like store-bought--and who wants that?

The only tricky aspect of making jam without pectin is determining when the jam has sufficiently thickened, which is difficult when the mixture is boiling hot. Here’s where a candy thermometer comes in handy. The jellying point is 8 degrees above the boiling point of water in your community; in most areas, the boiling point is 212 degrees, so the jelly stage is reached at 220 degrees. Jam, which is softer than jelly, is done when its temperature reaches about 7 degrees above boiling, usually 219 degrees.

But the best test for thickening is to place a few drops of the hot jam onto a cold plate, then place it in the freezer for a minute or two (take the rest of the jam off the heat so it doesn’t overcook). Check the consistency of the droplets by tipping the plate and running your finger across them. If the droplets seem jelled, the mixture is done.

Don’t rush the process--there’s nothing more frustrating than canning preserves before they have thickened and having to re-cook and reprocess them (it’s happened to me more than once, I am ashamed to admit).

Also, never increase or double a jam recipe in the mistaken notion that it will save on labor. I had this brilliant idea early on, before I had read much about canning. I ended up discarding about 10 cups of what could only be described as marmalade syrup. Jam jells best in small batches, usually four to six cups. If you increase the batch, chances are it will fail to jell.

Store your finished jars in a cool, dark place (a wine cellar or basement storage area is ideal), being sure to label each one with the date and contents. Home-canned goods should be consumed within a year for optimal flavor.

If you have never canned, it’s a good idea to read up on the subject. I recommend the “Ball Blue Book,” which you can get by sending your name, address and $3.50 to Direct Marketing, Ball Corp., P.O. Box 2005, Muncie, Ind. 47307-0005.

Also, “Putting Food By” by Greene, Hertzberg and Vaughan (Stephen Greene Press: 1988) is an excellent resource, full of informative photos and details on the science behind canning.

“Perfect Preserves” by Nora Carey (Stewart, Tabori & Chang: 1990) forgoes the scientific approach in favor of the aesthetic and, with its exquisite color photos of British gardens and home-preserved fruits, is a delight to peruse.

Not sure if you want to dive right into this home-canning thing? Then try freezer jams, which use commercial pectin and don’t require the processing.

JAR PREPARATION

For each of the traditional home-canned recipes, you must prepare your jars, screw bands and lids just before you prepare the jam. Check jars for nicks or cracks, then wash the jars, screw bands and lids in hot, soapy water. Jars should be placed in a deep container (I use the boiling-water bath canner) and boiled for 10 minutes, then left in the hot water until they are ready to be filled. The screw bands and the lids should be covered with hot water in a small saucepan, brought to a boil and then removed from the heat but kept in the hot water. Use any size jar you prefer; 8-ounce (half-pint) jars are best for small families.

The following recipe is adapted from the “Ball Blue Book,” 32nd edition.

STRAWBERRY JAM

2 quarts washed, hulled, crushed strawberries

6 cups sugar

Combine berries and sugar in large saucepan. Bring slowly to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly until thick, about 40 minutes (test for jellying point by using one of methods indicated above). As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. When mixture reaches jam stage, remove from heat. Skim off any remaining foam and stir 1 or 2 minutes.

Ladle hot jam into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headroom. Wipe top and threads of jars with clean, damp cloth. Cap with 2-piece screw-band lids, turning until firmly tight. Place filled jars in boiling-water bath. Return to boil and boil 10 minutes. Remove and let cool. Makes about 4 pints.

Freezer jams are simple--they don’t require the boiling-water bath. This recipe is adapted from the “Ball Blue Book.”

FREEZER STRAWBERRY JAM

2 cups finely mashed strawberries

4 cups sugar

1 (1 3/4-ounce) package powdered pectin

1 cup water

Combine berries and sugar in large bowl. Let stand about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine pectin and water in small saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add cooked pectin to berry mixture and stir 3 minutes.

Pour jam into clean canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headroom. Wipe top and threads of jars with clean, damp cloth. Cap with 2-piece screw-band lids, turning until firmly tight. Let stand until set, up to 24 hours. Store in freezer until ready to use. Makes about 3 pints.