I was gifted some organic vanilla beans from the Kingdom of Tonga. Don’t know where the Kingdom of Tonga is? Neither did I. Don’t feel bad. Didn’t know the Kingdom of Tonga produced vanilla beans? Again, join the club. My, hasn’t this been an educational day for us all already?
Verdict on the Tonga vanilla beans: they were dry and a bit cracked but still fine. Vanilla beans are best when they’re oily and supple. These just weren’t stored well before they were sold. That was okay, though. It just made it harder to get out the seeds. They were certainly still a gourmet treat that perfumed the kitchen for a day.
Tip: When buying vanilla, stick to glass, airtight packaging, and store it the same way. Plastic ziploc bags are no good. And buy beans from a reputable source. My favourite in Montreal: Olives et Épices. The next time you’re in the Kingdom of Tonga, however, do pick up a few.
Strawberry-Vanilla Jam (makes about four 250mL jars of jam, but always sterilize at least one extra 125mL or 250mL just in case)
Adapted from Food in Jars‘ Small Batch Strawberry-Vanilla Jam recipe
8 cups chopped strawberries
3 2/3 – 4 cups sugar
4 vanilla beans
zest and juice of 2 lemons
Canning Instructions for Strawberry-Vanilla Jam
A magnetic lid-lifter, a funnel, and jar-lifters will make your canning life easier. These can all be purchased for about $17 at a hardware store or wherever canning supplies are sold. Online, I’m sure. You can also buy an actual canning pot or a metal frame to put inside your giant stock pot, but you can also just put a kitchen towel on the bottom of your pot so the cans don’t touch the bottom and are completely surrounded by water.
Hull and slice the berries and slice open the vanilla pods vertically. Then scrape out the vanilla seeds and cut the beans into 1″ pieces. Place the fruit and vanilla seeds and pods in a medium pot with the sugar.
Sterilize Cans: Wash your jars, screw bands and lids in hot, soapy water. Then place the jars and screw top lids (not the replaceable wax-rimmed lids) in a giant canning pot of warm water (or cold, but it will take less tie to heat if it’s already warm, but you won’t burn yourself since it’s not hot). The jars should be covered by 1 inch of water. Bring the water to a boil, and boil for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes in the pot, turn off the heat and leave them in the water on the hot burner until you need them.
Only after water has come to a boil above, start making the jam itself. (Put a small plate in the freezer now if you don’t have a candy thermometre – see below). Bring the strawberries and vanilla in sugar to a boil over high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes occasionally so they don’t burn or overflow the pot (you can turn it down to medium-high if necessary, but keep it boiling steadily or the jam won’t thicken. If it burns, transfer to a new pot immediately. Don’t scrape in the burned bits).
Add the lemon zest and juice (start with most of it, and then add more to taste if desired) and cook about 5 minutes more.
In this five minutes remove your jars and screw-bands from the large canning pot with tongs or jar lifters. Place on a kitchen towel. Place the wax-rimmed lids in a small pot of water and bring to just below a boil. Turn off the heat and leave the rims until you need them (they need to sit at least 5 minutes in the hot water).
Test the jam with a candy thermometre, waiting until the jam reaches 220 F. Or take your small plate out of the freezer and use a spoon to drop just a few drops on the frozen plate, then put it back in the freezer for 30 seconds. Remove the plate and press down on the jam with your index finger. If the indentation created by your finger stays in the jam, it’s done. Take the jam off the heat. Use a funnel (if you have one) to pour the jam into the hot jars, being careful not to touch the rims or the filling with your hands.
Use a wooden chopstick or something long, thin and not metal or plastic to remove any air bubbles from the jars. Wipe down the tops of the jars with a clean, wet paper towel. Sticky, syrupy rims don’t help the seal.
Now use your chopsticks or magnetic lid-lifter to place a wax-rimmed lid on each jar and also to place a screw band ring on top. Tighten as much as you can using just your finger tips of your strong hand. You don’t want to over-tighten or under-tighten.
Place the jars in the huge pot of water you used to sterilize the jars earlier using your jar-lifters, cover, bring the pot back to a boil, and start the timer for 10 minutes only when the water comes back to a rolling boil.
After 10 minutes remove the pot from the heat, remove the jars from the pot to a kitchen towel, let cool overnight, and store in a cool, dark, dry place. Oh, and label them!
Fridge Jam Instructions
All you do is hull and slice the berries and slice open the vanilla pods vertically. Then scrape out the vanilla seeds and cut the beans into 1″ pieces. Place the fruit and vanilla seeds and pods in the sugar in a medium saucepan.
Bring them to a boil over high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally after 5 minutes so the strawberries don’t burn or overflow the pot (you can turn it down to medium-high if necessary, but keep it boiling steadily or the jam won’t thicken. If it burns, transfer to a new pot immediately. Don’t scrape the burned bits into the jam).
Add the lemon zest and juice (not all at once, and then add more to taste if desired) and cook about 5 minutes more. Store in 3 clean glass jars in the fridge for up to a month. You can test the jam (if you want – it’ll still taste good no matter how gel-like it is) with a candy thermometre, waiting until the jam reaches 220 F. Or put a plate in the freezer when you start boiling the fruit. When you think the jam is done use a spoon to drop just a few drops on the frozen plate, then put it back in the freezer for 30 seconds. Remove the plate and press down on the jam with your index finger. If the indentation created by your finger stays in the jam, it’s done.
Storing fridge jam: If you can’t eat four jars of jam in 1 month, you can put two of your jars of your jam in the freezer (use recycled canning jars if freezing, though, since they’re designed to withstand heat and lack of heat, while regular glass jars are not). Then when you take them out of the freezer they’ll still have a one-month fridge life each.
Yay! Jam!
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