How to make wild strawberry jam

If you are lucky enough to have wild strawberries growing in your back garden or you to live close to a place where you can collect them, you have to give this delicious wild strawberry jam a try!

The wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca), also known as an Alpine or Woodland strawberry, is a delicious if not quite small version of their cultivated cousin. They’re normally just a few millimeters in length, rarely growing to anything near a standard strawberry from your local supermarket. But what they lack in size, they definitely make up for in taste, packing a really strong, concentrated flavour. You’ll typically find alpine strawberries at the edge of woods and mountains (hence the name Alpine, which refers to the mountain range the Alps) where they like to grow in shady and slightly damp conditions.

For this recipe you’re going to need half a kilogram of alpine strawberries, which you may struggle with – so there’s no shame in bulking this out with a few of your own – homegrown strawberries would be a nice substitute in this recipe, or take a look for your nearest PYO.

Redcurrants grow everywhere at the moment too and I’m sure you never know what to do with them… You’ll be surprised at the amazing contribution redcurrants are to this recipe! To make the juice that you need for this all you need to do is cook around 500 grams of redcurrant with a tiny bit of water (just enough for it not to get burnt, not more!) for only one or two minutes. Sieve it and… done!

Close up of a Wild Strawberry

INGREDIENTS:

  • 500 gr. wild strawberries
  • 500 gr. gelling (jam) sugar
  • 250 ml. fresh redcurrant juice (best if home-made!)

 


PREPARATION:

  • If possible, don’t wash the strawberries. Mix them with half of the sugar and keep them covered overnight in the fridge.
  •  Mix the rest of the sugar with the redcurrant juice in a pan and heat it up until the sugar has dissolved. Add the strawberry paste to this and cook it for around 15 minutes.
  • Empty the mixture straight away into sterilized glasses and close them tight.

If you’ve done the above steps correctly, you should end up with some delicious wild strawberry and redcurrant jam – the perfect compliment to scones, freshly-baked bread, and just about anything that warrants a sweet, slightly sharp addition!

If kept in an airtight jar the jam should last between 6 and 9 months, maybe a bit longer, and once opened should be kept refrigerated where it will last a few months.

Give our wild strawberry jam a go and let us know how you get on! We’d love to hear your own recipe ideas, or to see photos of your finished jam.