Homemade Strawberry Jam without Pectin ｜自製草莓果醬 (不含果膠)

Strawberry is almost the first fruit to welcome summer in Ontario; many of the local farms will open to the public for pick-your-own strawberries.  Every year my husband and I will bring our son to a strawberry farm to learn where the food comes from while picking some of the freshest fruit home.

Like many other children, my son always has fond memories of going to a strawberry farm, sampling those fresh fruit right on the field.  He will walk up and down the aisles, finding the biggest and the best looking strawberries between the leaves and shoving them into his mouth.  "It's so juicy! Mommy, look!" my son says happily.  His content face is usually covered with delicious juice.

The 30 pounds of strawberries we picked this summer.

This summer, we brought home thirty pounds of strawberries.  It was a little crazy.  I spent a full two and a half hours hulling them to prepare for the jam making.  It was a mind-over-matter job indeed.

There are two common ways to make strawberry jam.  One is using pectin and the other one without.

Pectin is extracted from high pectin fruit, like apple, through heat and acid.  It is a thickening agent that helps gelling jam or other preserves.  By adding pectin, the jam can solidify without too much reduction in the liquid.  So, it generally helps speed up the cooking process, also resulting in a larger portion of jam.  Though, pectin may cause stiff jam and may also leave some off flavour in the product.

Strawberries contain high amounts of pectin naturally; therefore, it's not necessary to thicken the jam with extra store-bought pectin.   My strawberry jam recipe is the traditional way without pectin, which means that it requires longer cooking time to reduce the liquid to the right consistency.  The finished product is usually about half of the amount of the fruit.  However, the jam is much more fruity and has no off flavour from the pectin.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

Homemade Strawberry Jam without Pectin

自製草莓果醬 (不含果膠)

INGREDIENTS

8 cups Strawberries

3 cups Sugar

1/2 Lemon of Juice

DIFRECTION:

1. Gently rinse the strawberries.

2. With a chopstick, hull the green leafy top of the strawberries.  Discard the tops.

3. Pour the strawberries in a big deep pot.  Mash them with a potato masher until lumpy.

4. Add sugar and lemon juice.  Mix together over high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts to boil.  Reduce the heat to medium.

5. Continuously boil the mixture until it becomes thicker.  Reduce the heat to simmer.  Skim off the foam and stir the mixture occasionally.

6. When the mixture reduces to nearly half, test the jam by dipping a cold spoon in the jam.  If the jam coats the spoon without falling, the jam is ready.  Remove the pot from the heat immediately.

I tested my jam on a cold plate.

7. Bottle the jam in hot sterilized mason jars immediately.

8. Seal the jars in water bath for 10 minutes.  The jars need to be totally submerged.  Leave the jars to cool and check carefully to see if the lid is moving.  The lids should not be movable.  Once cool, store them in a dark cool place.

The best part of making jam for my son was that he got to lick the spoon after I finished the jam.  Another lovely memory!  He said it was a big strawberry lollipop. 

The batches I made this year.  They should be enough to last until next summer.

Yum!

Red Clover Syrup (The summer syrup) ｜自製紅花苜蓿糖漿

Early summer is about mulberries and red clovers.  We were about to look for a big batch of red clovers to make syrup.  As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, I spotted a mulberry tree that was full of mulberries.

My son and I were so excited running under the tree and starting to pick the berries on the ground.  It was an easy forage.  Mulberries were laying everywhere.  As the wind kept blowing the tree, it shook off more ripened mulberries around us.  My husband got "hit" by the mulberries a few times, and a big mulberry even dropped right into my paper bag.

Very soon, we filled the small bag and left the rest to the wildlife.  My son often said the birds are watching us while we foraged  because they would be upset if we took too many.  He has a great point.

Mulberry is a common wild edible can be found in many places in the cities and parks.  When foraging them, you will only want the black ones.  The unripe white or red mulberries can cause mild to severe upset stomach or even hallucinations.  If you are picking mulberries with children, make sure they don't put the red ones in their mouths.  Though, the mulberries that have dropped from the tree are mostly ripened.

Left: picking mulberry beside a parking lot; top right: ripen mulberries in soaking water; bottom right: red clovers

We also got lucky with the red clovers.  There were patches of them growing along the walking path.  To make syrup, I always forage only the pink clovers.  They are much sweeter, more floral, and have higher medicinal properties to prevent coughing.

The leaves and the flowers of the clover are edible, but the leaves are somewhat bitter, and we don't really enjoy them as much as the flower top.

This is the clover has the mix of pink and white.  It's edible, but I usually leaf it out of my foraging  since it is not as sweet as the pink clovers.

Hiking in summer, you can also easily find wood sorrel.  They usually grow close to the ground under the bushes or under the trees.  Each wood sorrel is composed of three heart shaped leaves.  The leaves, stems, and the yellow flowers are edible and taste lemony.  My son loves it.  He kept asking me to pick more for him so that he could snack on the hike.  We had a great time that day.

My son was snacking wood sorrel. 

Red Clover Syrup

自製紅花苜蓿糖漿

Ingredients:

2 cups Red Clovers, flower head only

2 cups Mulberries

1 cup Sugar

4 cups Water

How to make it:

1. Soak the mulberries in cold water for 5 minutes.  Drain.

2. Soak the red clovers in cold water for five minutes.  Make sure to remove any sand or small bugs.  Remove and discard the leaves.

3. In a deep pot, mash the mulberries.  Add clover, sugar, and water.  Bring it to a boil over high heat, and then boil it for another 15 minutes.  Strain away the clovers and mulberry seeds.

4. Reduce the heat to medium and continuously boil it until the liquid reduces to 1/3; stirring occasionally.

5. Turn off the heat.  Keep it in an air-tight jar and use it on ice cream, drinks, or goat cheese.

Pearl Barley Lemon Drink ｜ 檸檬薏米水

Peral barley lemon drink is a common beverage in Hong Kong.  During the fiercely hot summer time, many moms will make this lemony drink for their family to cool off their bodies.

In this drink, we combine two different types of barley, the raw barley and the toasted barley.   Since we believe every food contains different elements like "yin and yang" or "cold and hot", we consider raw barley to be "cold" and roasted barley to be "hot".  By combining the two barley together, we can balance the extreme elements that benefits our bodies.

The raw barely is on the left, and the roasted barley is on the right.

Pearl Barley Lemon Drink

檸檬薏米水

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Raw Barely

1/2 cup Roasted Barely

4 tablespoons Sugar

1/4 wedge of Lemon

How to make it:

1. Bring it to a boil.  Add raw barely and roasted barely.  Reduce the heat to medium and continuously boil it for 25 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  Squeeze in the lemon juice and season it with sugar.

Summer Shirataki Noodles Salad ｜ 夏日蒟蒻涼麵

The school is finished and my son started his first summer camp.  It is a nature learning camp to help children experience wild animals' habitats and allow the children to get dirty.  My son loves it.  He has a great time time climbing trees, playing with mud, building shelter, and having a campfire with his new friends there.

 After the long hot day, my son prefers a light and simple dinner.  I am also not feeling up to cooking in front of the heat.  So making some cold shirataki noodles is a good idea.

Shirataki noodles are made from the tubers of the konjac plant through a drying and grounding process.  It's high in soluble fibre with little calories so it's considered as a healthy diet food and pasta substitute.  You can find shirataki in brown or white colour.  White shirataki is the original and the brown one has added seaweed.  Brown shirataki is firmer and slightly richer in taste. 

My whole family loves the smooth and chewy texture of shirataki noodles.  My son's eyes lit up when he saw it.  "I remember this.  I like this stuff. I am going to eat it all."  Then, he slurped up a forkful of shirataki.

Since shirataki noodles have almost no taste you can flavour them with any sauce or dressing according to your preference.  I use both white and brown shirataki, but I like to use the white for a creamy dessert and the brown for a savoury dinner.

The recipe below is one of my simple and delicious ways to prepare cold shirataki for a hot summer night.  

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Summer Shirataki Noodles Salad

夏日蒟蒻涼麵

Ingredients for topping:

2 packs Shirataki Noodles

1 pack Enoki Mushrooms

3 Eggs

20 Shrimps

1/2 cucumber

2 Carrots

Oil (for frying eggs)

Ingredients for dressing:

4 tablespoons Rice Vinegar

5 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

3 tablespoons Honey

4 tablespoons White Sesame, toasted

DIRTECTION:

1. Deshell and devein the shrimp.  Rinse it under cold water; set aside.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat.  Add the shrimp.  Cook until the shrimp change colour and curl up; about 2 minutes.  Drain the shrimp and allow it to cool.

*You can cook the shells in the cooking liquid and save it as seafood broth for other recipes. 

3. Quarter the cucumber lengthwise.  Deseed it and than slice it into 4 cm sticks with its skin on; set aside.

4. Cut the carrot into the same size as the cucumber with its skin on.  Set aside.

5. Cut and discard the lower stems of the enoki mushrooms.  Remove any dirt or debris.  Set aside.

6. To make scrambled eggs, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Beat the eggs together, and then add it into the pan.  Quickly stir the egg until it turns bright yellow and set aside.  Transfer the eggs to a plate.

7. In a bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients.  Mix well and set it aside.

8. To serve, add a portion of shirataki noodles in the centre of the plate.  Add the ingredients around it.  Last, season it with the dressing and serve immediately.  It can be kept in the fridge up to two days.

Mugwort Agar Agar - wild edible recipe ｜ 艾草大菜糕

Mugwort is one of my favourite wild edible greens.  It has a unique herby flavour that goes really well with dairy, and it's rich in Vitamin K.

During May to early June, mugwort grows abundantly along road sides or in parks.  I've been foraging this beautiful herb and drying them to use in later months.

Dried mugwort

To dry mugwort is simple.  All you need to do is give it a very good soak and rinse, and then spread them loosely on a baking tray or any flat surface to be air dried.  Avoid overlapping the mugwort, which is key because it will result in a moldy smell that certainly reflects in the food.

When the mugwort is completely dried, crumble it up by hand and remove as many hard stems or pieces as you can.  The finished product should be soft and fibrous.  Keep it in an air-tight jar at room temperature.

I heard some people use a dehydrator to dry mugwort, but I haven't tried it.  So I am not sure if both method are equivalent or if one is better than the other.  However, dried mugwort has a more intense flavour than the fresh one.

I used dried mugwort in the recipe below, but you're always welcome to use fresh mugwort instead.  They all are delicious.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

Mugwort Agar Agar

艾草大菜糕

Ingredients:

5 gram Dired Mugwort

2 cups Water

8 gram Agar Agar Block

5 tablespoons Sugar

Milk (to serve)

Grapes (for decoration)

How to make:

1. Combine the mugwort and water in a small pot.  Bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low.  Let it boil for 10 minutes and remove it from the heat.

From clockwise.

2. When the mixture cools slightly.  Blend it in a food processor until the mugwort is finely chopped.  Drain the juice through a tea strainer and discard the mugwort.

3. Pour the juice back to the pot.  Cut the agar agar into small pieces and add them to the pot, followed by sugar.  Bring the liquid to a boil and then simmer it on low heat until the agar agar is totally dissolved; stirring constantly.

4. Pour the mixture in a mould and allow it to cool slightly before transferring it to the fridge.  Chill the agar agar until it is set; about 15-20 minutes.  Serve with cream or milk, along with any fruits that are desired.