Early
this spring I roasted some strawberries with balsamic vinegar for a
strawberry cheese cake I made for a Memorial Day barbecue. The cheese
cake was too rich for my taste, not a keeper, but the roasted
strawberries were delicious. This caused me to search for a roasted
strawberry syrup which I could can now while strawberries are
plentiful. I never found a recipe for canned roasted strawberries, but
instead found this recipe for strawberry preserves for serving with goat
cheese as an appetizer. The pepper adds a nice kick and a bit of
interest to a type of jam that is not usually my favorite. I plan to
make another batch, possibly with brown sugar rather than white to have
on hand for gifts. I served it to my book club on a log of goat cheese, next time I'll try on some brie.
Strawberry Preserves with Balsamic Vinegar and Pepper
2 cups of strawberries (about 1 pint) cleaned and quartered
1!/2 cups of sugar
3 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon of cracked pepper
In a small sauce pan bring all ingredients to a boil, stirring and skim surface. Simmer mixture stirring and skimming surface for about 15 minutes ( I cooked about 35 minutes), until thickened and translucent. Remove pan from heat and cool preserves completely. Preserves keep covered and refrigerated one month.
I tripled the recipe using 6 cups of strawberries and used a large pot after it boiled over in my largest saucepan. I cooked quite a bit longer because I wanted a thicker product. I also ladled it into 5 half pint jars and processed in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
Recipe from Epicurious.com
