written by Thor Erickson | photography by Tambi Lane
“I hope you’ve got a plan for all these berries,” said Tom, the strawberry farmer helping me load six flats of strawberries into my truck.
“Tomorrow these won’t be the same,” he added as he wiped the sweat from his brow with a bandana. “Oregon strawberries are delicate little babies. You gotta use ’em or lose ’em. This May heatwave will spoil ’em.”
“Uh, yeah,” I replied, having absolutely no idea what I would do with them. “Uh, I’ll make jam,” I said as I got into the overheated cab of my truck and rolled down the window.
“There’s a feed store back in Dundee; you can get your canning supplies there,” Tom said with a smile as I pulled away.
Following Tom’s advice, I bought canning jars and lids at the feed store, and upon arriving home, began making jam.
The sweet perfume of the strawberries was intoxicating as I unpacked and washed them. I couldn’t help eating a few (or twenty) as I placed them in a large mixing bowl.
After tossing them with some sugar and lemon juice, I thought, “What the heck!” and added a dash of vanilla extract. It added a soft floral quality that complemented the strawberry flavor beautifully. Ever since then, I’ve always added a whole vanilla bean to the jam.
Thanks to Tom, I was able to harness that late-May Oregon sunshine in a jar to savor all year. This Oregon strawberry jam is perfect on toasted sourdough, or as an accompaniment to a ripe Oregon cheese.
Oregon Strawberry Jam
Ingredients:
- 4 cups strawberries, quartered
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 whole vanilla bean, split down the middle
Equipment:
- 8 8-ounce canning jars with lids and sealing rings, washed and sterilized
Instructions:
- Wash the strawberries, remove the tops and cut them into quarters.
- Mix the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla bean. Cover and store in the fridge overnight.
- Put the mixture in a heavy-bottomed pot, and slowly bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. As the jam thickens, lower the heat, and stir frequently to prevent sticking. The jam is ready when it slides off a spoon as a sheet rather than dripping off.
- Turn off heat. Remove the vanilla bean, and scrape its contents into the jam mixture.
- Ladle the hot jam into washed and sterilized canning jars. Leave ¼ inch of space from the top. Cover the jars with lids and rings, leaving the rings slightly loose. Immerse the jars in boiling water for 10 minutes. Take out jars carefully, and let sit for 24 hours so jam sets and lids seal. Tighten the rings.
