Teeny Tiny Household Jam

Our household is a pretty tiny one, so cooking happens on a much smaller scale, which is not a problem unless I mull over jam-making. A lot of recipes ask for copious amounts of fruit and that makes way too much for our modest needs. I have visions of cabinets jam-packed (sorry, had to do it!) with jars that no one will ever eat. My cousins still have their late daddy's jam that he made almost 20 years ago.

Although it's really nice when friends and relatives share their yummy homemade jams with us, to me it just seems wrong not to make my own. To be perfectly honest, besides the slightly absurd quantities, one of the other drawbacks is actually the canning. The whole process just stumps me; the need for a large canning pot, sterilized canning glasses, lids and rings, pectin, the pop-pop of the seals. It seems inordinately involved when all I want is a couple of jars of preserves.

And then, last spring, Bon Appétit magazine gave me just what I've been trying to find, a no-fuss recipe for a beginning-of-summer strawberry jam. It fills two small glasses with my favorite fruit jam, it's a piece of cake to make, and best of all, no canning required!

From our farmer's market I get the very freshest organic strawberries which are small, fragrant and brightly colored. The distinctive aroma of strawberries wafts through my kitchen while I stir them over low heat with a wooden spoon. I gently mash the berries and admire their lovely red hue with its matching pink fizz trimming. The tangy apple and zesty lemon juice bring out the pleasingly sweet and exquisitely strawberry-ish taste. It has bits and pieces of apples and berries, vibrant until the very last spoonful. Oh, and if I run out, I can quickly whip up another batch.

Bon Appétit's Easy Strawberry Jam

Enough to fill two small glass jars (approx. 7 oz each)

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered

2/3 cup sugar

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and coarsely grated

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Combine quartered strawberries and sugar in a medium-sized pot. Stir in grated Granny Smith apple. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring and breaking up strawberries, until sugar dissolves. Simmer until jam is thickened, about 15 minutes, fold in lemon juice.

Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Fill two small glass jars with lids and chill until set, about 2 hours. Keep refrigerated and use within a few weeks.

Tastes great on a fresh baguette or brioche smeared with sweet butter; stirred into plain yogurt or as a filling for paper-thin pancakes.