Field strawberries are called differently in different regions of Russia: polunitsa, hilly strawberry, meadow strawberry or steppe strawberry. Apparently, this is why there is some confusion in completely different plants.
Description of the plant
Field strawberries can grow up to 20 cm in height, have thick brown rhizomes and thin stems. The leaves are trifoliate, oval, with teeth, silky to the touch, the lower part of the leaves has dense pubescence. It blooms with white flowers in late May - early June.
The berries are spherical, hence the name strawberry; in ancient Slavic “club” means ball. The color of the berries ranges from light green with whitish inclusions at the stage of technical ripeness to deep cherry when fully ripe. The berries may be greenish on one side and pink on the other. But even in this form they are very sweet and tasty, and suitable for collecting. The fruits are very fragrant. Those who have tasted wild strawberries once will remember their taste and aroma for the rest of their lives, which cannot be confused with other berries.
The peculiarity of field strawberries is that the sepals fit very tightly to the berry. During the collection process they come off with them. In July–August, the fruits of field strawberries begin to ripen. You can find field strawberries in meadows, hills or small hills in central Russia, steppe and forest-steppe regions. It even happens that berries are not visible among the thick grass, but their rich berry aroma gives them away.The berries are quite dense, so they do not wrinkle, they can be transported over long distances. But, of course, the most delicious jam is made from freshly picked strawberries, because during storage the peculiar aroma disappears.
Recipes
Do I need to remove the sepals from the berries? Everyone decides for themselves based on their taste preferences. For some, the presence of leaves in the jam does not bother them at all, while others prefer jam made only from berries. The process of removing sepals is time-consuming and cannot be completed by one housewife, so look for help, it’s more fun and faster to do everything in a group.
To make jam you will need: berries - 1 kg, granulated sugar - 1 kg.
- The berries are cleared of sepals. Now you need to wash them under running water and let them dry. There is no single point of view regarding washing.
- Place the berries in a container and cover with sand. Place in the refrigerator. It's better to do this at night.
- The next morning they will give you juice. Pour the juice into the container in which you will cook the jam. Place on the stove. Stir until the sugar dissolves. If the berries give little juice, add a little water to get a syrup.
- Place the strawberries in the boiling syrup, wait until it boils and cook for about 5 minutes, skimming off the foam. To remove the foam or not? Again, everyone decides the issue based on their experience and preferences. After 5 minutes, turn off the stove and let the future jam cool completely. This may take several hours, but at least 4.
- Then we repeat the process. Heat the jam and boil for 5 minutes, let cool, repeat this three times.
- Place the finished product in clean, sterilized jars and close the lids. The jam is stored at room temperature.
This method of preparation, although time-consuming, achieves the required thickness of the jam.The berries remain whole and are saturated with syrup
A slightly different recipe for making wild strawberry jam.
You will need 1 kg of granulated sugar, 1 kg of berries, 200 g of water, 1 teaspoon of citric acid.
- Make a syrup from granulated sugar and water. If the syrup flows from the spoon in a thick and viscous stream, then it is ready.
- Pour the prepared berries into the syrup, let it boil, add citric acid and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for about 6 hours.
- Then heat it again and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool. The finished jam has a good thickness and does not spread over the plate. It may be necessary to repeat the cooking process more than 2 times.
The addition of citric acid prevents the jam from becoming sugary. Video recipe:
You can make so-called jam from wild strawberries - five-minute jam. This cooking method saves time and, most importantly, vitamins. There are different proportions of berries and granulated sugar. The main thing is that the jam is cooked for no more than 5 minutes and immediately rolled into jars. It is better to first remove the sepals from the berries, rinse them, and cover them with granulated sugar so that they give juice.
Conclusion
Make jam from wild strawberries, this is a very tasty berry, please your loved ones. On long winter evenings, enjoy the strawberry aroma of the fruit, which is preserved in the jam, as if a piece of a bright summer day was hidden in a jar.
