Strawberry preserves, two ways

Following my annual tradition, I put off strawberry picking - and therefore jam making - until it was so late in the season that I had to call farms to make sure there were still strawberries to pick. Perhaps my fears were a little premature this year because though the fields at Ingram Farm were certainly thinned-out, my sister, nephews and I were able to pick more than 10 pounds in just a couple of rows.

In the afternoon, I used roughly half of the strawberries in two jams. I made the first with great results last year: Strawberry Margarita Preserves. It was a little thin last year and even more so this year. It's not that I didn't believe the thermometer when it said the preserves hadn't reached the ideal temperature to gel... or maybe it was that... For a tried and true instrument, I seem to have a hard time trusting thermometers. I always end up thinking it's not properly calibrated, or I don't have it in the ideal spot between the top and bottom of the pot or that after an hour, my preserves could possibly still be runny. Fortunately, texture and flavor are two different things in making preserves and even if this did turn out to be syrup, it's still mighty tasty.

The second batch of preserves is from my fancy canning book, Mes Confitures. This book reads like it's 80 years old, but was just released in 2002. Really elegant, interesting recipes, including (I hope) the preserves I started yesterday: Strawberry Preserves with Black Pepper and Fresh Mint. It's a three-day process, starting with macerating the strawberries with sugar and lemon juice overnight. Today, I will boil the mixture, then let it sit overnight again. Tomorrow, the final cooking and canning.

Keep your fingers crossed - two flavors of strawberry syrup would be fine, but something spreadable would be even better.