Recipe for macerated strawberries

Macerated strawberries recipe is coming! This coffee shop in Lublin’s old town looked really tempting. With ordered tea there came tiny plate where 2 preserved strawberries were sitting. I tried… mmmm… they were sweet and delicious. And although it was 7 years ago, I still remember very well the place and the taste...

While drinking tea I was wondering 'where is it possible to buy such tasty treat' - which I asked the  waitress. She didn't know and went to the kitchen to ask. It didn’t take longer than one minute. Lady appeared and asked ‘have you asked about strawberries?’ – ‘Yess...’ – ‘We don’t buy them – we make them in June, during strawberries season. It's old recipe we use in Russia….’ - 'How do they stay whole and fall apart?'

It was so nice of her to tell me their strawberries recipe – I learned later from the waitress, that she is the owner of the restaurant and comes from Russia. Here in Poland we don’t make this kind of strawberries jam, but it’s always nice to learn something from neighbors.

Based on the recipe for whole strawberries I make the strawberries jelly adding gelatin at the final stage. I haven’t tried pectin yet – maybe if you do, please let me know the results.

It’s wonderful recipe, giving you tasty jam with whole strawberries inside and not mashed strawberry jam. Put strawberries in a bowl or a pot in which you will boil it next day. Add sugar on the top – try to spread it evenly to cover all strawberries. Proportions strawberries to sugar 3:1 or 1:1 – according to your preference.. I am always trying to use less sugar. Leave your strawberries covered with sugar in peace for 24 hours. Next day you will see that strawberries got smaller and produced juice – this is the way it should be.

Boil it for 15 to 20 minutes – this is long enough. This way of treating the strawberries let’s them keep their natural shape and some firmness. When it stops boiling, I am adding gelatine to change the syrup to light jelly in the final product. Make sure to not add too much gelatine – you don’t want the jelly to become too dense.

At this moment you can decide what your final product will be. You can also separate the strawberries with such amount of syrup that it’s enough to cover it , close the jars and boil it for few minutes to make sure you get rid of all the possible molds in the jar. The remaining syrup is wonderful as syrup in the winter – can be used as topping for your winter desserts or added to your tea.

What are your favorite recipes for strawberries?