Strawberry Preserves -- a Pinedo recipe

 On page 79 of Encarnación Pinedo's book, El cocinero español, I found this recipe:

I translated it to this:

Strawberry preserves.

         After the strawberries are rinsed, the calyx is removed: a layer of strawberries and another of sugar are placed in a container, and alternately the layers are put on until the pan is filled, leaving them so overnight.

         The next day the honey that the strawberries have discharged is taken and a quart of water and another of sugar are added: everything will boil to the point of joining the fingers[1]: when the syrup has that point, the strawberries will be emptied into it, and be careful that they only give two boils, so that they get well soaked and do not fall apart.

         NOTICE-When the preserves are boiled enough, a peeled and segmented orange is added, but without breaking it, it is left to boil for one or two hours in the preserve, and it is removed without breaking it. With this operation, the preserves are not sweetened.

         ANOTHER-A little Spanish anise[2] is added to the preserves, which will be tied in a piece of white canvas and placed inside the vessel or pan in which they are being cooked.

---

[1] Possibly the thread stage, 230° F.

[2] Pimpinella anisum or aniseed.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Ah, now I have a goal for my visit to the farmer's market!

After a diligent search for just the right berries, I was successful:

You see, most of the farmers were selling baskets of giant, beautiful strawberries.  But I walked the entire market to find a basket of small, beautiful berries.  The big ones are showy, but they aren't robust in their berry flavor.  The small ones, often sold as jam berries, are the best when you want a strong taste of strawberry.

Notice in her recipe, Miss Pinedo emphasizes that the berries are not supposed to fall apart.  This tells me the goal is to preserve the berries as a whole, that they will be presented that way.  This is not a strawberry jam to spread on toast.

My Redaction

Strawberries - I forgot to weigh them, but this is three of the typical baskets found in the United States

1 1/2 cups sugar for the berries

4 cups sugar for the syrup

4 cups water for the syrup

Optional orange

First I rinsed the berries, then removed their green calyx, as directed.  Since the goal was good looking berries, I used the tip of a thin-bladed knife to remove the calyx without damaging the rest of the berry.  

A swirl of the knife tip did the job.

Once they were all ready, I began to make the layers.  Note the sugar amounts with each layer.

First layer with 1/2 cup sugar

Second layer of berries

Second layer with 1 cup sugar

Once I had completed the layering, I put on a cover and let them sit (without disturbing) for 24 hours.

The sugar worked its magic, and a lot of liquid was extracted from the berries.

I separated the berries from the two cups of liquid.  It was mixed with 4 cups of sugar and 4 cups of water in a 4-quart pan.

Note:  This pan was not big enough!  I should have used a Dutch oven or anything much bigger so the liquid and then eventually the strawberries had enough room to swell while cooking.  

I got a nifty new candy thermometer!

After some of the water boiled away, the level was low enough to really let the boiling cut loose without worrying it would overflow.  I think a too-full pan made it take longer to reach my goal temperature of 230 degrees - the thread stage.

Almost to temp.

Once it reached temperature, I changed to a bigger pan.  The strawberries were already in it, so I poured the hot syrup over them.  I used the back of a slotted spoon to stir everything -- this did so without breaking up or cutting the berries.

Coming to a boil

Miss Pinedo says to "be careful that they only give two boils".  Having read her book, I interpret that as bringing the berries to a boil, then lowering the heat until the boiling subsides.  Repeat.  This makes sense when you consider she was cooking over fire -- once the boiling starts, pull the pan off the fire, then put it back on again.  This is what I did.

Boiling berries

After the second boil, I used a slotted spoon to put just the berries into the sterilized jar.

Some syrup traveled with the berries.

I recognize that the foam should have been removed.  I didn't even try.  I knew I wasn't canning them, so it wasn't a worry.  Once the jar was full, I poured some hot syrup over the top and sealed the jar.

I could have put more berries into the jar.  I could see how they floated up and there was a significant gap between the berries and the bottom of the jar.  It wasn't such a problem in the second jar, which was bigger and contained all the rest of the berries.

Still more foam!

There was a lot of leftover syrup, so I decided to try her recommendation to cook it with the orange.

I found her directions somewhat confusing.  It wasn't clear to me why I was cooking the orange: was it to make a candied orange?  Or was it to add an orange flavor to the strawberry syrup?  After checking her words against my translation, I decided it was to add an orange flavor, otherwise I would be putting more oranges in to cook.

Also, I had already reached the thread stage for the syrup, and I wondered how I would cook it more without going to a higher stage.  I decided to keep a low heat under the syrup so it would cook for a long time as she directed.  

I watched the thermometer while keeping the mixture at a simmer for 1 hour, 30 minutes.  I never saw the temperature exceed 230 degrees.

Once that was done, I saved the orange slices for tasting and all the extra syrup into jars.

This was just one jar.

Everything went into the refrigerator.

The Verdict

First, the strawberries.  I had four guest tasters and the verdict was unanimous:  they were wonderful!  The fresh, just-picked strawberry flavor came shining through.  The sweetness level was just right.  The syrup wasn't too thick.  One guest taster said, "It is perfect."

We speculated that they would be good over vanilla ice cream.  Or on top of a cheesecake.  But we all loved it just eating a berry from a spoon.  

The syrup the berries were in was wonderful, and we thought it would make a good syrup flavoring in a soda or on top of shaved ice or in tea or in lemonade.

Next, the oranges.  Again, the verdict was unanimous:  they were not very appealing.  The outside skin was chewy, which was not pleasant.  The overall flavor was strawberry-with-orange but with an underlying bitterness that most of us did not like.  One guest taster who likes bitter (in particular, bitter orange marmalade) was willing to enjoy them.  

The syrup was better -- it still had some bitter, but that was not off-putting.  It was decidedly thicker than the syrup on the strawberries, which could be good for mixing into beverages.  I found that one small spoonful was enough of a taste for me, but I am enjoying it in tea.

Success!  I would not try the orange part again, but perhaps I would try the berries with a little aniseed or other spice.  But you just can't beat the pure flavor of the berries that came through by themselves.

Tips to remember:  

Use a very large pan to boil the syrup.  That way you have room for the liquid to expand and foam, and then you have room for the berries, too.

Cooking the syrup to the thread stage, 230 degrees F, was just right.  If you want a thicker syrup, let it simmer for a while after the berries are cooked.  Or maybe before.  How could it hurt?  Just make sure to barely cook the berries so they stay whole.

Perhaps the orange flavor would be better if it wasn't cooked very long.  Just enough to add a hint of orange to the strawberries.

You can probably double the amount of strawberries and their "honey" and still add them to 1 quart of water with 1 quart of sugar.  I had plenty of syrup left over even after the berries in the jar were covered.

Ramps, wild leeks from West Virginia

My friend and guest taster, RK, sent me some ramps from his yard in West Virginia.

One ramps.  One ramp?

Ramps (Allium tricoccum) are wild leeks found in eastern North America -- including the mountains where RK lives.

He sustainably harvests them for himself and what he is willing to share with me.  It is always a treat when a package arrives!

The ramps have a broad leaf, which makes them distinctive from garlic and other onions, and they have a scent that I find alluring.  It is hard to describe; I think of it like "garlicky-onion plus."  I get the same sort of "food high" from the scent and flavor that I can get from really good quality sushi.

If you look around the internet, you can find recipes for pickled ramps, ramp butter, ramp pesto, and more.  

But with my batch, I made a simple side dish to go with a grilled steak.

You can see above that my ramps came with roots and some dirt, so my first task was to wash them.  Each one, individually, must be rinsed.  I trim the root end off with scissors and then slide the outer part of the stem off.  The rest of the plant cleans up easily from there.

It does take time to get through the batch, but the scent while I'm working is worth it.

Clean!

Sometimes I cook the ramps by themselves.  This time, though, I rehydrated some dried mushrooms in some hot red wine.  They soaked while I washed the ramps.

I like to chop the ramps, leaves and stems, into about 1-inch long pieces.  Then I start sautéing them in a little butter.

Starting to cook in melted butter.

The greens wilt quickly, but the stems take longer to cook.  Once I saw the stems looking softer and more transparent, I added the mushrooms with their wine.

Ready for the mushrooms

All together now.

Once everything was in the pan, I reduced the heat to let the ramps finish cooking and the wine to reduce.  The last touch was to sprinkle in a little salt and pepper.

Yes, it was that simple.  The flavor of the ramps came shining through.  The mushrooms added some flavor and a nice chewy element to the dish.  The wine, salt, and pepper were a good flavor support team.

It was the perfect match for the steak:  the ramps onion-garlic flavor really stood out to make the meal special.  We included more of the red wine, of course.  

Ahhhh, success.  My one batch of ramps for the year yielded a successful side dish.  I'm glad to have documented it here.

If you can find ramps somewhere -- make sure they are sustainably harvested! -- give them a try.  Maybe you will experience the food high I get from them.

Thanks, RK.