So as you can see by the title of this blog post, this month's secret ingredient was LEMONS!
For this challenge I was a bit more prepared than the last challenge! I had a plan this time, and actually remembered to shop for ingredients other than the main one! My inspiration for this month's challenge came purely from nostalgia. Some of the most fun I had was canning food with my grandmother as a child. Yes, I said canning! Sounds rad right!? (I am sure some of you are scratching your head and wondering what was wrong with my childhood...)
A few weekends ago I busted out the canning supplies and got creative... The outcome was ginger pear marmalade, and it was awesome! And so much fun to make! So it was no surprise that when the secret ingredient was announced I went back to the drawing board to see what I could come up with! Obviously I couldn't do a jam, jelly or another marmalade, I have enough of that to last me through the year! Sooooo..... I decided one thing we never get sick of in this house is a good sauce! What kind of sauce? Strawberry lemonade sauce!
When I announced this is what I would be making, Ryan started listing all the things he could put it on... Including: Pancakes, waffles, crepes, lemon cake, cookies, ice cream, buttered french bread, and OMG! I get it Ryan, you will be putting it on everything!
That being said, let's get our canning supplies out and get this recipe started!
We're doing this one step-by-step!
First thing we need is... JARS! You will need 12 of them to be exact! Make sure your jars are clean, and your two part closures are washed well in warm soapy water. Place your jars in your water bath, making sure each jar is filled and covered with water. Keep the jars warmed in the water until you are ready to fill them. DO NOT BOIL THEM!
Next, take your lids and put them in a sauce pan of water. You don't need to boil them, but you do want them warmed.
So let's go over the ingredients...
6 Lemons
6 lbs of Fresh Strawberries, hulled and crushed
6 Cups Granulated Sugar
Keeping it simple!
Take your lemons, using a sharp knife or zester, remove the peel and place in a small sauce pan and cover with water. Set the peeled lemons and the mixture aside for later.
Next comes the fun part... The Strawberries!! Mmmmmmm...
Once you have all 6 lbs of strawberries crushed and transferred to your sauce pan, add the sugar and mix it all together...
Next, take your lemons and add the fresh juice to the strawberry mixture...
Simmer the rind and water until the rind is tender and the water cooks down a bit, then add to the strawberry mixture.
The rest of this recipe is essentially like making strawberry jam, except less sugar, no pectin and you do not want to cook the mixture until gel stage. Bring your strawberry mixture to a full rolling boil stirring frequently. Keep the boil going for 5 to 10 minutes while stirring, reduce heat to medium high and medium boil for another 10 to 20 minutes while stirring.
You want to boil the mixture just to the point of gel stage. You'll notice a foam starting to form on the surface, when the foam gets frothy remove from heat and test gel stage.
You want the gel stage to be light, the jelly drops should be light and syrupy.
Remove the mixture from heat and skim foam off the top of the mixture with a large spoon.
Remove your heated jars from the water, (no need to dry them off) and start filling them with the mixture...
To avoid spillage and burns while working with a runnier mixture, it's best to use a canning funnel and a sturdy pot holder, both are optional, but they do make things easier when you're trying to ladle a hot mixture into a jar!
When filling the jars, make sure you're leaving 1/4 inch of headspace.
Wipe the rim of each jar to make sure none of the mixture is left behind on the edge, place the lids on the filled jars and tighten the rings finger tight. You don't want to over tighten them. Return the jars to the boiling water canner.
Once the water gets to a rolling boil, cover the canner and process the jars for 10 minutes, starting the timer only when the water gets to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and remove lid from canner, leave jars sitting in the water for another 5 minutes. When removing the jars from the water keep them upright, try not to tip them. Place jars upright on a towel in a draft-free area and let cool, undisturbed for 24 hours. As the cans start to cool you should hear the lids on them start popping.
After 24 hours, check lids for seal. Remove rings aka screw bands and press down on the center of each lid with your finger. Sealed lids will be concave. If your jar did not seal properly you will have to refrigerate it immediately, or follow steps to reprocess. Wipe the jars down and, if desired, loosely reapply the rings.
Voila! Awesome strawberry sauce! I reserved some of the sauce to test and it was delicious! Ryan definitely approved as did the neighbors! I cannot wait for Sunday brunch to slather some fresh pancakes with this sauce!
Oh! Here's a pic of the marmalade...
I have a feeling I will have to post this recipe soon! Super yummy!
Well, that's it for this month's challenge! I hope you all had as much fun with yours as I did with mine!
To check out more of January's Recipe Challenge, check out these blogs:
Becka's Blog - Recipe Hapiness
Until next month... Be Happy, Live Freely, Laugh Often and of course Eat Well! ;)
