Strawberry Balsamic Preserves

Strawberry balsamic preserves are equal parts sweet and tangy. With chunks of ripe strawberries swimming in a deep red, sticky syrup, this is the preserves your toast has been waiting for. The balsamic not only deepens the color of the preserves, but it also imparts a gorgeous zing balanced by sweet. Incredibly delicious, and with only 3 ingredients, it's hard to beat for ease of making.

Course Condiments and Jams

Cuisine French-Inspired

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Macerating Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 97kcal

Author Jennifer Field

Equipment

Ingredients

16 oz fresh strawberries 1/2" dice, 454 grams or 2 pints
12 oz granulated sugar 340 grams or about 1 3/4 cups
4 oz balsamic vinegar not balsamic glaze, 113 grams or 1/2 cup

Instructions

Wash, top, and dice the strawberries into roughly 1/2" dice.
Add the sugar and vinegar, and heat over the lowest heat for 30 minutes. This will be enough time to dissolve the sugar and get it hot without boiling. Stir well.
If you have the time, remove from heat and let the berry mixture sit at room temperature for an hour or two. If not, carry on.
After the rest (or not), heat over medium heat until the berries come to a boil. Reduce the heat to keep at a gentle boil, skimming as much scum from the preserves as you can.
Continue to boil gently, stirring frequently but gently so you don't break up the pieces of strawberry, until the temperature reaches 223F.
Pour the preserves into a 16 oz jar or two 8 oz jars. Cool to room temperature and then store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.

Notes

You can scale these preserves to work for however many strawberries you have. For each pound (16 oz) of berries, you need 1/4 pound (4 oz) of balsamic vinegar and 3/4 pound (12 oz) of sugar.

Make Jam Instead

If you prefer jam to preserves, cut berries in half or leave them whole, and heat them with the balsamic and sugar, mashing the berries as completely as you want as they soften.

All other instructions remain the same, but your result will be a thick jam of spreadable texture rather than small chunks of fruit in syrup.

Nutrition