Savoring Summer With Strawberries

A fresh strawberry is one of life’s great delights. Icons of summer, these luscious red jewels of nature inspire our senses with their perfumed and sweet flavor.

Canning lets us capture the bounty of this delicate and perishable fruit so we can enjoy it all year long. Strawberry jam, for example, is a staple of many a home pantry. It’s easy to make and a recipe that allows for the expression of unique tastes and creative flights of fancy. Whether it be a basic jam that lets this beautiful fruit stand on its own, a recipe that couples it with its classic partner of rhubarb, or a more exotic one that combines it with black pepper and fresh mint as Christine Ferber does in her book Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber, the sky’s the virtual limit when it comes to creating a lovely preserve that can allow us to connect back to summertime any time during the year.

In addition to their deliciousness, strawberries also offer us their nutritiousness. With vitamin C that rivals that of the oranges, strawberries can also be counted on as concentrated sources of fiber, manganese, and antioxidant phytonutrients such as flavonoids and ellagic acid.

If you don’t have a favorite strawberry jam recipe, check out the two we feature on our website:

Organic Strawberry Jam, by Greg Atkinson

Strawberry Jam, by Karen Solomon

CAA contributor Stephanie Gailing, MS, CN is an astrologer, wellness consultant, and natural health writer. She is the author of Planetary Apothecary: An Astrological Approach to Health and Wellness.