When you eat Strawberry Black Pepper Jam; you get a surprise in every bite. I bet I can guess what you are thinking right now. “Are you sure about this? You want me to combine beautiful, red, luscious fresh strawberries with ornery, sneeze-inducing black pepper?” Believe me, I understand and I suspect I guessed correctly because that is what I thought the first time I came across the idea of Strawberry Black Pepper Jam. Over the past few years, my taste buds have been pleasantly surprised by many interesting ingredient combos such as Grilled Pineapple with Lime Zest , and so, I decided to give it a try.
Holy cow, man, this jam is jammin’!! (I could not help myself.) I’m sure plain, old strawberry jam will never satisfy the wild side of my sweet tooth ever again.
Anyway and seriously, I am now addicted and not sure I can ever go back to the way life was before – life before black pepper was introduced to strawberry jam.
A side note: You know how, at the beginning of this post, I kind-of denigrated black pepper? Well, I’m feeling a little remorse after learning some interesting facts about this most popular spice. It seems long, long ago and in a far away land; black pepper was used as currency and presented to the gods as a sacred offering. My imagination runs wild thinking how the gods would have blessed me by offering them Strawberry Black Pepper Jam or Pistachio Strawberry Cream Spread.
Enjoy!
Strawberry Black Pepper Jam
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries - cleaned and hulled
- 4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- juice of 1 lemon - opt.
Instructions
- Prepare jelly/jam jars by placing the jar and lids in boiling water for 10 minutes then turn down the heat and let simmer until the jam is ready.
- Place strawberries in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Mash strawberries with a potato masher or fork.
- Add sugar, balsamic vinegar, black pepper and lemon juice (opt.) then mix well.
- Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.
- Turn heat to high until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Stir often.
- Turn the heat down but boil mixture until it reaches 220F on a candy thermometer. Watch closely and stir often.
- Remove and drain the jars and lids from the hot water with tongs.
- Transfer jam to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, then seal with the lids. Process in a water bath if not eating immediately. Read here for more info on canning preserves: Ball Traditional Strawberry Jam
- If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, just refrigerate.
- Enjoy!
Bonny @ Clever hen
I LOVE IT! This is next on my 'jam making' list.Susie Gall
Hello Bonny, I'm so glad you stopped by Simply Sated. I love this jam and it is so easy. I need to match more; just this week the cupboard went bare of it:-( Please stop by soon, I'll be adding new recipes at least twice weekly. Thanks!!Kristi toms
What about pectin? I'm right in the middle of making this and I realized I don't see you add pectin?Monica B.
This recipe is incredible! It tastes like the best strawberry jam you've ever had with a peppery kick at the end. Yum. I used fresh ground pepper and added a little more than called for. Thank you for the great recipe!Susie Gall
Thank you, Monica. I agree with you, this is terrific jam and I love the addition of black pepper. I now sprinkle black pepper on toast when using all jams/preserves. Thank you for stopping by Simply Sated and thank you for your sweet comments.Sheena
I'm totally trying this tonight. I have been adding fresh mint leaves to my strawberry jam and it's amazing. I'm looking for another unconventional flavour to get my kids addicted too.Kristi Toms
I am looking for a Raspberry black pepper jelly recipe and can't find one anywhere!!!!! Can I substitute the strawberries with raspberries?Lori Adams
I made this for Christmas presents for my family and friends. And everyone that tasted it raved and raved about how good it was. They said it was the best jam they had ever tasted. I hope I have a bumper crop of strawberrys this year because i promised everyone i'd make them more. Thanks so much for the amazing recipe!Stacy Cizek
i SEE THAT YOU CAN just refrigerate this jam if you are going to eat it right away. How long will it keep in the refrigerator? It looks delicious!Susie Gall
Hello Stacy, my research says the jam will keep up to 1 year, refrigerated. I think up to 3 months is a great estimate, but I doubt it will last more than 1 month - it's just so good. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by Simply Sated.