Hey y’all!
I wanted to quick share a great thing that happened in my kitchen yesterday. I made strawberry and pineapple jam in about ten minutes using my Instant Pot! Please remember, the way I “cook” I don’t really do measurements. I will give you approximately what I used, and you add or subtract what you need based on your liking. With that in mind, check this out….
(If you just the recipe, I get it and understand how you feel. Just take me to the recipe, please….)
Ok, backstory. It’s spring here where we are and that means strawberries are in season at the Farmer’s Market. We have grown our own, but this year we didn’t. And why buy store bought if you have access to fresh berries picked right off the vine? Anyway, I bought a bunch and the ones we got were super ripe, almost too ripe. And we weren’t eating them fast enough. Then on top of that, for dinner one night last week, Antoine grilled some pineapple spears and we had some left over. Saturday (yesterday) morning I got tired of the fruit taking up space in the fridge, so I came up with the idea of doing strawberry pineapple jam. The only issue was, I really didn’t feel like firing up the new stove and going through the process of cooking fruit etc.
Enter – my pressure cooker! I went to Pinterest for some inspiration and some quick ideas for how to accomplish it in the Instant Pot, then came up with my own recipe. And with the combo of the smokey pineapple flavor and strawberries, it’s super yummy!
Note:
Please remember, the way I “cook” I don’t really do measurements. I will give you approximately what I used, and you add or subtract what you need based on your liking.
Wash and cut the tops off of the strawberries
Cut pineapple into pieces.
If you choose to grill your pineapple first, cut them into spears large enough that they won't fall through your grill grates. Cook just long enough to get grill lines on the pineapples and draw out the juices. Set them aside to cool in a bowl for a bit before cutting.
Put both strawberries and pineapple pieces (along with any juices that may have come out) into the liner of the pressure cooker of choice. And turn the pressure cooker on to "saute" mode.
Add sugar and stir until it is dissolved, then add the vanilla extract.
By this time, you should have enough liquid from the fruit, but if not, add just about 1/8 cup or LESS of water. As the fruit breaks down, it will release juices that should be enough to let the cooker come to pressure. You don't want your mixture to be too watery.
Turn your pressure cooker to SEALING. Then MANUAL cook for 1 minute. Let the cooker NATURALLY release (NR) for about 5 minutes to keep the splatter down before finishing it off with a quick release (QR). It may need a little longer NR or you can cover the top of the pressure cooker with a towel to keep the juices from splattering everywhere.
Once the pressure cooker lid is removed, give your mixture a stir. Take about 3 tablespoons of jam "juice" and mix it with the arrowroot, making a slurry. Pour the slurry into the liner with the fruit and mash the fruit pieces. OR you can use your immersion blender if you have one to make a "smoother" jam. Turn the pressure cooker onto SAUTE and stir until the jam is the consistency you like.
Note: This recipe does not use pectin. Therefore, this will not be "grocery store" thickness jam. But it also should not be watery.
Pour your jam into a jar, let cool, then refrigerate. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Wash and cut the tops off of the strawberries
Cut pineapple into pieces.
If you choose to grill your pineapple first, cut them into spears large enough that they won't fall through your grill grates. Cook just long enough to get grill lines on the pineapples and draw out the juices. Set them aside to cool in a bowl for a bit before cutting.
Put both strawberries and pineapple pieces (along with any juices that may have come out) into the liner of the pressure cooker of choice. And turn the pressure cooker on to "saute" mode.
Add sugar and stir until it is dissolved, then add the vanilla extract.
By this time, you should have enough liquid from the fruit, but if not, add just about 1/8 cup or LESS of water. As the fruit breaks down, it will release juices that should be enough to let the cooker come to pressure. You don't want your mixture to be too watery.
Turn your pressure cooker to SEALING. Then MANUAL cook for 1 minute. Let the cooker NATURALLY release (NR) for about 5 minutes to keep the splatter down before finishing it off with a quick release (QR). It may need a little longer NR or you can cover the top of the pressure cooker with a towel to keep the juices from splattering everywhere.
Once the pressure cooker lid is removed, give your mixture a stir. Take about 3 tablespoons of jam "juice" and mix it with the arrowroot, making a slurry. Pour the slurry into the liner with the fruit and mash the fruit pieces. OR you can use your immersion blender if you have one to make a "smoother" jam. Turn the pressure cooker onto SAUTE and stir until the jam is the consistency you like.
Note: This recipe does not use pectin. Therefore, this will not be "grocery store" thickness jam. But it also should not be watery.
Pour your jam into a jar, let cool, then refrigerate. Enjoy!