Strawberry Season

June is strawberry season and what a wonderful time of year this is. The beginning of agricultural summer. As I write everyone else is in the kitchen cutting strawberries to make jam for the Wimbledon Championships. Could we be more English? There are some moments that make you sit more comfortably in who you are and what you do, and this is a time in the year when that happens. Did I mention that when my family left Hackney when I was a child, we moved to live in Strawberry Lane, a stones throw Wilkins Jam Factory. As a teenager I worked in the factory at this time of year taking the tops off strawberries during the peak season and that as they say is probably where it all began.

Making Strawberry Jam

Although the most ubiquitous of jams, to make a beautiful strawberry jam is one of the most difficult jobs we do in our production. A new piece of equipment, commissioned last week, is taking some of the stress out of the process. Giving us much more control without the worry of finding mould. Strawberries are bursting with sweet, aromatic juices and the softest fibres that want to break. Retaining those delicate aromatics and texture is our aim. 

So watch out for an elevation in our strawberry jam this year. I know what you’re thinking, can this jam get any better? Hard to believe, but yes, it’s going to get even better. 

Eating Strawberry Jam

Now those who know me well, know that I like things, just so. This applies to how I pair things and one of the only times that I eat strawberry jam is with scones. Pillowy scones, crunchy on the outside and light and soft in the centre. Either with melting salted butter, (the scones are fresh from the oven) or clotted cream, this is the food of Queens & Kings. I can deviate and experiment with the scones, a touch of light rye flour can be nice, sometimes fruited, sometimes not. I also like to go through our recipe books and compare and contrast different bakers’ slight variances and methods. On Sunday, Beeches and I used Helen Goh’s recipe from her book, Baking and the meaning of life. These scones were not just pillowy but like eating scone flavoured clouds, so light was the texture. I also like Martyn Nail’s recipe from the Claridge’s cookbook, where he combines the flour and butter to breadcrumb texture then refrigerates overnight, although I rarely have room in my fridge, (need bigger fridge).