Strawberry Picking is like a family ritual for us. Its a great time of the year to enjoy the dazzling red berries which are ripened to perfection in the farm fields. We had some relatives home and I decided to take them last week for this fun experience. We picked berries to our hearts content and paid about $1.72 per lb, which I though was reasonable. The whole activity is so addictive that you don’t feel like stopping. We didn’t even realize that we picked over 10 lbs in less than 30 minutes.
Its a great experience and I highly recommend everyone to try especially with kids. Always make sure to call up the farm before heading there. Also pick up only the red berries, the green or pink wont ripe later. Don’t miss out on your camera!
With so many berries I really had to come up with something quick. I was expecting to freeze some but not the entire lot. I made some Low Fat Strawberry Crisp ; strawberry infused water and some Spiced Chutney. My original idea was to actually make some jam but there was already a big bottle of Smuckers starring at me in the refrigerator:(. I wanted some thing Tangy and Sweet so decided to make Chutney, that too a spicy one. I used chili powder which gave the much required heat, jaggery added to the sweetness, nutmeg and cardamom for flavors and lemon juice gave the tartness.
Before starting, taste a berry to determine their sweetness. Wash the berries and cut them into quarters; mix powdered jaggery and lemon juice. Since I wanted the natural sweetness of the berries to set in I decided to keep it covered for about 40 minutes or so. But in between I had to step out so the 40 mins became 90 minutes. The Berries had released all their juices and along with the jaggery water I was left with a lot of liquid. Now the only problem was that it would take more time to cook.Towards the end it might stick to the pan so be careful.
Ingredients
- 6 cups strawberries, washed and quartered
- 1 cup jaggery
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder ( increase or decrease as per taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
- salt as needed
Instructions
Take the chopped berries in a large bowl, add powdered Jaggery and lemon juice. Mix well and allow it to rest for about 30-45 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds. When it turns golden add the Berries along with the juice. Add the remaining ingredients and cook on low heat until it turns thick. Keep stirring in between.
http://www.thefoodielovers.com/2015/07/spiced-strawberry-chutney/Once done allow it to come to room temperature before you fill it in a bottle. Keep it refrigerated. I started with six cups of berries but still ended up with just a medium mason jar full of chutney.This tasted great with some crackers and cheese, bread, tortillas/rotis. I liked them even on Pancakes:)
Enjoy!
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