Strawberry fields forever: strawberry and rosewater jam & strawberry cordial

We've found that strawberries are well and truly in abundance in Germany at the moment. They are locally grown (unlike a lot of other fresh produce) and insanely cheap. On Saturday we took a ten minute bike ride to a big market held at a local Sports stadium. It's a combination of clothing and produce ala Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne with some of the most revolting sweat shop produced, bedazzled garments that you'll ever see. But we didn't go for the clothes thankfully! It's been a very hot summer here and I assume crops have peaked early, accounting for the cheap prices. Like two huge cauliflower for 1€ ($1.40AUD) or 6 punnets of strawberries for 1€. Yep we were rather excited and stupidly bought 6 punnets. It was stupid because like most apartments, our fridge is small and the freezer maybe as big as two shoe boxes. 

I knew I had to do something with them fast, especially as fruit flies are a problem everywhere and fly spray non-existent. So I decided to make strawberry cordial and strawberry and rosewater jam. I haven't found our local Middle Eastern grocer yet to buy rosewater but luckily I bought a little over with me. I water bathed both recipes ( a preserving method which enables them to be kept out of the refrigerator) but you can certainly skip this step and just pop them in the fridge. Of course, opened jars should always be stored in the freezer. 

Strawberry cordial

Ingredients
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1.5 cups strawberries 
• juice of 2 lemons
Instructions
1. Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and boil for 10 minutes.
2. Add the Strawberries and lemon juice then simmer for 5 minutes. Stir well, mashing the fruit as it simmers.
3. Put the mixture through a strainer and allow to cool.
4. Bottle and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. 
5. To serve, add to a glass and top with sparking or still water and ice.

(yes that was a Vegemite jar in the photo. I will have to order some from the online shop in Germany or UK. We've found Marmite in our local asian supermarket but Vegemite is sadly absent. Vegemite is actually cheaper in the UK than Australia)

Berry and Rosewater jam
Ingredients
• 1.5kg strawberries 
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1.3kg of sugar
• 1/4 cup of rosewater

Instructions
1. Combine berries, juice and sugar in a pot.
2. Slowly bring to the boil – remembering to stir as
you go. The sugar needs to be dissolves prior to the jam boiling.
3. Boil for 15-20minutes or until the hot jam reaches
setting point.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the
rosewater.
5. Skim off any frothy scum (or add 1 teaspoon
butter) and allow to cool for a while before bottling. 
6. Pour into warm sterilized jars, seal, label and water bath or store in the fridge.