Strawberries in Syrup for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make strawberries in syrup for winter? Get your ingredients ready. There are just two — strawberries and sugar. For cooking berries in syrup, I like to use small ones.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the strawberries well: put them in a deep bowl and cover with plenty of cold water so they float. Stir, scoop the berries out by hand, and transfer them to a colander to drain. If there was a lot of grit, repeat the rinse. Pull the stems off the clean berries, then put them in a roomy bowl.

3. Step 3:

   

   Cover the berries with half (or a little more) of the sugar. Leave them for a few hours to release their juice.

4. Step 4:

   

   After a few hours, warm the strawberries to dissolve the sugar. Then drain off the juice that has formed and bring it to a boil. Add the rest of the sugar. Simmer the syrup over low heat for an hour. For a thicker syrup, cook it a little longer.

5. Step 5:

   

   After an hour of cooking, pour the hot syrup over the berries. You can add a little more sugar — it's the high sugar content that thickens the syrup.

6. Step 6:

   

   Return the berries and syrup to the heat, bring to a boil, and cook for 3–5 minutes. If foam forms on the surface, skim it off with a spoon — we won't need it.

7. Step 7:

   

   Wash the jars well and sterilize them however you prefer — over hot steam, in the oven, or in the microwave. Pour the hot strawberries in syrup into the prepared jars and seal them with lids that you've also doused with boiling water.

8. Step 8:

   

   Wrap the sealed jars in a warm blanket and let them cool that way. Why the blanket? It lets the jars cool as slowly as possible, which makes the syrup even thicker.

9. Step 9:

   

   Open these tasty berries in syrup in winter and serve them as a delicious topping for crêpes or with tea. A treat like this disappears in no time. So good! Enjoy your winter treat!