Recipe test: Canal House's Strawberry Conserve

What's the difference between conserves and preserves? My first guess was that conserves are made when you don't have all that much fruit and you want to make it last, and preserves don't have anything to do with the amount of fruit - but again you just want to make it last. Not very good definitions because that's basically like jam and jelly and other fruit in canning jars. I found this article via The Kitchn which explains the differences, but its definition does not match the Canal House's recipe for strawberry conserve (no dried fruit or nuts). Other sources define conserve as fruit boiled with sugar (which is what theirs entails). If I'm calling it what it is, I'd say this is a strawberry syrup with strawberry chunks. But no matter the name, this is a seriously easy way to dress up your food.

There's something so satisfying to me about putting fruit and sugar in a saucepan and watching things get syrupy over the heat. If you're into that sort of thing, too, you should make this. 

Canal House suggested these little toasted baguette slices topped with Serrano ham and the conserve, but Serrano is not easy to come by around here. But any thinly sliced, salty ham, like the one I used, still makes a great pairing. Later in the week, we put the conserve on crepes and popovers. We loved the hint of lemon that came from cooking the syrup down (sans strawberries) with some lemon peel (with the pith, because it acts as a natural pectin, they say). 

Will I make it again? Yes. 

Source: Canal House Cooks Everyday

Strawberry Conserve

1 lb. fresh strawberries, washed and hulled (I sliced them in half)
3 c. superfine sugar
peel (including the white pith) of 1/2 lemon

Fold 1 1/2 c. sugar into the strawberries in a large, wide pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, and then continue to boil for 3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.

Fold in the remaining sugar, return the pot to the heat and return to a boil. Boil for two minutes and remove from the heat. With a slotted spoon, remove the strawberries and spread them on a plate to cool. Return the pot with the syrup to the heat and add the lemon peel. Bring to a boil over medium high for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the syrup settle, and skim off any foam on the surface. Once the syrup has cooled, return the berries to the pot. Cover and set aside until set, about 6 hours or overnight. Remove the lemon peel and place the conserve into clean jars and refrigerate. Makes 4 half-pints.