This post is sponsored by the makers of Ball® home canning products.*

les fraises françaises

Did you know there are over one hundred varieties of strawberries in the world, each with its own scent, shape, and story but few are as cherished as the gariguette. Slender and small, with a perfume that whispers of wildflowers and sun-warmed stone, the gariguette is the beloved berry of France’s Lot-et-Garonne region. First grown in the 1970s, it has since become the stuff of seasonal legend, revered by pastry chefs, fruit sellers, and everyday eaters alike. Gariguettes are a seasonal jewel in French markets, the first to appear in the marches come March until mid June.

To taste a gariguette at peak ripeness is to understand the poetry of place.

Their long, slender shape alerts you immediately to their difference and the sun-kissed scent are unmistakable, steeped in honeyed light and countryside bloom. On our trip in Paris this spring, my mama noticed the difference in the strawberries immediately. These were longer, smaller, and when you take a bite, ruby red throughout. The whole time we were there I was wishing I could bring basketfuls home to can in my kitchen or that I'd brought my canning supplies there!

Back at home, I haven’t found gariguettes in my market baskets but for today, standing here in my kitchen, I’m imagining I did. I’m daydreaming. I wandered through a village marché, basket in hand, choosing the ripest, most fragrant punnets for an afternoon of preserving.

While we have a sweet strawberry patch, they do not compare in their sweetness to this flavorful French variety. Now I’m on the hunt to find out if we can grow them here. What I do have is our own early strawberries, and a longing for a sun-drenched simplicity. This Strawberry Honey Butter, tested and approved by the makers of Ball® Home Canning, is a recipe that honors the berry’s essence: smooth, naturally sweet, and gently thickened without the heaps of sugar a traditional jam often demands.

What Is a Fruit Butter?

Unlike jam, which is thickened with sugar and sometimes pectin, a fruit butter is slowly simmered until it reduces into a silky, spreadable texture. It’s less glossy, more rustic, more like something you’d find in a farmhouse pantry enjoyed on freshly baked bread.

This recipe, tested and approved by the makers of Ball® Home Canning, is one I return to every year when the strawberries turn sweet and soft for its simplicity. It uses just six ingredients: strawberries, lemon juice, honey, a little sugar, vanilla extract, a pinch of salt and time.

The honey adds more than sweetness. Bringing warmth and roundness to the fruit, enhancing flavor without overwhelming it. Together, the ingredients bloom into something delicate and balanced, perfect for spreading on toast, dolloping into yogurt, or gifting to a neighbor with a handwritten note.

THE STARS OF THIS RECIPE!

Strawberries | Ripe and fragrant, preferably local if you can find them. Let their scent guide you.

Honey | A floral, light honey works beautifully here. Raw or wildflower honeys can bring depth.

Bottled Lemon Juice | For acidity, balance, and safe preserving.

Time | The real magic. A slow simmer is what transforms the berries into velvet.

This is preserving as daydream; slow, fragrant, and full of imagination. Even if the berries aren't gariguette, they are enough. They are ours.

Ingredients
The Ball® Home Canning original Strawberry Honey Butter recipe can be found in the 38th Edition Ball® Blue Book Guide to Preserving or below. All you’ll need is strawberries, honey, sugar, lemon juice, and time. Simplicity at its best.

Strawberry Honey Butter

Preserving Method: Water-Bath-Canning

Makes about 4 (8 oz) half pint jars

Fresh strawberries sweeten up this delicious honey butter to make the perfect accompaniment to fresh baked biscuits or bread. The Ball® Home Canning Strawberry Honey Butter is simply delicious with bright fresh strawberry flavor sweetened with a drizzle of honey. This fun twist on a classic is the perfect summer spread.

Makes: 4 Ball® Half Pint Jars (8oz)

Prep: 1 Hour & 45 Minutes

Processing Time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 lbs. washed and hulled ripe strawberries

3/4 cup honey

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. bottled lemon juice

2 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

Prepare a boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.

Puree strawberries in the bowl of a food processor or food mill until smooth.

Combine strawberry puree with remaining ingredients in a deep pot set over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil stirring frequently to prevent scorching, lower heat and simmer until mixture is very thick, about 60-90 minutes, stirring frequently. Any foam produced by strawberries will disappear with the cooking process. Strawberry butter is finished cooking when it holds the shape on a spoon.

Ladle hot butter into a hot jar leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place the jar in a boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.

Process jars 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove the cover, let jars stand for 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool for 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when center is pressed.

A Season of Slowness

Making this butter is an invitation into slow work, the kind that doesn’t rush or demand perfection. Stirring strawberries in a heavy pot, tasting the sweetness as it deepens, filling jars as the kitchen fills with scent, it feels like remembering something ancient and ordinary and sacred all at once.

And while they may not be gariguettes, these strawberries are ours. Picked by hand, washed with care, transformed with attention. Preserving is how I hold the season, how I whisper to future days: remember this moment. remember the light.

Serve it with scones for breakfast, swirl it into porridge, or eat it by the spoonful straight from the jar. Share it as a midsummer gift from your spring kitchen. Let it remind you that sweetness doesn't always need to be loud, sometimes, it's the soft, slow things that linger longest.

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post that is part of an ongoing partnership with the Fresh Preserving Division of Newell Brands. They have provided jars, equipment and monetary compensation. All thoughts and opinions expressed remain my own.