Strawberry spoon sweet

It's not unusual in a Greek household to be served a "spoon sweet" upon visiting someone’s home. This is a traditional offering and is called thus because the usual serving size is a well-filled teaspoon, accompanied by a strong Greek coffee and a glass of icy cold water.

Credit: Chris Chen

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 300 g fresh strawberries, washed well, stems removed
• ½ cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 whole cloves
• ½ lemon, juiced

Makes 500 ml

Chilling time overnight

Cooling time 20 minutes

The following recipe has been tested and edited by SBS Food and may differ slightly from the podcast.

Instructions

Cut the large strawberries in half and leave the smaller ones whole. Place the strawberries in a small saucepan and cover with sugar.

Place the strawberries in the fridge overnight. This will give them enough time to release their juices.

When the strawberries are ready, add the water and remaining ingredients, except for the lemon juice, and place on the stove over medium heat. When they begin to simmer, reduce the heat to low. Cook for 3 minutes and then remove the strawberries from the syrup and place them in a bowl.

Add the lemon juice to the syrup and continue to simmer over low heat for a further 10 minutes, until the syrup thickens.

Pour the syrup over the strawberries and allow the spoon sweet to cool down to room temperature.

Store in a sterilised jar.

Text © 2012 Maria Benardis

Photography Chris Chen from Feast Magazine.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.