Strawberries are one of my favourite things about summer and what better way to enjoy them than to make a homemade strawberry jam! This recipe is a standard jam recipe with strawberries, sugar and pectin (which helps thicken the jam) where everything is hard boiled until the the jam thickens. It only takes a little while to make it and it’s so good! I like to enjoy it on toast, bagels, english muffins, crumpets, etc., along with melted butter. Yum!
I generally do not use proper canning procedures, since I do not have the space to store a lot of jam, but I like to throw a few jars into the fridge to enjoy in the short term and a few into the freezer to enjoy a little later. If you want to store the jam at room temperature or for longer periods of time you can use proper canning procedures.
Strawberry Jam
A fresh homemade strawberry jam! Preserving summers bounty for later!
ingredients
- 4 cups strawberries
- 7 cups sugar
- 1 box pectin
directions
- Bring the strawberries and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat in a large sauce pan.
- Mix in the pectin and bring to a hard boil for 1 minute, before removing from heat.
- Skin any foam off before pouring into sterilized jars.
Option: Use proper canning procedure to store at room temperature or for longer periods of time.
Kevin – I love that you get to see big chunks of strawberries in your jam. I have not yet embarked on making any jam but may do so when I am back on US soil where figs are coming into season.
Homemade strawberry jam is great! The sure-jel freezer jam is nice as well..and a little easier to do.
I am really enjoying the homemade strawberry jam. One of the good things about making your own jam is that you can make it as chunky as you want. I am now looking forward to fresh local blackberries and blueberries. I will have to get some more jars!
Kevin– I made traditional strawberry jam without pectin. I had so many leftover strawberries, that I decided to roll up my sleeves and make strawberry-balsamic jam. This is only my second time making jam, and I this turned out perfectly! I used pectin, this time. I think the trick (for me) was having the jam at a rolling boil for about 10 minutes. I froze a plate and when the jam seemed to sheet off the spoon, I put a little on the plate and ran my finger through it. It separated and this means it was ready to go! OMG! You're right– the balsamic gives a whole new dimension to strawberry jam. My hubs can eat the regular, but this version is all mine. I'll blog about it in a few days.
thanks!
A Feast for the Eyes: The hard/roiling boil is the important part. I will have to try the frozen plate trick next time. Thanks for the tip.
Just want to say – I love the Ball freezer jam much more than canned strawberry jam. The taste is purer, stronger strawberry, and less sweet. You may like it and as marye said much easier. The picture of the packets I use are on my blog at http://jaredandamy.com/garden
I agree with what marye and Amy said about the freezer jam… That is what I use for my homemade jams, and it is SOOOO simple! Just mash some berries, mix with the pectin and sugar, let sit for a half hour, and Presto! I even decrease the amount of sugar in my freezer jam, so that it's not so coyingly sweet. I can't remember what the rule is now, as it's been a few months since I last made it, but I believe you can decrease the sugar by half without any problems. This way, you get even more of the fruit flavor and it's tastes so fresh and light! YUM!!
Okay, Kevin. I have a technical question for you. I made both your strawberry jam and your jalapeno strawberry jam. Both of these are the bomb! Thank you. Here is my question……why do I need pectin in the jalapeno strawberry jam and yet I don’t need it when I made the strawberry jam? Thank you a ton.
I use pectin in all of my strawberry jams since strawberries do not have a lot. You can add lemon juice and/or simmer for longer to help the jam set if you want to omit the store bought pectin!