Description
A delicious Homemade Strawberry Jam made with pectin and bursting with strawberry flavor.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds of whole strawberries
- 1 (1.75-ounce) package of low or no-sugar-needed powdered pectin
- 4 cups of granulated sugar, divided
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (this is optional and is only for flavor)
Instructions
- Wash and hull the berries. Add them to a large bowl and crush them with a potato masher. Stir pectin and 1/4 cup of sugar into the berries.
- Pour the crushed berries into a large, deep-sided saucepan or Dutch oven, and heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Bring the jam mixture to a boil, then add the remaining sugar. Stir continuously and boil hard for 1 minute.
- Remove jam from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Skim off any foam.
- If you are canning the jam, ladle jam into hot, clean half-pint jars, allowing 1/4-inch headspace. De-bubble and wipe the rims clean. Place lids and bands on each jar and adjust to fingertip-tight. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. (See note below for a link to a full canning tutorial.)
- For freezing, allow the jam to cool for another 10 minutes, then ladle it into freezer-safe containers, leaving an inch or so for expansion. Freeze for up to 12 months (but I find the quality is best by 6 months.)
Notes
If you are planning to can this recipe and are new to canning, you will need to learn the proper, safe procedure for water bath canning (don’t worry – it’s easy!) Ball Canning has a great tutorial here: Water Bath Canning
I’ve noticed in the comments that some readers have had issues with the jam setting too loosely. Please note, that you MUST use a low-sugar or no-sugar-needed pectin to ensure that your jam sets properly with this recipe. Use a pectin like Sure-Jell, Ball, or Mrs. Wages, not a 2-part pectin like Pomona’s Universal Pectin.
To adjust the canning time for altitude, see this chart by Ball Canning: https://www.ballmasonjars.com/adjust-high-altitude-canning.html
This recipe is adapted from the Low or no sugar needed Sugar Strawberry Jam Recipe on page 55 of The Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving 37th edition.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
