Description
A delicious Homemade Strawberry Jam made with pectin and bursting with strawberry flavor.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds of strawberries
- 1 cup water
- 4 tablespoons low or no-sugar-needed powdered pectin (*this makes a soft jam, which is what I like. If you prefer a firmly-set jam, see the notes below)
- 4 cups of granulated sugar, divided
Instructions
- Wash and hull the berries. Add them to a large bowl and crush them with a potato masher. Stir water, pectin, and 1/4 cup of sugar into the berries.
- Pour the crushed berry mixture 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 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 freezing, allow the jam to cool for another 10 minutes, and then ladle it into freezer-safe containers, leaving an inch or so for expansion. Freeze for up to 12 months (but 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
The original recipe calls for 4 tablespoons (about one package) of low-sugar or no-sugar needed pectin. This has always been the amount I use and it works perfectly for me. But I’ve noticed in the comments that some readers have had issues with the jam setting too loosely. So I’ve updated the amount of pectin in the recipe as follows: For a soft-set jam (which is what I prefer), use 4 tablespoons of pectin. If you prefer a more firmly set jam, use 6 tablespoons of powdered pectin, and use 8 tablespoons for a very firmly set jam. But please note, you MUST use a low-sugar or no-sugar-needed pectin in order to ensure that your jam sets properly with this recipe.
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 written to be used with a low-sugar or no-sugar pectin like Sure-Jell, Ball, or Mrs. Wages. This particular recipe is not intended for 2-part pectin like Pomona’s Universal Pectin.
This recipe is adapted from the Low or no sugar needed Sugar Strawberry Jam Recipe in The Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving 37th edition, and The National Center for Home Food Preservation instructions for making Berry Jams.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
Keywords: strawberry jam, preserving jam, strawberry recipes