I just can’t resist a perfectly ripe strawberry!! Most of us love strawberries because of the fact that they are a treat for the eyes and taste buds. How about an Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe with these ruby red gorgeous beauties? Homemade jams are always winners with family and friends. They are a way to preserve the goodness of fresh fruit for use later on.
These amazingly delicious fruits are also packed with nutrition. In addition to antioxidants, they have many other nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that contribute to overall health. It is also extremely high in vitamin C! Their fibre and fructose content may help regulate blood sugar levels by slowing digestion and the fibre is thought to have a satiating effect. Leaves can be eaten raw, cooked or used to make tea.
Strawberry jam is an universal favourite. But the strawberries, which are naturally low in pectin, are often cooked too long, causing the fruit to lose its bright colour & flavour. In order to shorten the cooking time, I cut the strawberries into smaller pieces and then mashed them to release their juices and jump-start the cooking process. Lemon juice contributes acidity to balance the sugar’s sweetness.
Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe was simple to make, had a perfect texture and tasted amazing. Most importantly, it doesn’t use Pectin!! Did you know you don’t need to use pectin in homemade jam making? Pectin isn’t necessarily bad for you but I would rather prefer to make it the old fashioned way and let the natural pectin in the fruit do the work. I also prefer a softer jam to a more gelatinous one.
The only drawback with jam recipes is the insane amount of sugar that goes into it. Jam recipes mostly comprise equal amounts of fruit and sugar. With homemade jams, you can play with this ratio as much as you want. But remember that with too much fruit, you may lose the preserving effects of the sugar. Similarly, too much sugar may crystallise during storage. This recipe does have all that sugar, but the end result is worth every spoonful….isn’t it?
But, why put all this effort when you can easily buy inexpensive jams in the shops? Like all home cooking, making your own jam means that you know exactly what you are in full control over what you are adding into your food and, therefore, what you are feeding your family, especially if you are giving it to children. Most of those bought from stores have more preservatives and artificial taste than those made at home. So, why not make a batch of your own jam? The choice of fruit for jam-making is endless. Try to use seasonal fruit to get the best flavour.
Off to Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe!!
Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe:
- Ensure you have clean jars to store the jam and pick up fresh strawberries!!
- Wash strawberries and hull the fruit.
- Chop, mash or puree strawberries, add them to a large pot and stir in the sugar.
- Let the mixture sit for at least 2 hours. You can also leave it overnight.
- Cook slow over medium heat until it boils, stirring often. Then turn up the heat to medium-high and boil fast for 5 more minutes.
- Add in lemon juice and stir. I also like to add some orange juice for an extra punch in the flavour, but that’s totally optional. If you do not want to use orange juice, double the quantity of lemon juice. Boil for 5 more minutes.
- Take off heat and test if it’s reached setting point. Spoon a little jam on to cold saucer. After a couple of minutes, gently push a finger through jam, if the surface wrinkles it is ready. If not, return to boil for couple of minutes and then re-test.
- Turn off the heat. Skim and discard any scum with a slotted spoon.
- Cool for 15-20 minutes. If jam is potted when too hot, the fruit rises to top.
- Stir gently to distribute fruit, then pour into warm sterilised jars, cool to room temperature and pop into the fridge.
- Keeps in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks or so – if it lasts that long.
A Quick Summary:
Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe Without Pectin | Classic Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
- 500 grams Strawberries hulled
- 500 grams sugar
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1/4 Cup Orange Juice
Instructions
- Wash strawberries and remove the stems.
- Chop, mash or puree strawberries, add them to a large pot and stir in the sugar.
- Let the mixture sit for at least 2 hours. You can also leave it overnight.
- Cook slow over medium heat until it boils, stirring often. Then turn up the heat to medium-high and boil fast for 5 more minutes.
- Add in lemon juice and stir. I also like to add some orange juice, but that's totally optional. Boil 5 minutes longer.
- Take off heat and test if it’s reached setting point. Spoon a little jam on to cold saucer. After a couple of minutes, gently push a finger through jam, if the surface wrinkles it is ready. If not, return to boil for 2 more minutes and then re-test.
- Skim and discard any scum with a slotted spoon.
- Cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Stir gently to distribute fruit, then pour into warm sterilised jars, cool to room temperature and pop into the fridge.
- Keeps in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks or so.
My Notes:
- If you are going to finish off the jam in a week or so, you can reduce the amount of sugar.
- Amount of sugar also depends on the sweetness of the fruit. I reduced the amount of sugar (by 100 grams) since the strawberries were so sweet and added lemon juice. Lemon juice is naturally high in pectin and will help the jam set.
- Adding orange juice is optional. You can skip orange juice and double the quantity of lemon juice.
- It’s important not to overcook your jam, which leads to the loss of that fresh strawberry flavour, but, you also don’t want to undercook it. It can cause the fruit pulp to separate from the jelly as the jam cools. To prevent this separation, cook the fruit a few minutes longer. Use a potato masher or the back of the ladle to crush the berries as they cook.
- If jam is potted when too hot, the fruit rises to top.
- Keeps in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks or so – if it lasts that long.
Hope you enjoyed Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe 🙂
Check out other recipes using strawberries.
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
