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jars of strawberry jam cooling on a blue towel
johnsonhomenc

Strawberry Jam with NO Pectin

Strawberry jam is easy with just 3 ingredients and no pectin required. Enjoy the sweet and tart of strawberries all year long when made shelf stable in a water bath.
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Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings: 6 4 ounce jelly jars
Course: condiment
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups fresh strawberries frozen okay but cook time is double
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice

Equipment

  • 1 sauce pot
  • 1 stirring spoon
  • 6-7 4 ounce jelly jars or 3-4 8 oz jelly jars

Method
 

  1. Put your strawberries in a large sauce pot and use a masher to smush your berries a little.
  2. If using frozen berries, add to the pot and allow berries to cook for about 5-8 minutes, giving them a stir occasionally .
  3. Next, add sugar and lemon juice. Cook on medium heat, stirring often for about 5 mins, or until sugar is dissolved.
  4. Then crank up your heat to medium-high and bring to a rapid boil. At this stage, you will not want to leave your post as you will need to stir constantly or else your jam will stick to the pot. Continue to mash any chunky strawberry pieces.
  5. Continue to stir until jam thickens and the top of your jam is completely covered in bubbles. This can take about 20 mins. If using frozen berries, cook time is about 40 minutes.
  6. PERFORM PLATE TEST AFTER 20 MINS: I highly recommend putting a small plate in the freezer before you start your jam process. When you think the jam is ready, remove the jam pot from heat, get the plate from the freezer, and drizzle a little jam on it, about a quarter sized amount is good. Put the plate back in the freezer for about one minute. Remove the plate again, hold plate sideways, and run your finger through the jam. If the line you made fills back in with jam, you should cook the jam 5 minutes longer and test again. If the jam feels a little like gel or jelly, it is ready to jar. You can also use a thermometer to measure to 220 degrees F. If jam feels super thick or gummy, add 1/4 cup of water to the jam pot and stir. Use more water if needed to loosen the harden sugar.
  7. When your strawberries are jammed up, turn off heat and ladle jam into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Lid, ring, and allow to sit for 24 hours or until completely cooled, undisturbed.
  8. Sealed jars can be labeled, dated, and stored in the pantry.
  9. Any unsealed jars may be water bath re-processed if it has not been 24 hours. Or store in the refrigerator to eat first.

Notes

This recipe makes about three 8 ounce jars and one 4 ounce jar or 6-7 four ounce jelly jars. If a jar is not completely filled, lid and ring it and store in the fridge to be eaten first.
 
Photos are from a doubled batch.
 
More recipes like this on www.johnsonhomenc.com