Homemade Strawberry Jam
This Homemade Strawberry Jam without Pectin is made with only 3 ingredients and no pectin! Deliciously sweet and perfect over toast or biscuits for breakfast or snack. The perfect way to use up some in season strawberries.
When my mother-in-law was alive and would be making all her amazing recipes, in her head of course and not written, I would watch her make fresh homemade jam, plum was one of her favorites, that’s where I got the idea of substituting strawberries.
She never ever used pectin, just stirred and cooked fresh fruit, just the flavor of the fruit in a jar! She would also make Cherry jam and Apricot Jam this way.
She would serve it on her fresh made bread or make a tasty Crostata. That’s where this Homemade No-Pectin Strawberry Jam comes in, it’s so easy and always tastes amazing!
What are the ingredients for No Pectin Easy Strawberry Jam
- Strawberries
- Sugar
- Lemon Juice
What is the difference between Jam and Jelly?
Jam is made with mashed fruit and jelly is made with strained fruit juice. Jelly has no pieces of fruit in it. And preserves have large pieces of fruit or whole fruit in it.
How to make a Strawberry Jam recipe
In a medium to large pot or saucepan, add the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice.
Stir to combine.
On medium heat bring it to a full rolling boil, continue boiling on a low boil, stirring often until the mixture has thickened. I mashed the strawberries a few times while the mixture was cooking with a potato masher.
Move to a clean sterilized jar and let cool, then refrigerate for 24-48 hours before tasting.
Should lemon juice be included?
Yes lemon juice should be included because it lowers the pH of the jam mixture, which will help set the no pectin jam.
How to sterilize jars
I prefer to use the boiling water method – Wash the jars with hot soapy water before sterilizing. Make sure they are completely clean. Place the jars and lids upright in a large pot.
Fill the pot with water, make sure the water covers the jars by an inch (2.5 cm). Bring the water to a full, strong boil and continue to boil for at least 10 minutes.
Remove the jars and lids from the hot water bath (tongs work best) and place them on a couple of paper towels to dry. Make sure the sterilized jars do not come in contact with anything but the paper towels.
You could also sterilize the jars in your dishwasher on the hot water cycle if you prefer.
Be sure to fill the jars, when they and the jam are both still warm. Adding hot food to cold jars or cold food to hot jars will cause the jars to crack or shatter.
Be sure to leave about 1⁄4 inch of space at the top of each jar, this helps create a vacuum seal when closing the jar.
What to top with strawberry jam
And remember don’t let anyone tell you that jam without pectin won’t thicken, not true at all. Might take a little bit more time, but definitely worth it! And don’t forget to serve the Strawberry Jam with some Biscuits. Enjoy!
Homemade Strawberry Jam
Equipment
- Medium – large pot
- 1-2 glass jars
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh strawberries cleaned and chopped
- 1-1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium/large sized pot, add the chopped strawberries, sugar and lemon juice, mix to combine.
- Place the pot on medium heat and bring it to a boil, lower the heat and continue boiling on a low boil, stirring often, I mashed* the strawberries a few times while the mixture was cooking.
- Continue cooking until the mixture arrives at 220F (105C) on a candy thermometer and has thickened, this should occur after approximately 25-30 minutes. Transfer the jam (leaving about 1/4 inch of space) to 1-2 clean sterilized jars let cool and then refrigerate for at least 24-48 hours before tasting.
*You could also blend the berries or use a hand blender if you want the jam smoother.
Notes
What If The Jam Is Too Thin?
If for some reason you have waited 24-48 hours and the jam is very runny, (remember no pectin jam will never be as thick as pectin added jam) you can do a few things, leave as is to enjoy over pancakes, waffles or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream, add it in crepes or drizzle over a cake. Or you can thicken it by:- For every 2 cups add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and bring to a boil for 3-4 minutes.
- Place the jam back in a pot and add 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 1 tablespoons of sugar, mix well and boil stirring constantly for about 4-5 minutes.
How to store strawberry jam
Homemade strawberry jam will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Or, if you want to can the jam, it will keep well for 10 to 12 months! You will need canning jars and then follow the steps in the blog post or check out this site for more information on sterilizing them.Can You Freeze Jam?
Yes, you can freeze jam if you want to store it longer. You can store the jam in freezer bags (be sure to squeeze out the air) or in freezer safe jars. If you use jars be sure to leave space at the top because the jam will expand when it freezes. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.Nutrition
Updated from May 30, 2015.
I’ m looking for the recipe for Homemade No Pectin Strawberry Jam, but links & searches only lead back to this Comments section. Can someone help resolve this? Please & thanks, from another Rosemary 🙂
Hi Rosemary, here is the link https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/homemade-no-pectin-strawberry-jam/. thanks for letting me know I will look into that.
This was delicious! Perhaps a bit too much pepper for me. I like the idea of including it but it lingered on my tongue too much.
I couldn’t get mine to heat to 220 degrees though – only 215. Any idea why? I tried turning it up but eventually burned some on the bottom of the pan that way.
Hi Heather, I have never added pepper so I can’t say, and the temperature to heat the mixture is 210 degrees which might be why it burnt. Let me know.
Question: How long will the jam keep in the fridge? Planning on making this today 🙂 Along with the strawberry mousse!
Hi Kelley, the jam should last up to two weeks in the fridge or up to three months in the freezer. Hope that helps.
I was looking for an easy strawberry jam recipe that I can make as the strawberry I bought was getting softy. I’m glad I found your easy homemade strawberry jam recipe. It’s perfect and I love it! Thanks so much!
Hi Claire, thanks so much so glad you like the recipe. Take care.
I’m making your jam as I speak but mine is not getting thicker it’s getting runnier. Follow mecipe to a T Got any suggestions ?
Hi Mary, let it get to 210F, once it cools it does thicken.
My husband has an allotment and grows strawberries which I love but this season we had far too many so after seeing your easy recipe I decided I would give it a try wow!! it’s delicious and as you say so easy to make never made jam before cause too much messing about but this is certainly a winner.
Hi Lynda, oh lucky you I would love home grown strawberries they must be amazing. And thanks so glad you enjoyed the jam. Have a great weekend.
I just made the jam today and it’s out of this world good!!! My hubby is all about the convenience of buying premade foods from the grocery store so it surprised me when he said this was better than any store bought jam he’s ever had. I’d have to agree.
Hi Cyndi, thanks so much and so glad to hear that it’s better than store bought. 🙂
Absolutely delicious and easy strawberry jam recipe! I used a little less sugar (200g) and it still worked perfectly – thanks for sharing:)
Hi Anna, thanks so much and good to know about the less amount of sugar. Have a great week.
How much does this jam recipe make? I want to make a few jars at one time. Thank You
Hi Jacqui, you should get about a jar or 2 depending on the size of the jar. If you want a few jars then you should probably double the recipe. Hope that helps.
This jam is delicious, made the biscuits too but they were a little flat. Good for spreading the jam on though. So it all worked out. Thank you for the easy recipe
Hi Jacqui, glad you enjoyed the jam, sorry about the biscuits being flat. But glad it worked out. 🙂
Rosemary,
I just made your delicious strawberry jam! I must say, after years of trying to find a jam that uses less sugar and no pectin, but still has that taste of the freezer jam, this is close. I just have a question, can you make this jam without the balsalmic vinegar? Because I am curious, what exactly does the vinegar do for the jam? I made some last year (cooked) and it was more or less like syrup. I am seeing that the longer you cook it, the thicker it gets! 🙂 Thanks in advance for your help! LOVE THE RECIPE! We just had toast with this on it, very very good!
Hi Alyssa, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. I just wanted to clarify there is no balsamic vinegar in the recipe, did you mean lemon juice? The lemon juice is needed because it helps to prevent bacteria and for the PH balance (pectin) to help set the jam. So it really is needed. Hope that helps. Have a great Sunday.
Can this be put in mason jars and sealed for later
Hi Joan, I’m sure you could just make sure you seal them the way they say to do it. I have never done it because I usually do a small amount and it gets eaten quickly. Let me know.
How delicious! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
I just had homemade jam at a friend’s house! I was asking her for her recipe- now I have yours 🙂 I visited the Vatican a couple of years ago- amazing but exhausting, lol.Have a great time!
Hi Veronica, just in time lol, the Vatican museum was exhausting and incredible.
Hope you had a wonderful time! Those biscuits and jam look delicious and worth getting up for at the crack of dawn 🙂
Your jam and biscuits look delicious. Have fun on our Sunday adventure. We loved going through the Vatican. To say it was awesome is really to under rate it. So much talent!! Will be anxious to hear what you thought.