Homemade Strawberry Jam made with only 3 ingredients and without any pectin.
You can’t beat a good Homemade Strawberry Jam, it’s so much better than any store bought.
All you need are fresh juicy strawberries, lemon juice and a bag of sugar. Making Strawberry Jam couldn’t be easier !
From a cooking perspective, I’ve been really fortunate since setting up our Kitchen Shed. I’ve had time to experiment with all sorts of recipes, in particular my love for making jams and chutneys. I’ve enjoyed working on requests for particular jams and it’s been great meeting people at food fairs around our neck of the woods in Brittany.
Why Homemade Strawberry Jam without pectin ? Even though strawberries are low in pectin, I’ve used lemon juice to boost gel formation instead of adding commercial pectin. Besides aiding the jam’s set, lemon brings out the full flavour of the strawberries and balances out the sweetness.
In under 30 minutes, you can have 4 jars of Homemade Strawberry Jam done and dusted. This includes fruit preparation, weighing out ingredients and potting up.
Over the years, I’ve experimented with the amount of lemon juice to use. Too little and your jam won’t set but use too much and you’ll get a strawberry and lemon jam that still might not set.
This strawberry jam is a softer set than you’d get if you were to use pectin but we love it. And so did our customers, English and French alike. We even had people saying this was the best strawberry jam ever !
Try some on homemade scones with clotted cream or simply on a slice of crusty bread and butter.
Each year I always looked forward to our strawberries ripening. We started our strawberry plot with just 6 Gariguette strawberry plants and eventually we had 3 plots. This year we aren’t in France for the summer so I’ve bought a tray of beautiful British strawberries.
What equipment do I need ?
- Preserving pan – nice and wide so liquid can evaporate and your jam can set. If you make a lot of jams and chutneys it’s worth investing in a good solid preserving pan. I use an 8.5 litre Penguin Home Professional pan.
- A couple of tea plates or saucers placed in the fridge before you start making the jam.
- A jam funnel – definitely something I wouldn’t be without as it saves a lot of mess and waste.
- Sterilised jam jars – at least 4 x 350g jars with lids.
- Jam thermometer – a quick and easy way to check the setting point of jam, it should be around 104C / 220F.
How to sterilise jars
Sterilise your jars shortly before they are to be used. This minimises the time in which the jars might pick up new bacteria and ruin your strawberry jam. Make sure your jars are dry when you come to fill them.
I like to sterilise jam jars in the microwave. Simply clean your jars as normal and rinse but whilst they are wet, pop them in the microwave for two minutes on full power.
Remember the jars will be very hot, so remove with care.
Alternatively, wash jars in the dishwasher on a hot cycle.
What ingredients do I need ?
- Strawberries – ripe dry strawberries in season will give the best flavour. Strawberries have very little pectin so it’s better not to use over ripe fruit because it has even less pectin. If anything, you could say, it’s better to use slightly under ripe fruit.
- Lemon – the juice is used in the recipe to add acid and help the jam set.
- Sugar – I used granulated sugar.
How To Make Homemade Strawberry Jam Without Pectin
- Prepare your strawberries by hulling and then halving or quartering any large ones.
- Soften your fruit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the sugar and stir.
- Check the sugar has completely dissolved, the syrup should be free of any sugar granules.
- Add lemon juice – lemon juice is added after the sugar to avoid damaging the pectin formation.
- Bring to a gentle rolling boil and cook until setting point. The surface of the jam should be covered with tiny bubbles.
- Don’t be tempted to turn the heat up too high as your jam might catch and burn on the bottom.Setting point is reached when the jam thermometer reaches 104℃ or 220F.I also like use the wrinkle test to check for a good set.
- Remove your pan from the heat and drop a little jam onto a cold saucer. Return the saucer to the fridge for about a minute so the jam cools. Now gently push through the jam with your fingertip – if the jam crinkles, setting point has been reached. Because it is a soft set jam you may not get a crinkle but you can see that the jam doesn’t close the gap.
- Leave to settle for about 10 minutes before potting. This will help distribute the strawberries in your jam more evenly.
Strawberry Jam FAQs
Better ! So often with added pectin you lose the true strawberry flavour and the texture is affected.
Although strawberries are low in pectin, I’ve used lemon juice to boost gel formation instead of adding commercial pectin.
You get a really nice set with pieces of strawberry suspended in a deliciously smooth jam.
The set on Strawberry Jam can sometimes be tricky. A runny jam is often down to one or more of the following:
Too little sugar – sugar plays an important part in setting and preserving jam.
It’s all to do with pectin chains forming to make a gel. Sugar binds to the water leaving the pectin to get on with forming chains.
The usual rule is equal weights of sugar and fruit. If you don’t use enough sugar you can end up with a runny jam.
Too little or too much acid – lemon juice is essential in strawberry jam to help the pectin chains bond. Too little lemon juice and your jam won’t set. But too much lemon juice can damage the pectin, thereby limiting the jam’s set.
The amount of lemon juice in my Strawberry Jam recipe is tried and tested and gives a good set.
Temperature too low – jam needs to be heated to between 104 to 105 ℃ or 220F to achieve setting point. Heat the jam up again and use a jam thermometer to check the temperature.
Strawberries are low in pectin and acid which are essential for setting jam.
Adding extra acid in the form of lemon juice boosts the gel formation in the jam. It also balances out the sweetness and brings out the flavour in the strawberries. For me, when it comes to preserved food in a jar, there’s nothing worse than a cloyingly sweet jam.
How long will it keep ?
Your Homemade Strawberry Jam will keep for up to a year. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
Once opened, refrigerate and use within 4 weeks.
A note on canning and the water bath method
Here in the UK, we don’t generally use the water bath method to make jams and jellies.
Jars and lids are sterilised before filling and once sealed the lids on jars of hot jam form a vacuum seal during cooling. Within the airtight jar, the sugar and acid content is high enough to preserve the jam or jelly.
If you do wish to water bath Strawberry Jam, follow your jar manufacturer’s instructions.
How to use Strawberry Jam
- Serve with a buttered homemade scone.
- Perfect in a Victoria Sponge.
- On toast, waffles or pancakes.
- Or simply on a slice of homemade bread and butter.
More Fruit Jam and Jelly Recipes
- Raspberry Jam
- Plum Jam
- Strawberry Jelly
- Peach Jam
- Courgette & Ginger Jam
- Pumpkin Jam
- Elderberry Jelly
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Homemade Strawberry Jam Without Pectin
Equipment
- Preserving pan – I use an 8.5 litre Penguin Home Professional pan.
- 2 Tea plates or saucers – placed in the fridge before you start making the jam.
- jam funnel – definitely something I wouldn’t be without as it saves a lot of mess and waste.
- 4 350 g Sterilised jam jars and lids
- jam thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 kg ripe dry strawberries
- 1 kg granulated sugar
- 150 ml fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Hull strawberries – halve or quarter large ones.
- Add strawberries to your preserving pan and cook on a gentle heat for 5 to 10 minutes to soften the fruit. Shake the pan a couple of times to prevent fruit sticking to the pan.
- Add the sugar, stirring gently to dissolve it.
- Check the sugar has completely dissolved before increasing the heat to medium.
- Add lemon juice and stir.
- Bring to a gentle rolling boil and cook for 12 minutes and test for setting point.
- Setting point is reached when the jam thermometer reaches 104℃ or 220F.
- Alternatively, use the wrinkle test: Remove your pan from the heat and test for setting point by dropping a little jam onto a cold saucer, return to the fridge and leave to cool for a minute. Push the jam gently with your fingertip, if the jam crinkles, setting point has been reached. If not, reboil for a couple of minutes and repeat until setting point is reached.
- Leave to settle for about 10 minutes before pouring into warm, sterilised jars and seal.
- Store in a cool, dry place out of the sunlight and use within 12 months.
Notes
- The recipe makes approximately enough to fill 4 x 350g jars. Serving size is based on one tablespoon (approx 20 g)
- Keep to one kilo of fruit or less for each batch of strawberry jam. It will reach setting point much quicker and taste much fresher than if you boil it for a long time.
- Your Homemade Strawberry Jam will keep for up to a year. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
- Once opened, refrigerate and use within 4 weeks.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Sandy
Monday 1st of July 2024
A very good recipe. I had a tub that had been collected at a Pick Your Own farm locally. In the past I have used firm, just ripe strawberries because I felt they had more pectin. This time they were soft and riper than I have used in the past. I followed the recipe (in the main) Before adding the sugar I used a potato masher to mash the strawberries in the pan and I allowed them to boil for about 25 minutes to reduce the water content. I added about three quarters of the original strawberries weight, when I added the sugar. This was to account for the reduction in weight of the strawberries by the longer boil. I added about 80% of the lemon juice. When the rolling boil was done after 12 minutes the jam set well. What I now have is a very good setting consistency and not runny at all. My advice for anyone using this excellent recipe with very ripe strawberries is to do the same. Extend the original boil time for the strawberries on their own and make a judgement of how much they have reduced that can be applied to the sugar you add.
Thank you for such a super recipe.
Sarah James
Monday 1st of July 2024
Thanks Sandy, it's a pleasure to share my recipe. I like to use firm and just ripe fruit, a good idea to evaporate some of the extra juice from the soft strawberries.It's good to hear your jam has a good set, Sarah.
Jay
Monday 25th of March 2024
Delicious and sooo easy! Thank you from USA!!
Leonie
Monday 25th of September 2023
Hi Sarah, thanks for this recipe I just made 6 jars of marmelade and was searching for strawberry recipe. Going to make it today. Regards from South Africa.
Kushigalu
Saturday 23rd of July 2022
Nothing better than homemade jam. This strawberry jam looks so delicious.
Sarah James
Monday 25th of July 2022
Thanks Kushi.
Andrea
Saturday 23rd of July 2022
What a quick and simple strawberry jam recipe. I had no idea it was this easy. Will be making often.
Sarah James
Monday 25th of July 2022
Thanks Andrea, it is a quick turnaround to get a few jars of strawberry jam made. Happy jam making.