Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe (With Pectin)
On a whim my family decided to go strawberry picking. It was the last day of strawberry season for our local strawberry farm and we just wanted a few to eat during the week. 45 minutes into picking we realized we had picked 16 pounds of strawberries (and my littlest ate probably that much while we were picking 🙂).
There is nothing better than making jam with fresh strawberries, so that was our task for that afternoon. This easy homemade strawberry jam recipe has simple ingredients and is perfect if you are tight on time or want to just make a small batch of jam or if you have all afternoon to spend making lots of delicious strawberry jam to store for the coming year it is very easy to double the batch.
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Ingredients:
- 5 cups pureed strawberries (about 8 cups of fresh strawberries)
- 7 cups of sugar
- If you want less sugar buy no sugar needed pectin, however don’t reduce the amount if you use regular pectin or the jam won’t set correctly
- 1 box Sure-Jell pectin
Supplies:
- 4 Pint Jars
- 4 new jar lids
- 4 jar rings (can be reused)
- Warm bath canner
- Canning jar lifter
- Canning insert
- Food processor
- Funnel
- Large saucepan
How To Prepare Canning Jars
You will need to wash the jars before using them. I always run them through the dishwasher to sanitize them, you could also hand wash them with hot soapy water. I then put the oven at the lowest heat and put the jars in the oven until I’m ready to fill them with hot jam. If you run the dishwasher right before canning you could keep the jars in the dishwasher as they will be hot from the dry cycle. I would look on the box of your new lids to see what they recommend to prepare the lids for canning.
Canning is an awesome way to preserve food through the year. However there are things to consider when canning to make sure the food stays safe for eating. If you are new to canning I would recommend checking out this home food preservation website to learn a little more about different ways to can and how to do it safely. I always prefer to do water bath canning but there are some other options if this isn’t for you.
Letting Your Kids Help
My kids love to help me in the kitchen. This recipe offers lots of opportunities for small helping hands, however there are some parts of this process that would be best done by an adult.
The best jobs that I have found for kids to help with during this recipe is:
- Measuring out the sugar into a bowl
- Helping put strawberries into the food processor (with supervision as the blade is sharp) and pushing the pulse button to puree
- My oldest likes the job of stirring the strawberries and pectin mixture with my husband supervising
- Once sugar is added into the mixture it becomes really hot and boils quickly, I don’t let my kids around the stove during this step to avoid burns
How To Make Strawberry Jam
- Fill your water bath canner with water, place on stove and warm on medium-high heat.
- Puree 8 cups of fresh strawberries in a food processor. Leaving chunks if you like the texture.
- Measure 5 cups of strawberry puree and place into a large stock pot. Put stock pot on the stove over high heat. Add the pectin.
- Bring to a strong boil (meaning that it continues to boil even when you stir it), make sure you constantly stir the mixture during this process. Add the sugar and mix it in. Bring mixture to a full boil, stirring occasionally.
- Once at a full rolling boil set timer for 1 minute. When timer goes off remove from heat and skim off foam with a spoon.
- Pour jam into prepared canning jars with a funnel, being careful not to overfill.
- Clean the tops of the jars with a clean rag to ensure a good seal. Place a clean, new lid along with lid ring on the jar.
- Put the jars into water bath canner, water should be softly boiling, and your jars should be completely covered with water when lowered into pot.
- Boil for 20 minutes. Remove from canner and set on counter to let jars seal and cool.
Yield: 1 batch makes about 4 pint size jars of jam
Cooking Time: 1 hour
FAQs
Nope, you can easily use a potato masher if you don’t have a food processor. I find the food processor is faster but you get great results either way!
We always keep a jar unsealed and it goes straight into our fridge (and is gone within days 🙂) when we make a fresh batch of strawberry jam. There is nothing better than warm, fresh jam.
There are so many delicious ways to use this jam. My kids love it on PB&Js. There is nothing better than an english muffin with jam. We use it to put it on top of ice cream. You could also spread a block of cream cheese on a plate and put the jam on top for a simple snack or appetizer (I promise it will be gone in minutes).
Yes! We have found that it takes a really large pot to cook it all together so we often will do multiple single batches but if you have a large stock pot that can hold 10 cups of pureed strawberries & 14 cups of sugar than go for it!
From beginning to end of one batch it took about an hour (this included the canning process), we made 4 batches and it took 3-4 hours.
You should notice a little thickening when you add in the sugar and let it boil, however it is very normal for it to be pretty liquidy when you pour it into the jars. The jam should set within 24 hours of canning it.
Store your canned strawberry jam in a cool dark place and it will last for a long time. It will be best eaten within a year, but the sugar acts as a preservative and it will be safe to eat even after that year is up if you forget about it. Once the jar is opened, keep in the refrigerator and use within a few months.
I hope you enjoy this easy strawberry jam recipe as much as our family does!
Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam (With Pectin)
This easy strawberry homemade jam recipe has simple ingredients and is perfect for canning so you can enjoy it all year long.
Ingredients
- 5 cups pureed strawberries (About 8 cups fresh strawberries)
- 7 cups sugar
- 1 packet Sure Jell
Instructions
1. Fill your water bath canner with water, place on stove and warm on medium-high heat while you follow steps below
2. Measure out your sugar and set this aside
3. Put 7-8 cups of fresh strawberries into a food processor and pulse them until they are pureed, make sure to leave some chunks in it
4. Measure out exactly 5 cups of pureed strawberries into a stock pot
5. Put the stock pot with the strawberries on the stove over high heat
6. Add the sure-jell packet
7. Bring to a strong boil (meaning that it continues to boil even when you stir it), make sure you constantly stir the mixture during this process
8. Add in the sugar and mix it in
9. Bring mixture to a full boil, stirring occasionally
10. Once at a full rolling boil set timer for 1 minute
11. When timer goes off remove from heat and skim off foam with a spoon
12. Remove hot jars from oven or dishwasher
13. Pour jam mixture into jars with a funnel, being cautious not to overfill (I usually try to leave at least a 1/4th inch at the top)
14. Clean off the tops of the jars to ensure a good seal and place clean, new lid along with lid ring on jar
15. Put jars into water bath canner, water should be softly boiling, and your jars should be completely covered with water when lowered into pot
16. Boil for 20 minutes
17. Remove from canner and set on counter to let jars seal and cool
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
Sure Jell Premium Fruit Pectin For Homemade Jams And Jellies, 100% Natural, 1.75 Ounce (Pack of 2) -
Member's Mark Granulated Sugar (10 Pounds)
-
Regular Mouth Mason Jars 16 oz - (4 Pack) - Ball Regular Mouth Pint 16-Ounces Mason Jars With Airtight lids and Bands - For Canning, Fermenting, Pickling, Freezing, Storage + M.E.M Rubber Jar Opener Included
-
Granite Ware 8 Piece Enamelware Water bath Canning Pot (Speckled Black) with Canning Toolset and Rack. Canning Supplies Starter Kit, Canning Supplies. Canning Kit.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 128 Serving Size: 1 TbspAmount Per Serving: Calories: 60
