This is a recipe for easy Strawberry Jam.
Strawberry season officially marks the start of summer and making Strawberry Jam at home is pretty amazing. Through out the quarantine, we’ve had select groceries available and I’ve been craving Strawberry Jam for all the breads and biscuits I’ve been making but couldn’t get my hands on any. The countdown to June has taken forever but we are finally here!
Many pick-your-own orchards have started opening up. We headed down to ours outside of Philadelphia, Linvilla Orchards for Strawberry Picking. We had to book ahead on line as they are spacing out visits. When we arrived to pick it was like we had the whole field to ourselves first thing in the morning. I always recommend berry picking as early in the morning as possible to avoid the summer heat in the fields.
Try my recipe for Homemade Cherry Garcia Ice Cream.
Once you have your berries back to your house by either pick-your-own or local farmer’s market, carefully wash and rinse them to get out any bugs. We tried the salt water trick and used 3 tablespoons of salt per batch of berries with cold water. It seemed to clean them well but it was hard to get the after taste of salt out of the berries even after several rinses. You can of course use grocery store berries but honestly, they will not be as fresh and juicy for your jam.
If you want to try the salt trick ensure you let the berries soak for 30 minutes. There are some fun videos on the internet that show bugs coming out but just a few tiny ones came out of ours which would have happened when we washed them anyways since we picked them directly from the field. When you make your strawberry jam you want the berries as clean and dry as possible.
You’ll also love this recipe for Strawberry Fruit Roll Ups Made at Home.
Tools to Make Strawberry Jam
Next you’ll want to hull and cut your berries to your liking. Remember to remove all tops. I use this simple strawberry hull I picked up at Crate and Barrel (under $8!). You will also want to use a heavy bottom pan when you make your strawberry jam. Here I used my Staub Dutch Oven, which you guys know I use for everything!
Lastly, you can save an old jar with a lid to recycle or I recommend these jars. I like the tiny ones so you can give gifts of your strawberry jam.
Easy Strawberry Jam
There is nothing better than fresh homemade strawberry jam on your favorite pastry or to add to your cheese plate. This easy recipe is so simple you'll wonder why you haven't made jam from scratch before. This recipe will make two medium sized jars. Double or triple to make additional jars and sizes.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Strawberries (15-20 medium sized strawberries will equal a pound)
- 1 cup White Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Trim and hull your strawberries.
- Crush your strawberries with a masher or fork for a textured jam. Crush to your liking.
- Pour the strawberries and the sugar into a large heavy bottom pot.
- Bring the mixture to a boil until the sugar disolves.
- Reduce heat to medium low and add in the lemon juice.
- Cook the jam for about 30 minutes stirring occassionally. If it's not thickening to your liking, add more lemon juice to get it to firm up.
- Have your jars ready. Once the jam has thickened, remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Pour into the jars and promptly put a lid on it allowing the jam to cool at room temperature.
Notes
This recipe is for chunky strawberry jam. If you want a smoother or jelly like texture, you'll need to run your berries through a food processor.
Add lemon juice if you need it to thicken more.
The jam will thicken even more once it's in the jars.
Store in a cool dark place.
Also Try: Homemade Dutch Oven Bread with Whipped Honey!
How long will they store for? And can you use frozen thawed berries?
Author
Hi Donna! As long as they are sealed tightly I will store them and use throughout the year. (I use the Ball Canning method). You can use frozen berries or store bought berries. The frozen may contain more liquid so you can add in something like pectin or more lemon juice. Hope you have fun making jam!