How To Make Strawberry Jam

There are few things that taste as good to me as homemade jams. It’s as close as I can get to keeping fresh fruit in my pantry until their next season. I’m not picky about what kind of jam either… strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, triple berry {a combination of the previous three}, peach-raspberry, apple… the list can go on and on! While strawberry season isn’t here yet in my nook of Pennsylvania, today I’m going to show you how to make strawberry jam. It’s a really simple process from start to finish.

Since 2010, I’ve been making homemade jam at a fraction of the cost of store-bought jams, and I know exactly what went into it. {Umm… hello High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Locust Bean Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Chloride and Red #40, I’m talking to you!} Aside from the occasional jar of grape jelly, I haven’t bought any jam because we make plenty to get us through the rest of the year!

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For as long as I can remember, A’s favorite sandwich has been a PB&J. To the point that we would go through so much jelly in such a short period of time, and that can really add up in costs! At that time, we also had a small strawberry patch that was quite abundant. So I started making freezer jam on the slight chance that it would help use up the strawberries and save us money.

It was intimidating at first. But after a few trials, and some errors, realization kicked in that it was very easy to do. From there, with our freezer space limited, we branched out into making bigger batches and switched to making canned jam rather than frozen. Want to know how to make strawberry jam? Let’s get started.

What You’ll Need to make strawberry jam:

Strawberries
Strawberry Huller*
Waterbath Canner – I’ve had this canning kit* since 2010. It’s been through hell and back, and it’s still kicking! The canner itself holds up to 7 quarts, or 9 pints, and is a breeze to use. Plus, it comes with other items you’ll need, like the headspace tool, jar lifter and funnel, without having to purchase them separately.
Canning Jars with Lids & Rings* – I prefer to use the 8oz ones for jams. You can also use 4oz and 12oz jars, but don’t go larger than the 16oz (pint-sized) jars.
Damp cloth for wiping the jar rim
6-Quart Non-Reactive Stock Pot*
Ladle
Towels
Pectin* – I personally like to use the flex batch rather than boxed pectin because I can modify the quantity based on how much fruit I have.
Sugar

NOTE
This recipe below makes 8 (8oz) jars of strawberry jam using a reduced sugar variation with Ball RealFruit Classic Pectin*.

I recommend that you do not convert this into a double batch. You can cut this to a half batch, but do not increase the batch size since the pectin may not set properly.

How To Make Strawberry Jam:

GATHER YOUR BERRIES

We love to go to a local you-pick farm for them. While we do have some strawberry plants in our garden, it is not nearly enough to make a batch of jam. Plus, this gets everyone out of the house for the day!

Whether you pick them yourself, buy them at a farmers market, or at the store, you’ll want roughly 2 pounds strawberries for each batch of jam.

PREP CANNER

Fill your water bath canner 2/3 full with water, and bring to a boil. This step takes the longest compared to cooking the actual jam, which can cook really fast depending on how large your batch is, so I’m suggesting you do it now.

You’ll also want to wash and sterilize the jars, lids, and rings that you intend to use. You can either run them through the dishwasher, or you can hand wash them and leave in basins filled with nearly boiling water. I’ve successfully used both methods.

PREP THE STRAWBERRIES

Whether you pick them or buy them, you’ll need to wash them! I like to use a clean wash basin filled a third of the way full with warm water, and add in a splash of vinegar. Let the strawberries soak, occasionally moving them gently around. And don’t worry, they won’t taste like vinegar when they come out, but you will definitely be amazed at how much sand and silt are resting on them!

After the berries have been washed, you’ll want to hull them it take off the leaves and the inner portion. I like to use this huller* to make exceptionally fast work of a tedious task. Then I cut the berries in half or quarters depending on the size.

I personally like the jam to have chunks of fruit, and no one has complained otherwise just yet, so I tend to leave them cut into larger chunks. If you would rather have smaller chunks, you can pulse the berries in your food processor to make them smaller.

COOK THE BERRIES

In a non-reactive pot*, combine 5 1/3 cup crushed strawberries, 6 Tablespoons pectin, and 1/2 teaspoon butter. Cook on medium-high heat until the berries are at a full, rolling boil – that means a boil that you cannot stir down.

Since we like our jam chunky, we just use a potato masher to smoosh them further from the halves I had in the previous step. This is totally unnecessary if you used the food processor to make your berries smaller.

While you can make jam without the use of pectin, it certainly does help the jam set quicker, which is a big perk with little ones around. I prefer Ball Pectin Flex Batch to the Sure-Jell boxes because I can make smaller batches if needed to use up leftover fruit. The finished product is also a much brighter color and has a taste that’s preferred by everyone in this clan.

Once the jam comes to a full rolling boil, add in 4 cups sugar, stirring constantly until dissolved. Continue stirring until the mixture returns to a full rolling boil.

Continue to boil the jam for exactly one minute, while stirring constantly.

CAN YOUR JAM

In this step, you have to move pretty fast because your jam will start to set. So be prepared to see images of applesauce while you learn about how to make strawberry jam!

Remove the jam from heat. Working one jar at a time, use your funnel and ladle to slowly pour the jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace. {Headspace is the space between the top of what you’re canning and the top of the jar. 1/4″ headspace is usually to the start of the screw lid.} Run the headspace tool along the edge of the jar to coax out any bubbles that may have snuck in.

Wipe down the rim with a damp cloth. This helps to ensure there is no stray jam in the way causing the lid to not seal.

Use the magnetic lid lifter to place lids on the jars. Screw rings on the jars until it’s fingertip tight. {Fingertip tight is when the lid is just starting to catch. Too loose and it won’t seal, too tight and your jar will break under the pressure.}

Add the jar to the canner, and repeat until there is no remaining jam, or you run out of canner space. If you have any leftover jam, you can store it in a jar in your fridge to use in the next two weeks.

Lower the rack into the canner, and replace the lid. Allow the water to come to a full rolling boil, then process for 10 minutes. {I got 9 jars out of this recipe. I’m not going to complain!!}

If you are above 1,000 feet in elevation, be sure to adjust your processing time for your altitude. To adjust your processing time, you increase the time by 5 minutes if you are between 1,000 & 3,000 feet, by 10 minutes if you’re between 3,000 & 6,000 feet, and by 15 minutes if you live above 6,000 feet. This helps to compensate for the difference in boiling temperatures and air pressures at higher elevations than compared to sea level. So for example, our elevation is 1,350 feet, so I process my strawberry jam for 15 minutes.

When your processing time is done, turn off the heat and remove the lid from your canner. Allow the jars to sit in the canner for 5 minutes before removing them from the canner. Then let them sit undisturbed on some towels for 12 hours before checking the seal.

To check the seal, push down in the center of the lid. Most of the time, jam seals while they’re still sitting in the canner. If the lid is sealed, it won’t give, or “pop”. Remove the rings and store your jars in a cool place until you are ready to use them.

If your lid did give a “pop” as you checked the seal, you can either reprocess your jar with a new lid right away or store it in the fridge and eat it within the next week. I personally put them in the fridge since the strawberry jam won’t last a week.