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Simply the Best Strawberry Jam

Crafted with ripe, whole strawberries, our jam is painstakingly slow-cooked to lock in their natural goodness. Ideal for pancakes, French toast, or ice cream, it's truly a strawberry sensation to die for. This jam is our culinary masterpiece in a can. And we are not even bragging!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Resting time16 hours
Course: Jam
Cuisine: European
Diet: Gluten Free, Halal, Kosher, Low Fat, Low Salt, Vegan
Keyword: Easy, Homemade Strawberry Preserve, How to make strawberry jam, Jam with simple ingredients, Jam without pectin, Less Sugar, No pectin, Simple, Small Batch Strawberry Preserve, Strawberry Jam, Strawberry jam Recipe, Strawberry jam without pectin, Traditional Jam
Servings: 2 x 8 oz. (250 ml.) mason jars and one 4 oz. (125 ml) mason jar

Equipment

  • heavy-bottomed pot
  • wooden spoon or silicone spatula
  • potholders, oven mitts, trivets for hot dishes clean, non-slippery

Ingredients

  • 2 lb strawberries
  • 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 small lemon or 1/2 medium lemon, juiced

Instructions

Wash and Hull the Strawberries:

  • Select very ripe but firm strawberries, preferably smaller ones, as this recipe requires keeping the strawberries whole.
  • Begin by gently rinsing the strawberries under cold running water. Alternatively, fill a bowl of your salad spinner, with cold water. Place the strawberries in a spinning basket without covering it. Gently rotate the basket inside the bowl, remove the basket, and drain the water. Return the spinning basket with strawberries to the bowl to let the excess water drip off.
  • After washing, use a paring knife or a strawberry huller to remove the green stems and the white cores (hulls) from each strawberry. To do so, insert the knife or huller at a slight angle and rotate it around the stem to remove it.

Mix and Steep the Strawberries:

  • Measure the strawberries according to the recipe's requirements, adjusting the ingredient quantities as needed based on your desired final yield.
  • Take a suitably sized, heavy-bottomed pot and combine the whole strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Gently stir the strawberries using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to ensure the sugar and juice coat them evenly.
    Allow the strawberries to rest for about 2 hours. This resting period helps dissolve the sugar and release strawberry juices, ensuring there's enough liquid for the strawberries to boil gently in.

Cook the Strawberries:

  • Place the pot over low heat and using the lowest heat settings bring the strawberries to a gentle boil.
    (!) Maintaining low heat is crucial to preserve the strawberries' shape. It will take around 20-25 minutes for the strawberries to reach a gentle boil on low heat.
  • Let the strawberries boil for 5 minutes, then immediately turn off the heat. Leave the strawberries uncovered until the pot cools to a room temperature. Ideally, cool it overnight or throughout the day.
    Repeat this step four times.
    The key to this jam is the slow processing time and extremely low cooking temperature.
  • During the final repetition, perform a doneness test.
    Place an empty clean plate in the fridge to chill. Once chilled, spoon a portion of the jam onto the cold plate. The mixture should thicken to the consistency you will get once the jam is canned. If you are not happy with the consistency, add an extra 5 minutes to the total cooking time.
  • (!) Have your Mason jars ready because the next step, filling them with your jam, must follow immediately.