Strawberry Jam

Homemade Strawberry Jam, an easy and simple recipe. This jam is special with no preservatives. Using chunky pieces of berries lends a great body to the jam. Spread the jam happiness on your toast and relish every bite!

Homemade jams, pizza sauce or cheese sauce are special for pure and real ingredients and with no preservatives added! This makes it perfect to give kids without the fear of unknown ingredients.

Its been long 2 months since I posted here. I have been busy in something else. That something is what I have waited for 9 long years!

People who know me well, may guess at it, but for those who don’t know me, I have joined back full time work. And I have been thrilled to bits about it. I have been making and photographing stuff. I have not been able to get dedicated time to post about it though.

This morning I woke up early feeling fresh and time on hand to do something that I have come to enjoy and love as I do my work – blogging! I would be a bit sporadic and inconsistent but I will be coming back here again and again. So don’t give up on me yet!!

Over to recipe, it’s the fag end of strawberries here and I have indulged in some cooking like strawberry jam and strawberry kulfi, recipes for both of which I will share here.

If you are looking for store bought firmness, then no-pectin recipe is not for you, but like me if you want lesser preservatives in your food, then you have come to the right place.

The tartness and sweetness is perfect and I loved the jam.

Print Recipe

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Homemade Strawberry Jam, an easy and simple recipe. This jam is special with no preservatives. Using chunky pieces of berries lends a great body to the jam. Spread the jam happiness on your toast and relish every bite!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Filling & Frosting, Sauce

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Keyword: eggless, Sauce

Servings: 250 gram

Ingredients

• 1 kg fresh strawberries hulled & chopped
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 lemon juice & rind
• a pinch salt

Instructions

• Place 3-4 spoons in freezer to chill. These will be used to test the doneness of jam later.
• In a large, heavy bottom pan, add strawberries, sugar, salt, lemon rind and lemon juice together to cook on slow flame.
• Allow it to cook on a slow flame bringing it to a boil.
• To reach a chunky consistency, you may need to mash the strawberries lightly using a potato masher.
• Alternatively you can use pureed strawberries in place of mashed if you do not like chunks in your jam.
• Continue to stir as the jam thickens and reduces.
• The bubbles which will form upon cooking, will also start to reduce in size and become thicker.
• This should take from 10 – 30 minutes depending upon the size of the flame.
• For me it took me 25-30 minutes to reach as I cooked it entirely on slow flame.
• Bring out one of the chilled spoon and place a few drops of jam on it, and wait for a few seconds.
• Run a finger through the blob of jam in the spoon, and if it makes a clear path and doesn’t come back, the jam is cooked.
• If it comes back, then cook the jam for another few minutes and repeat the check with a fresh chilled spoon.
• To sterilize the Jar
• Wash the jars and preheat the oven to 160°C.
• Keep the jars in the oven for about 20 minutes. Pour hot jam in hot jars.
• Remember to pour hot jam in hot jar and not hot jam in cold jars. Do Not pour hot jam in cold jars. The glass will shatter due to temperature difference.
• Seal jars when they both reach room temperature. It will stay refrigerated for 4-5 weeks.

Notes

1. The forming of bubbles is the best clue to the doneness of the jam. When the jam first starts to cook, the bubbles are larger and thin. As the water starts to evaporate and the jam starts to thicken, the bubbles become smaller and tighter. Also, you can’t ‘stir the bubbles down.’ Which means, when you stir the jam, it still stays in a full boil. When this happens, it’s good to bring out the frozen spoon and start checking.
2. You can use the same process for other berries and fruits that you make jam with.
3. Keeping berries chunky or completely pureed is a personal choice. For me chunky ones adds authentic flavor to the jam.
4. Use fresh and good quality strawberries. The best ones give better taste and sharper color. Freshest ingredients also increase the shelf life of the jam.
5. The amount of sugar can be increased if the strawberries are more sour than usual or reduced as per your taste.
6. The jar sterilization process needs to be followed diligently for long life of jam.
7. Homemade jams are special for pure and real ingredients and with no preservatives added! This makes it perfect to give kids without the fear of unknown ingredients.