Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.

Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe

Spring is such an exciting time of year. The trees have leaves again, wild flowers start blooming, early produce starts coming out of the garden and – strawberries! The first fruit of the year.

About a week ago, we made this season’s first batch of homemade strawberry jam and – wow! We had some of it on biscuits for a late breakfast, and it was amazing! I’m sure you don’t need a description of the mild, but powerful flavors that homemade jam from fresh strawberries brings to the table (pardon the pun), so I’ll just leave it at that.

Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe

If you’re like me, and trying to eat as healthily as you can, the shear volume of sugar in jam recipes my put you in a state of shock. The good news is, you can use any kind of sugar you want, so feel free to substitute raw sugar, or turbinado for regular white sugar. The resulting jam will be slightly darker, but just as delicious!

Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe

What You Need:

  • 2 quarts fresh strawberries
  • 1/3 cup of fruit pectin
  • 7 cups of sugar
  • 4 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon butter (optional)

 Pin this recipe for later.

Before you start: I’m sure you’re familiar with the term mise en place, which is simply French for “putting in place”. Jam making is one instance when you definitely want to have all your ingredients and tools in place before you start. Once the jam begins to boil, everything starts going really fast, and you won’t have time to go gather up another jar, or open another bag of sugar. So get your jars lined up, lids, ladle, canning funnel, and hand towels at the ready, and sugar measured out before you start.

Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe

Wash and de-stem strawberries. Crush with a potato masher, or pulse quickly in a food processor. You can crush them as fine or as coarsely as you prefer. I like a lot of nice, big chunks in my jam.

Measure 5 level cups of the crushed fruit into a six quart capacity pan.

Stir in pectin and butter and lemon juice.

(Butter is  an optional ingredient to help reduce the foam. I have found that the addition of butter has helped tremendously. I went from skimming nearly a cereal bowlful per batch, to just a few tablespoons!)

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, while stirring to prevent scorching.

Stir in pre-measured sugar, and continue stirring until dissolved.

Bring back up to a boil that cannot be stirred down.

Boil for two minutes.

Take off of heat and quickly skim the foam.

Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe

Ladle into sterilized jars, placing lid and ring on each jar as you go to prevent contaminants from entering.

Seal in a boiling bath canner for 10 minutes.

Remove from the canner, and let cool. Jars should seal themselves over the next few hours as they cool.

What to do if your jars don’t seal: Remove lids and carefully clean around the rims of the jars with a damp cloth. Recap with new lids, and seal in a boiling bath canner for 10 minutes.

Merissa’s Note: 

Make sure you check out all the free Canning and Preserving Recipes we have on Little House Living! And don’t forget to check out The Canner’s Cookbook, it has recipes on how to use all your home canned goods!
I recommend a Presto Pressure Canner and the book Putting Food By for all your canning projects!
Please check with your local extension office for any changes on times/temps/high altitude.

What is your favorite jam recipe to can?

elisebio

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Support Little House Living by Sharing This

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

33 Comments

  1. I have never canned before but have been wanting to and was wondering if I have to heat my jars first? If so how? Thank you!

  2. I have to find pectin for this. The strawberry jams look very good.
    Thanks for sharing with 4 seasons blog hop. Cheers and have a nice day.

  3. Strawberry jam is my all time most favorite food in the history of forever (and ever and ever). We gave homemade strawberry jam away as favors at my daughters wedding. (I pinned one of your pretty pictures. 🙂 Love your blog).

  4. Your photography is amazing!! I linked up too over at Making Your Home Sing Monday and noticed your linkup for Strawberry Jam . . . . funny thing is that great minds think alike and we (though we never ‘met’) are on the same page and wrote almost identical posts 🙂 I’m down in the 60s for the post numbers and I called my post Strawberry Preserves. It is delicious and I am so glad that I canned again. Have a wonderful day.

  5. Homemade Strawberry Jam is such a classic. I love mine on a gold ole peanut butter sandwich!

  6. My mom used to make homemade strawberry jam after we went strawberry picking. It was the best. I need to start this tradition with my boys, they would love it! Thanks for sharing on the Be. YOU. tiful link party!

  7. YUM! This looks so good. I love jam with biscuits but rarely eat them because of the sugar (well…and fat) but I love the idea of substituting the sugar for one that’s a little healthier.
    Thanks!

  8. I definitely want to try this but I’ve always been very nervous about canning or making jams. Your recipe seems like something I could follow 🙂 Giving me confidence!

  9. fantastic!!! Love this recipe and can’t wait to spread on some deliciousness! Thanks for popping by WONDERFULLY CREATIVE WEDNESDAYS!!!

  10. Absolutely beautiful, Merissa! It brought back so many wonderful memories of watching my mom and grandmother can things every summer! ♥ I’m so glad you shared this with us at Treasure Box Tuesday. I have pinned and shared on Facebook! 🙂 Hope you’re having a great week!

  11. I love this recipe! =) Visiting your lovely blog today, from “Party on the Porch”

  12. Oh we just love homemade jam! I will have to give your recipe a try! Thanks for linking up to The Creative Exchange Linky Party!

  13. I’ve made jam in the microwave for years. Clean, smash or puree fruit in 4 cup amounts and freeze. To use thaw 4 cups of fruit and bring to a boil and add 3 cups of sugar, stir. Microwave 3 times for 7-8 min each time, watch for boil over, stir down and continue for the time allotted. Jam is done when it sheets from the spoon.
    This a soft, fresh flavor jam and you don’t have all your work destroyed by an earthquake!

  14. After I have canned my strawberry jam, is it still suppose to be a little bit liquidy? I made it on Sunday.

    1. It shouldn’t be if the pectin was used correctly, pectin can be super picky. 🙂 If it hasn’t jelled by tomorrow I would open it up and re-can. Otherwise I can just be used as preserves and it will still taste great.

  15. Merissa, have you tried the no-can method with, say, peach jam? Love not having to do all that…

  16. This looks so delish!! Pinned to make soon. Thank you and I have never heard of adding butter. Will try!

  17. I love homemade strawberry jam – your recipe looks so simple! Would love it if you shared on the “What’s for Dinner” link up!

  18. Congratulations! Your recipe will be featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Enjoy your new Red Plate and come back to see us real soon!
    Miz Helen

  19. We love making strawberry jam in the summer.Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Shared!

  20. It’s strawberry season, and I remembered your recipe from my Sunday’s Best Linkup. Hope you will share again. Starts every Saturday night at 8:00 pm. This time I’m Pinning it. Thanks for sharing.

  21. This is NOT a safe method to can anything. Jars should never be inverted and always processed in a water bath or pressure canned.