Easy low sugar strawberry jam with Pomona's Pectin
Already missing the colors and flavors of summer? Looking for the perfect personalised gift? Make some easy winter strawberry jam and feel the rays of summer sun shining right in your kitchen!
Tie up your jam jars with pretty bows and custom kraft labels and you've got the perfect holiday gift or end of year thank you for your clients, customers or service providers.
Everytime I give my jam as a gift, my friends, family, co-workers, and clients are delighted. It's the first thing they mention when they see me and most of them are very careful to return the empty jam jar. Some straight-out explaining that they hope to get a re-fill next season!
Why Strawberry Jam?
Because it's the best. I've had a long-standing love affair with strawberries. At the age of three, I ate an entire mixing bowl full of strawberries that my mom had prepared for a cake. Soon after I broke out in hives, but like all obsessive lovers, a little bump in the road didn't stop me from coming back for more.
For years the only flavor of ice cream I ate was "strawberry" and my favorite person in the world was my grandmother, who made a tantalizing batch of strawberry jam every summer. Ripe, juicy, sweet strawberries are still my favorite fruit.
Grandmother's Strawberry Jam
My grandmother, bless her heart, continued making strawberry jam every year into her late eighties. A few years after she'd retired from the strawberry jam business, I decided I needed to follow in her footsteps and learn how to make my own strawberry jam.
First, I called up my grandmother to get her recipe, forgetting of course that my grandmother, a fabulous cook, didn't actually have recipes. She had habits and instincts from all her years of cooking that she magically implemented in the kitchen.
That said, what she did have were plenty of tips, the so-called "secret sauce" or insider knowledge that takes an average recipe and makes it delicious.
The Inside Scoop
My phone call to granny did not disappoint. I learned that I needed a recipe for strawberry jam with pectin. She recommended Pomona's Pectin and a recipe that allowed me to use lemon juice to accent the natural flavor of the strawberries. Adding lemon juice both brings out the flavor of the strawberries and allows you to use less sugar.
My grandmother told me that to get a the strongest strawberry flavor, to use the least amount of sugar possible, adjusting upward for berries lacking in natural sweetness. She said she rarely used more than a cup of sugar in a recipe.
A low sugar strawberry jam recipe is of course healthier and it really makes space for the real flavor of the strawberries to shine through. Especially when accented by the lemon juice. Don't worry, you can't actually taste the lemon, it just magically makes the strawberry flavor "pop."
Over the years, I've sampled pretty much every strawberry jam to be found (in the USA and France) and still almost nothing compares to Grandmother's jam. Or my own homemade batch.
In addition to her custom advice, she also suggested that I should pick up a copy of the Ball Canning Guide. The one and only definitive book on preserving food that you will really ever need.
Winter Strawberry Jam from Frozen Berries
If you want to make strawberry jam in the fall or winter (or really anytime it suits your fancy) a 2-pound bag of frozen strawberries will do just fine. Defrost overnight in the fridge and drain before using.
I put mine straight into a colander over another bowl to drain so the juice and water drip out as they defrost. Once the berries are fully defrosted and drained, you'll mash them with a fork and follow the recipe below.
Everything else is the same!Jam Making (Canning) Supplies: do I really need them?
If you have never before made jam or canned any other foods, you will have to make a small investment into proper canning supplies. This is not a place to cut corners or "cheat." If you are going to can, you need to do it right.
When I first started to make jam, I bought a big canning pot, but not tongs or a funnel. The result? I nearly got a 3rd degree burn removing my jars from the canner and it was impossible to fill my jars without spilling the jam. Regardless of where you buy your supplies, check-out the link below to a canning kit and make a list of everything you will need.
The good news is that these supplies are timeless. Once you have bought your supplies, you can use them for years and pass them on to your kids!
3 Easy Steps to Making Your Jam
(set aside 2 to 3 hours)
Prepare and Sanitize Your Jam Jars & Lids
Once you have all your ingredients and supplies laid out and clean. The very first thing you want to do is to prepare your jars. This part might sound really scary. It's not. I promise!
Preparing your jars just means you need to boil them. And although jam is often made in the summer this is actually a perfect fall and winter activity, because all the steam warms your kitchen right up!
- Even if brand new and or apparently clean, wash your jars with warm soapy water or on a light cycle in your dishwasher. I use the dishwasher.
- Prepare you large canning pot (canner) with water. Sterilize your jars by placing them right side up on the rack of your canner. Make sure the water is at least 1 inch above jar tops. If you are at sea level, boil your jars for 10 minutes.
- If you are at a higher elevation, add 1 minute for each additional 1,000 feet of elevation. So if you live on the Colorado plains like me, boil your jars for 16 minutes.
- Turn off the flame or heat, but keep the jars in the hot water and don't disturb them until they are ready to be filled. Right before you fill them remove them to a heatproof surface or towel and drain them.
- Lids: wash the lids and bands with warm soapy water or on a light cycle in your dishwasher (or according to the directions on the package). Keep them clean and untouched until ready to be applied.
Making Grandmother Mary's Easy and Delicious Strawberry Jam Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 Quart Strawberries (about 2 pounds / 900 g) - fresh or frozen strawberries 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp pectin water
- 2 tsp pectin powder
- 1 cup white sugar
The first rule is only make exactly this recipe. Unless you are a super experienced jam maker, never attempt to double a recipe. If you are making jam to give as a gift and you need more, make separate batches. Once you have the process set-up, it will work best this way anyhow!
If you are using frozen berries, use their weight (see kitchen scale above) after they are thawed and drained, not before!
- Follow standard canning procedures to prepare your jars & lids. Leave in hot water until ready to fill (see above).
- Follow instructions on Pomona's Pectin to prepare your calcium water. Set-aside. (Ideally, store leftovers in a container with a lid unless you are making multiple batches of jam.)
- Clean, chop and mash about 1 quart or 2 pounds (900 grams) of strawberries to yield 4 cups of mashed fruit. Drain off any excess water (fresh or frozen berries).
- Add strawberries and lemon juice to a stainless steel 8-quart saucepan. Stir in two teaspoons of calcium water.
- Mix 2 tsps of pectin powder into your sugar. Use a wire whisk and make sure it is completely and evenly mixed. No clumps. Set aside.
- On medium heat bring your fruit mixture to a full boil.
- Stir in your sugar and pectin mixture while mixing with a wire whisk.
- Stir continuously for about 2 minutes until the sugar and pectin are completely dissolved and the mixture returns to full boil. If it foams, just scoop off the foam.
- Don't over cook. Don't cook* any longer than a few minutes! This is why this is EASY.
- Remove from heat. Can while hot!
*Many jam recipes call for 15 minutes or more of cooking and a wrinkle test to see if the jam set. If you do this with Pomona's Pectin, it degrades the pectin and it won't work!
3) Filling Your Jam Jars
- Remove jars from water and drain. Set rightside-up on a heatproof surface.
- Use your canning tools (funnel, tongs, etc.) to pour jam into hot jars leaving ¼ to ½ inch space from the top.
- If you spill any jam on the jar lip, use a very clean (sterile) paper towel or cotton cloth dipped in a bit of boiling water to wipe down the edge. Your jam lip should be clean at least 1/4 an inch from the top.
- Once you have poured all the jam, apply the lids and seals following the instructions on your packaging.
- As the jars cool you will hear them "pop!" This means the seal has been made and your jars will be shelf-stable. Don't move or touch anything until the are 100% cooled down. This may be overnight!
- Once your jars are cool label them, wrap with a bow, do whatever you wish to dress them up! I like to use a red satin bow and a kraft tie for a vintage look.
Resources:
If you love this recipe and you want to do more canning or you want to learn more about pectin free canning read this article from the Colorado State Extension.
Pomona's Universal Pectin also has lots of online resources, including a PDF of their recipes.
Want to Grow Your Own Berries?
If you have the time and space to raise your own strawberries now (fall) is the time to plant them, so get going! Why grow your own? Even if organic berries can now be bought year-round at the grocery store? Unless the birds get them first, homegrown berries are simply sweeter, so you can use less sugar.
Show the Love
Did you love this recipe? Have you tried it? Do you have any questions? Be sure to comment below and share the recipe with your friends.
