Old-Fashioned Strawberry Jam (Without Pectin)
An old-fashioned strawberry jam recipe with just three ingredients: strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. No added pectin, no artificial thickeners. Cooks down slowly for deep strawberry flavor and a silky, spreadable set. Yields 7 to 8 half-pint jars.
Servings: 64 servings, Makes about 7 to 8 half pint jars
Ingredients
- 8 cups strawberries from about 4 quarts fresh fruit, around 4½ to 5 lbs
- 6 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice fresh or bottled
Instructions
- Prepare the fruit: Wash and hull the strawberries, removing tops and any bruised spots. Slice and mash until you have 8 cups of mashed fruit.
- Combine ingredients: In a deep, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or stockpot (no more than half full, since this jam foams), combine the mashed strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir well.
- Bring to a boil: Heat over medium-high, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
- Simmer until set: Boil gently for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring regularly and skimming foam. The jam is done when it reaches 220°F on an instant-read thermometer (at sea level; subtract 1°F per 500 feet of elevation), or passes the frozen plate test.
- Jar the jam: Once set, ladle into prepared jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. For refrigerator or freezer storage, cap and cool. For shelf-stable storage, continue to the canning step.
- Water-bath can (optional): Cap jars with 2-part lids to finger-tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (below 6,000 ft elevation) or 15 minutes (above 6,000 ft). Turn off heat, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars with a jar lifter.
- Cool and check seals: Let jars cool undisturbed on a towel for 12 to 24 hours. Check seals. Any unsealed jars should go in the refrigerator for immediate use.
Notes
Equipment: A deep, heavy-bottomed pot (6-quart Dutch oven or larger) is essential. This jam foams aggressively and a too-small pot will overflow. An instant-read or candy thermometer makes determining the set point straightforward; without one, use the frozen plate test. For canning, you'll need a water-bath canner, 2-part canning lids, a jar lifter, and half-pint or pint mason jars.
The set point: 220°F at sea level. Subtract 1°F per 500 feet of elevation. So at 1,000 feet, the jam sets at 218°F; at 5,000 feet, at 210°F. This elevation adjustment matters; many failed jam attempts are simply undercooked for the elevation.
Fruit selection: Use fresh strawberries, not frozen. Include ¼ to ⅓ slightly underripe berries for better natural pectin. Peak-flavor June-bearing varieties, U-pick fruit, or home-grown berries make notably better jam than supermarket strawberries.
Sugar amount: 6 cups of sugar per 8 cups of mashed fruit is the minimum for a reliable set. Less sugar either won't set or produces a jam that requires so much cooking it tastes more like fruit leather. For a legitimately lower-sugar jam, use our Pomona's-pectin version linked above.
Lemon juice: The recipe works with or without it, but it improves both flavor and set. Double it to 4 Tbsp for a tart jam. Fresh and bottled both work. Bottled has standardized 5% acidity, which some canners prefer for consistency.
Foam management: Strawberry jam produces significant foam as it cooks. Either skim it off with a spoon as it rises (some canners save it to spread on toast immediately, since it's edible, just cloudy), or add ½ teaspoon of butter at the start of cooking, which reduces foaming noticeably (but can impact flavor in storage).
Testing for set: The frozen plate test: put a small plate in the freezer before you start cooking. When you think the jam is close to done, remove the plate, put a teaspoon of jam on it, and return to the freezer for 1 minute. Push the chilled jam with your finger. If it wrinkles, it's set. If it still runs, cook 5 more minutes and test again.
Yield and scaling: This recipe makes 7 to 8 half-pint jars. It can be halved, but don't double it. Larger batches of no-pectin jam struggle to reach the set point because the volume is too great for the pot's surface area to evaporate water efficiently. Make two batches if you need a double yield.
Storage: Water-bath canned jars keep 12 to 18 months at peak quality on a pantry shelf. Refrigerated (uncanned) jam keeps several weeks. Frozen jam keeps 6 months. Once opened, refrigerate and use within about 3 weeks.
Adapted fromSo Easy to Preserve (University of Georgia Cooperative Extension), with the addition of lemon juice for improved flavor and set.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Tbsp | Calories: 78kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.003g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 0.4mg | Potassium: 28mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.1mg
