This is an easy 3-ingredient strawberry jam recipe. It is gluten-free, vegan, and free of additional pectin. Thick, luscious, and full of natural flavours, this homemade jam recipe is worth bookmarking.
Reasons to LOVE Homemade Jam
Since I started making fresh strawberry jam or mango jam at home, I have not been going back to readymade ones.
I will give you more than one reason to LOVE homemade strawberry jam.
- gluten-free & vegan
- 3-ingredient recipe
- no added pectin
- one-pot recipe
- zero thickening agent
- natural colour & flavour
- chemical preservative free
- easy to make and store
Ingredients Required
Only 3-ingredients, a chopping knife, a saucepan, and a clean jar are required for this strawberry jam recipe.
Strawberry: The fresh, ripe, sweet-tasting strawberries work best for making jam. Frozen strawberries work too.
Sugar: Granulated fine-quality white sugar always works best for making any fruit jam.
Lemon Juice: It balances the sweet flavour and is a natural preservative.
Saucepan: Use a non-stick, ceramic, or stainless steel saucepan to make a jam. Cast iron and other reactive metals alter the colour and taste of the strawberry jam.
Jar: Use a sterilized glass jar to store the strawberry jam. The glass is a non-reactive metal. Hence, best for storing perishable relish such as jam.
Strawberry to Sugar Ratio
The traditional strawberry jam recipes recommend following an equal 1:1 (fruit to sugar) ratio. Usually, it is always best to taste the strawberries to check their sweetness and tartness. Then add sugar accordingly.
I add 1 to 1 ¼ cups of sugar to one kilogram of fresh strawberries.
Always remember that a fruit jam with slight tartness is more delicious than one tastes like a sugar syrup with no original fruit flavour.
How To Make
Step 1) Wash the fresh strawberries. Remove the green top (crown). Wipe clean and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Ensure they are not wet or moist (images 1 & 2).
Step 2) Next, finely chop the strawberries. Cut and discard the inner white part of the strawberries (Image 3).
Step 3) Transfer chopped strawberries to a wide mixing bowl. Add granulated white sugar. Mix nicely. Cover and set aside for 20 – 30 minutes.
Step 4) After 20 – 30 minutes, sugar granules will be completely dissolved with the berry, and pink juice will be released. Do not rush this process (image 5).
Step 5) Add lemon juice and mix nicely. Transfer the strawberries along with all the pink liquid to a saucepan. Turn on the stovetop heat to low.
Start cooking the jam. In Stage 1, the jam will be watery, with big chunks of strawberry and white foam on top (images 6 & 7). Keep cooking on low heat while stirring at regular intervals.
Slowly, the white foam will start reducing, and the texture of the jam will thicken a bit. This is Stage 2. Use a potato masher or a ladle to mash the strawberries gently. Keep stirring at regular intervals.
After 15 – 20 minutes on low heat, the white foam on top will disappear, the strawberries will mash-up, and the jam will start sticking to the spoon (images 8 & 9). Turn off the heat.
To check the consistency of the jam, spread a big tablespoon of strawberry jam on a metal plate. The strawberry jam should be thick, don’t drop off easily, and would stick to the plate. Else continue to cook further.
Allow the strawberry jam to cool completely at room temperature before serving or storing.
Storing Suggestion
Most of the time, homemade jams get spoiled because of the wrong storage.
I highly recommend storing strawberry jam in a glass jar rather than a plastic or metal container to avoid flavour alteration.
Use a clean, dry, sterilized jar for storing the fruit jam. Dirt or junk in the jar lid will also spoil your strawberry jam.
Store strawberry jam in the refrigerator. It remains fresh and tasty for 3 – 6 months.
Use a clean and dry spoon to scoop out the jam. Keep homemade jam away from moisture and water.
FAQs For Strawberry Jam Recipe
A fruit jam is made by heating cut fruits with sugar. While you do this, a fibre called pectin from the cut fruits is released into the jam mixture. The jam will not bind together unless you add an acidic agent like lemon juice. The other reason is lemon juice prevents bacterial growth in a jam by acting as a natural preservative.
There is no added pectin or starch in this strawberry jam recipe. Only the natural pectin of the fruit is used to thicken the jam.
Most importantly, if you use jars with rubber seals, remove them before sterilizing the bottles and lids.
Stove method: First, wash the lids and jars in hot water with some soap, and rinse well. Now place only the jars in a pot of boiling water upside down. Boil for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer until ready to use. Meanwhile, you can put the lids and bands in a separate saucepan of simmering water but do not boil them. After sterilizing, dry the bottles nicely before transferring the jam.
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Strawberry Jam Recipe
- Saucepan
- Spatula or Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250 ml
- 2 Cup chopped strawberry (approx 500 gram)
- 1 Cup granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash the fresh strawberries. Remove the green top (crown). Wipe clean and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Make sure they are not wet or moist.
- Next, finely chop the strawberries. Cut and discard the inner white part of the strawberries. This step of removing the white part is called 'Hulling Strawberries.' If there is no white part inside the strawberries, no need to hull them.
- Transfer chopped strawberries to a wide mixing bowl. Add granulated white sugar. Mix nicely. Cover and set aside for 20 – 30 minutes.
- After 20 – 30 minutes, sugar will be completely dissolved with the fruit and a pink color juice will be released. Do not rush this process.
- Add lemon juice and mix nicely. Transfer the strawberries along with all the pink liquid to a saucepan. Turn on the stovetop heat to low.
- Start cooking the jam. Stage 1, the jam will be watery, with big chunks of strawberry, and white foam on top. Keep cooking on low heat, while stirring at regular intervals.
- Slowly, the white foam will start reducing, the texture of the jam would thicken a bit. Use a potato masher or a ladle to gently mash the strawberries. Keep stirring at regular intervals.
- After 15 – 20 minutes on low heat, the white foam on top will disappear, strawberries mashed nicely, and the jam will start sticking to the spoon. Turn off the heat.
- To check the consistency of the jam, spread a big tablespoon of strawberry jam on a metal plate. The strawberry jam should be thick, doesn't drop off easily, and will stick to the plate. Else continue to cook further.
- Allow the strawberry jam to cool down completely at room temperature. Store the cooled strawberry jam in a clean, sterlisied glass jar with a tight fitting lid.
- Serve strawberry jam immediately or store in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes:
- You can use frozen strawberries as well for this jam recipe. Thaw them at room temperature before combining them with the sugar.
- Use fine granulated white sugar for this strawberry jam recipe. And not powdered sugar, icing sugar, or big crystals of sugar.
- Make sure to use an enamel coated ceramic or non stick saucepan for making the strawberry jam rather than the cast iron pan, aluminum, or any other reactive metal cookware.
- Until and unless the white foam from the strawberry jam disappears keep cooking it.
- Do not add any water or strawberry juice/syrup while cooking the jam. The strawberries need to cook in their own natural juices and sugar.
Nutrition
kamal says
The jam came out awesome, thanks for the recipe. Love the color and the taste.
Hina Gujral says
Thank you so much for your feedback! Stay tuned for more delicious recipes coming your way.
kamal says
Jam came out awesome love the color ad the taste, thanks for sharing the recipe
Kiran Kalpathy says
How long can we store this ?
Hina Gujral says
You can store this jam for 3 – 6 months in the refrigerator.
Shruthi says
Hi Hina, this is such a wonderful recipe. Did not know making a jam is this easy.
Hina Gujral says
Glad you like it! Agree with you this recipe is extremely easy to follow.
Manali says
Loved the recipe … simple , easy and delicious . Would love to see more such simple and delicious recipes .
Hina Gujral says
Thanks a lot for your feedback. Your suggestion is noted and we will surely try share more such recipes.
Hina Gujral says
Yes, coconut milk gives a creamy mouth feel and little extra gravy. I also add it to my Chettinad Masala. However, many purist doesn’t prefer coconut taste in their Chettinad curry or masala.
Misha Srivastava says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I made half the amount, and used powdered jaggery instead of the white granulated sugar, and it turned out simply amazing! I’ve never made jam before, and I’m so excited that it turned out so great. Thanks again!
Misha Srivastava says
By the way, I meant to put 5 stars!
Hina Gujral says
Your feedback matters a lot. Thank you so much!