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Homemade Strawberry Jam Without Pectin is easy to make and versatile! You can add Strawberry Jam to toast, scones and even savoury dishes.
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In This Recipe:
- Is pectin needed for strawberry jam?
- Strawberry jam ingredients
- Strawberry jam instructions
- How do you thicken jam without pectin?
- How long should you cook jam?
- Different ways to use a jar of jam
Is pectin needed for strawberry jam?
Pectin is naturally occurring in all fruits, but some fruits – like Strawberries – do not have enough pectin. Therefore, we can add pectin to these fruits to help thicken and create a thick paste for jam.
strawberry jam recipe ingredients
Fresh Strawberries: For the best tasting strawberry jam, I recommend using fresh strawberries. They don’t have to be hand picked but it adds to the 💫experience💫 of making jam.
Granulated Sugar: Sugar helps the fruit thicken and to sweeten the jam.
Lemon Juice: The acidity of the lemon juice also helps thicken the fruit to make a jam consistency.
Vanilla Extract: For flavour. You can use vanilla paste instead of extract for added flavour.
Add Homemade Strawberry Jam to Oat Flour Waffles or Oat Flour Pancakes for a dairy free and gluten free breakfast!
How To Make Strawberry Jam Without Pectin
Prep. Wash and hull (remove the leaves) the strawberries. Then slice the strawberries into small or thick pieces. If you want a smoother jam, i recommend cutting your strawberry slices small. But if you want a thicker jam with fruit chucks, I recommend cutting the strawberries into thicker slices.
Add ingredients. Add all of the ingredients into a large pot (use a larger pot than you think you would need). Stir all the ingredients and let simmer.
Simmer. After the ingredients are added to the pot, simmer for 20-25 minutes. The strawberries will release water while it’s simmering and after it will turn into a thick consistency.
Test. There are several ways to test if jam is ready to be canned or jarred. The method that I like to use is what I’m calling the “flooding” method. See below.
How Do You Thicken Jam Without Pectin?
After simmering the strawberries for 20 – 25 minutes, it should look like a thick paste. Adding ingredients like sugar and lemon juice activates the strawberries’ natural pectin resulting in a jam-like consistency.
To test when the jam is ready, use a spatula to create a separation between the jam so you can see the bottom of the pot. If the jam takes just 1 second to flood back together, the jam is ready!
how long should you cook strawberry jam
If you’re not using pectin to help you thicken the Strawberry Jam, I recommend boiling and simmering for 20 – 25 minutes. You can use the method above to check when the jam is done and ready to be jarred.
Different Ways to Use a Jar of Jam
- Add Strawberry jam to toast, waffles or pancakes
- Have a snack board of crackers, strawberry jam, fruit and cheese
- Spread on cranberry scones with butter
Homemade Strawberry Jam Without Pectin
Ingredients
- 1 lb Strawberries, washed and sliced
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Wash and hull (remove the leaves) the strawberries. Then slice to small or thick pieces. If you want a smoother jam, I recommend cutting your strawberry slices small. But if you want a thicker jam with fruit chucks, I recommend cutting the strawberries into thicker slices.
- Add all of the ingredients into a large pot (use a larger pot than you think you would need). Stir all the ingredients and let simmer.
- After the ingredients are added to the pot, simmer for 20-25 minutes. The strawberries will release water while it's simmering and after it will turn into a thick consistency.
- There are several ways to test if jam is ready to be canned or jarred. The method that I like to use is what I'm calling the "flooding" method*.
- Empty the strawberry jam into a sterilized jar. If you choose not to preserve the jam, keep the jam refridgerated for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
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