Easy to make, homemade strawberry jam with extra tips for using frozen strawberries, what to do if you don’t have a sugar thermometer and what to do if your jam doesn’t set.
Jam-making is one of those things that remind my of my childhood, or more specifically visiting my grandparents down in Devon. They lived up in the hills on the edge of a village and had a big garden full of homegrown goodies. At breakfast and tea time there was always a jar of homemade jam on the table whipped up by my Granny from something they’d grown (or blackberries we’d picked from along the lane). My absolute favourite was my Granny’s bramble jelly, made with apples and blackberries. I have a pile of her old cookbooks upstairs and I really need to go through and hunt out that particular recipe, as I’d love to try making it myself.
Strawberry jam is a fantastic way of using up a glut of strawberries (or in my case a lack of planning meaning I had a lot of frozen strawberries to use up – I really need to start checking what I have in before I go shopping!). I only recently started using frozen strawberries for jam after reading somewhere that it didn’t work and deciding that I wanted to give it a try (yes, I know that’s odd, but for some reason someone telling me I can’t do something makes me want to do it). It turns out that they were wrong and that frozen strawberries make excellent jam, you just need to tweek the cooking times a little bit to get all of the strawberry flavour out of them.
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Homemade Strawberry Jam
INGREDIENTS
- 700 g strawberries - I like my jam chunky so keep my strawberries whole, if you prefer it smoother then cut them into smaller pieces before you start
- 700 g jam sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Wooden spoon - or similar
- Sugar thermometer - you can still make jam without one - I've added some extra tips below to tell you what to do
- Jars
- Jam Funnel - not essential but it's much easier to get the jam into the jars without getting sticky if you have one
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place a medium-sized saucepan over a low heat and once the pan is hot add the strawberries (700g). Fry for a couple of minutes, stirring regularly, and then add the jam sugar (700g) and lemon juice (2 tsp).
- Stir all of the ingredients together. Continue stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved - you can tell if the sugar has dissolved by dipping a spoon in and looking at the back to see if any grains have stuck to it.
- Once all of the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat to medium/high. Let the jam bubble until it reaches 105ºC - make sure you move your thermometer around a bit to ensure it's all at the right temperature.
- Once your jam has reached 105ºC pour it into sterilised jars (if using) and leave to set.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
1 serving = 1 tbsp
How to make strawberry jam with frozen strawberries
When fruit is frozen it can sometimes seem to lose a bit of its flavour, the additional moisture it holds can wash it away. The secret to getting it back is to fry the strawberries for a while before adding the jam sugar (frying before boiling and steaming is also a great way of getting a bit of extra flavour into frozen vegetables).
To make jam with frozen strawberries it’s best to take the strawberries out of the freezer about an hour before you want to start. Then simply follow the recipe above but increase the time you fry the strawberries for in step 1 to 10 minutes.
How to make strawberry jam without a sugar thermometer
Making strawberry jam without a sugar thermometer is a little bit of guesswork, but if you follow these steps you should find it works just as well as if you have one to hand. If you do happen to find that things haven’t gone quite according to plan and your jam doesn’t set I’ve got a tip for how to rescue it below.
The way I test if my jam is ready without a thermometer is to put a small pile of freezer-safe saucers into my freezer (unless you’re really lucky you’ll need to test it a few times). Once I think that the jam has set I take it off the heat (you don’t want to carry on heating it if you think it’s ready because then it’ll overset), put some onto the plate, pop it into the freezer for a couple of minutes to chill and if it’s jammy when I take it out again it’s ready. If it’s still runny then it needs heating for a bit longer.
Method
- Before you start place a few freezer safe saucers or plates into your freezer to chill.
- Place a medium sized saucepan over a low heat and once the pan is hot add the strawberries (700g). Fry for a couple of minutes (or 10 minutes for frozen strawberries) and then add the jam sugar (700g) and lemon juice (2 tsp).
- Stir all of the ingredients together. Continue stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved – you can tell if the sugar has dissolved by dipping a spoon in and looking at the back to see if any grains have stuck to it.
- Once all of the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat to medium/high. Let the jam bubble for about 5 minutes. Remove the jam from the heat and take a saucer out of the freezer. Put a spoonful of jam onto the saucer and pop it back into the freezer for 2 minutes. If it’s jammy when you take it out then the jam is ready to put into jars. If it’s still a bit runny then put the jam back onto the heat for a few minutes and repeat the freezer test until it’s ready.
- Once your jam is ready pour it into sterilised jars (if using) and leave to set.
What to do if your jam doesn’t set
When your jam is hot it will always be runny, so there’s no way of knowing whether it will set properly until it’s cooled. Unfortunately I’ve had a few instances over time where I’ve thought I’d got it to the right temperature only to check it later and find it’s far too runny (I suspect I probably touched the bottom of the pan with the thermometer which is always hotter).
The good news is that this situation is really easy to rescue. The jam hasn’t set properly because it didn’t reach the right temperature, so all you need to do is tip your jam back out of the jar, heat it up again until it reaches the right temperature and put it back into the jars (you’ll need to re-sterilise them unfortunately). I’ve always found that even if I have a bit of trouble first time around, it always turns out perfectly second time.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans
- Dairy-Free
- Egg-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Deborah says
Really simple recipe. Just made my third batch! Yummy
Monica says
Unfortunately I found this recipe too sweet. The consistency was good though.
Heather Law says
Made the most fabulous tasty jam
Mary says
I love the fact that you included directions for different quantity of fruit. Very quick and easy to follow.
Cambria says
Thank you for this recipe along with the valuable notes on how to troubleshoot the jam making process.
Beverley says
I have just made 3 pots of strawberry jam. It was a straight forward and easy recipe and the jam is delicious Thank you
Joolz Mac says
I’ve just made this with fresh strawberries Picked yesterday- I didn’t have a thermometer but followed instructions and it looks jammy!
Only thing is my strawberries have settled at the top half of the jar? Not sure what I’ve done wrong?
Thanks
Joolz
Charlotte Oates says
The most likely reason that this happened was if you’re fruit was a little underripe, or the chucks were a little too large. However, there can be other causes to. There’s an interesting article here you can read on the subject which should hopefully help.
Andi_dachsie says
Hi, just wondering if I could use frozen blackberries instead of frozen strawberries? If so, will the quantities be the same? Many thanks.
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t tried it some I’m not 100% sure how successful it would be. If you’re after jam making advice, I’d suggest asking Camilla at a website called Fab Food 4 All. Jam is her specialty and so she should be able to help.
Michele says
I had a hard time finding a jam recipe for using frozen strawberries and I came across this recipe. I have made this jam the last two years. It is so good that I catch my 5 year old grandson trying to sneak a jar in is backpack. I have 8 grandsons and they all love it. I make it so it is chunky. I start at the beginning of spring going to the farmers market and buying strawberries and blackberries. I rinse the blackberries off and put them straight in the freezer. I rinse the strawberries and cut off the tops and also put them in the freezer until I ready to start making the jam when the weather cools down. Sometimes the jam doesn’t jell as well but we use it to put on top of ice cream or brownies. I did modify this recipe a little since I didn’t have the pectin sugar.
Denyul Estrada says
Can you share what you also did, since I also don’t have pectin sugar. Thank you!
Laura says
Great recipe! Just made it. It was so easy to make. Hubby and I love it.
Pauline Rankin says
This is a wonderful strawberry jam recipe!! Highly recommend. I make from strawberries that I’ve grown & frozen & it works out perfectly.
Marie says
Best Strawberries ever a must to make
Michele says
Last year every time I went to the farmers market I would pick up a flat of strawberries, come home take the tops off and put them in the freezer until the weather cools down. I had a hard time finding a recipe that called for frozen strawberries when I found your recipe. The jam came out amazing and all my grandsons loved it. I am getting. Ready to use this recipe again. I loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Michele says
I am still using this recipe. I love it. I’m making blackberries today.
Joy says
What a good recipe I’ve always wanted to make strawberry jam but was told it can be difficult to set but this recipe is really easy with a good result
Jennye says
Hi. If you can’t get jam sugar or don’t use it. How much pectin would you add to these quantities of fruit. Cheers Jennye
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve only made it with jam sugar so I’m not too sure of the quantities you need. Sorry.
I know this recipe gets great reviews and doesn’t need pectin or jam sugar so if you cannot get hold of any then maybe give it a try instead.
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Your photos are stunning Charlotte. Love the large chunks of strawberry in there…. I could eat spoonfuls straight out of the jar. x
Charlotte Oates says
I may have had one or two 😉
emma amoscato says
Nothing beats homeade jam in the morning! I’ve been meaning to try making one with chia seeds to sneak some protein in there too. #freefrmfridays
Charlotte Oates says
I tried that once but it came out really bitty. I really need to give it another try as it’s definitely a healthier option.
Elizabeth says
How beautiful does this jam look!? Absolute perfection! Such an informative post too, not just pretty to look at! Thank you for sharing with the No Waste Food Challenge!
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Elizabeth, Thankfully not getting things quite right when I cook has it’s benefits as it means I have to come up with solutions to share.
Laura says
Lots of great tips here! I have never made all that much jam, but that needs to change. Hopefully this year will prove productive 🙂 Love that you leave the fruit so chunky – I love finding whole strawberries in a jar to sqidge into hot toast…
Charlotte Oates says
The lumps are great on toast aren’t the 🙂 although they do tend to float a bit in the jar so you get more lumps at the top than the bottom.
Mel says
Great tips, as always! I’ve never made jam using a thermometer, he he! Guessing is my best friend and so far, I’ve never had any issues. I also use frozen strawberries to make strawberry jam. Your gran’s bramble jam sounds gorgeous. Go on, dig out that cookbook so you can make it and share the recipe 🙂 Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays.
Charlotte Oates says
I think jam is one of those things where if you’ve made it a lot you just know what it’s supposed to look like. I make caramel without a thermometer because I can see when it’s ready (I’m not even sure what temperature it’s supposed to be!). I’ve got a huge box of my granny’s cookbooks and notes (and some that belonged to her mother too), I just hope the bramble jelly is in there somewhere.