Strawberry Jam Recipe

Nothing is better than waking up to the aroma of a slightly charred toast making its way out of your toaster and then spreading a thick layer of your homemade strawberry jam onto it. Especially during strawberry season, when ripe strawberries are all over your local grocery store, it is the best time to give homemade jam recipes a go, and none better than this classic, easy strawberry jam recipe.

Three weeks ago, I received a few boxes of strawberries, and I was fascinated by how fresh and red they were. They are fresh from the farm, from our local famous highland retreats, Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. For those of you who have been to Malaysia or who have an inkling about the weather along the equator, you should know that keeping strawberries fresh and making sure they don’t spoil easily in our climate is not easy. They lose their freshness easily if they are not refrigerated within a few hours, even so they don’t last as long as they do here as it is no cool place.

Making this fresh strawberry jam was a great way to solve my strawberry dilemma. Other than eating them as a snack or as dessert, this homemade strawberry jam recipe takes only 30 minutes of cooking time (including prep time), so it is one of those easy cooking process recipes that yield results.

Although it was my first time giving traditional recipes such as this a try, very satisfyingly, my daughter told me that my jam tastes just like the store-bought jam, but it’s much more authentic and contains way more fragrance. She is right; that’s because I used white rock sugar instead of normal white sugar or brown sugar in this strawberry jam recipe.

How to Make Strawberry Jam?

This homemade strawberry jam recipe is super easy as it contains only 3 simple ingredients! The best thing about this strawberry jam recipe is that it contains no gelatin and requires no pectin at all. So you don’t have to worry about how to use it or where in the world you can get them from as it is a no pectin strawberry jam recipe.

The three simple ingredients to this easy strawberry jam recipe:

1. fresh strawberries
   • it’s best to use room-temperature fresh strawberries, but freezer ones work too; remember to thaw them first
   • If you prefer a smoother, softer jam that cooks faster, you can slice your chunks as thinly as possible. Then cook all of them until they all dissolve
   • if you prefer a chunkier strawberry jam, remove half of the softened strawberries into a small bowl and set aside, then add them back and stir until it is boiled and mixed well
2. white rock sugar
   • this gives your strawberry jam a more fragrant sweetness that you can’t get from using white sugar
3. lemon
   • the fresh lemon juice tones down the sweetness of your homemade strawberry jam by giving it a little zest
   • it helps your jam set along with sugar (so you do not need to use pectin)
   • the pH in the lemon prevents bacteria growth as you store it

The beauty about making your own jam is that you can get the best results out of using fresh strawberries, less sugar (if you want a low-sugar strawberry jam recipe), and you can actually taste the crushed strawberries if you want to!

My family loves the jam to be on the softer side with fewer strawberry chunks, so it’s easier to spread, with a mild but fragrant sweetness and a little lemon kick to it. If you prefer your homemade strawberry jam to be this way, too, then you can follow this step-by-step recipe with instructions and photos, but if you want to adjust your pounds of strawberries (or grams)and cups of sugar if you want less amount of sugar to be added.

Ah, I simply love the versatility of jam-making, and it’s not as complex of a process as I thought it was, too!

How to use homemade strawberry jam:

• use it as spread: on bread such as my Hokkaido milk bread, or normal loaves like artisan or rye bread or sourdough
• use it as a sweetener: for breakfasts like waffles, pancakes, crepes, bars, scones, or biscuits is always an amazing topping
• use it as a topping: goes best with lighter more bland ice creams like vanilla or even strawberry ice cream itself
• use it as a filler: this gooey deliciousness will fit well within homemade muffins or cupcakes

Tips on this Recipe for Strawberry Jam

• Pots: Avoid using a cast iron and non-enameled saucepan as it can transfer flavors into the jam you’re making. 
• Stirring: As the jam easily burns at the bottom of your saucepan (even with medium heat) so stir the jam frequently with a heatproof spatula to distribute the jam evenly.
• Freezing: Make sure to not fill the canning jars up completely if you plan to freeze your strawberry jam
• Small Batch: It may be tempting to double or triple this recipe so you can store your strawberry freezer jam and won’t have to keep making it but it’s easy for the strawberries to overcook. It can affect your cooking time and prevent the jam from setting properly too. Hence try to make a second batch or a third of you want to have more jams to store.
• Sterilizing: Always use sterile jars or glass bottles that you plan to use to store your strawberry jam.
• Cooling: Never place hot jam directly into the fridge! Always wait until your strawberry jam has cooled completely before you place a lid on it and freeze it for future use.

How to Prevent Your Strawberry Jam from Overcooking?

Sometimes, it can be hard to gauge when your strawberry jam is ready, and you may end up leaving it in a full rolling boil and overcooking the entire thing. Always bear in mind that after you take it out of the pan, it will start to thicken on its own when it’s cooled down to room temperature!

What I do is when the strawberries are cooked till soft in the large saucepan, I will do a consistency test to test the jam consistency by placing a small spoonful of the mixture on a cold surface. If it has been cooked enough, it will thicken when it’s cooled to room temperature.

If your small spoonful of jam is unable to be set even after cooling down to room temperature. Have no fear! Simply continue to cook your strawberry jam and occasionally test it with the consistency test so you know when to stop cooking it.

If you loved this strawberry jam recipe and would like to see more recipes from me, do check out my recipe section for more treats and dishes that will definitely be worth your time! 

For more strawberry-related recipes, you can try out my Strawberry Jelly Mooncake Recipe, but if you’re feeling a little crafty, do head over to my Strawberry Reusable Grocery Bag Sewing Pattern to have a look at this environmentally friendly and convenient little grocery bag.