How To Make Strawberry Jam

As you may have seen on our Facebook fan page, strawberries have been on sale for crazy low prices lately, resulting in a lot of us making up some delicious strawberry jam. A few of our readers mentioned being nervous to try making it so I decided to post a step by step guide here so you can see how easy it really is. Some people make strawberry freezer jam but my favorite is the regular cooked jam so that is what I’m posting here!

How to make strawberry jam!

Gather everything you need to get started, including some helpers.	Chop off the tops of the berries and any gross parts (2 quarts = 1 batch).

Chop up the berries. Oh how I love my imitation slap chop. Although it IS falling apart so I might have to splurge for a REAL one soon!	Pour the beautiful chopped berries into a large pot and start cooking (if you like chunkier jam you can mash the berries with a potato masher first).

Pour in 1/4 c. lemon juice (some recipes don’t call for this).	Add the pectin.

Add 1/2 tsp. of butter to reduce the foaming.	If you like smooth jam like my family, puree it with a Bamix at this step (I love my Bamix too!)

While you wait for the strawberries to come to a boil, measure out 7 cups of sugar into a bowl. (Yes SEVEN!)	Now take a well-deserved quick break and enjoy an ice cold diet coke. This step is mandatory at my house.

Dump the whole bowl of sugar in at once. Bring back to a boil and stir for 1 minute while it boils.	Meanwhile, sterilize your jar lids on the stove and try to ignore the fact that my burner looks freakishly purple.

Remove the pot from the stove and pour the delicious jam into sterilized jars. One batch makes about 4 small jars.	Add the lids and rings and wait for them to pop to know they are sealed. Isn’t this just a beautiful site?

While I didn’t include this part, you should make sure to water bath can your finished jars according to the directions on your pectin package or in your canning guide. This will make sure your jam is properly preserved for long term storage.

Happy jam-making!