Homemade strawberry jam recipe made with only 3 ingredients - strawberry, sugar, and lemon juice. This strawberry jam is made without pectin, is chemical-free, and has no added color or preservatives. Easy step-by-step recipe with photos and a recipe video.
Loving homemade jams? You’ve gotta try the Mango jam and Pineapple jam recipe. Fresh strawberries are in season and I love to make jam with them. I make the jam in small quantities and store it in the refrigerator for a month. You can freeze it for longer shelf life.
Serve this strawberry jam over a slice of toasted bread or pancakes. You can even use this to make the honey cake or to make jam cookies.
Recipe features
- Easy to make - This strawberry jam recipe is made with only 3 ingredients. Fresh strawberries are in season and the other ingredients sugar and lemon juice are easily available in your kitchen pantry.
- Natural & healthy- This jam is 100% natural and tastes delicious. It is made without pectin or any added chemical, color, or preservative.
- No-fail recipe - This is an easy jam recipe and it turns out perfect every time. Just follow the instructions and you will have your own healthy strawberry jam made at home.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Strawberries - You can use either fresh strawberries or frozen. Both work perfectly fine for this recipe.
- Sugar - You can also substitute it with brown sugar.
- Lemon Juice
How to make homemade strawberry jam recipe with step-by-step photos
- Rinse the strawberries and drain off the water completely. Wipe it with a dry kitchen towel. Or you can let them dry naturally.
- Remove the stem and leaves of the strawberries. Roughly chop them.
- In a heavy bottom pan, combine strawberry and sugar.
- Heat the pan over low medium heat, stir and cook until the sugar dissolves.
- Now increase the heat to medium. Cook until the mixture comes to a boil.
- Add lemon juice. Cook stirring frequently until the strawberries soften.
- Slowly mash the strawberries with the back of the ladle (or use a masher).
- Continue to cook it for 10-12 minutes, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens.
- Reduce the heat and do a drop test. Check out the notes in the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
- Put a drop of jam on a plate. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Tilt the plate. If the drop is not runny, the jam is ready. Remove from heat.
- Strawberry jam is ready. Pour it into a sterilized glass jar when it is warm. Do not close the lid.
- Let the jam come to room temperature, and close the lid. Store it in the refrigerator, stays good for a month.
Tips to make the Best Strawberry Jam
- For making a strawberry jam recipe without preservatives you have to use a natural preservative. Like in this recipe, sugar acts as a natural preservative. Do not cut down the quantity of sugar as it will decrease the shelf life of the jam.
- Sugar combines with the pectin inside the fruit and fruit acid to form a gel structure and helps to set the jam in gel form.
- Lemon juice prevents the crystallization of sugar. It stops the jam from getting very hard.
- Keep stirring the jam while cooking it. Do not leave it unattended as it may stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Drop test - While cooking the strawberry jam place a small plate in the freezer. When you are ready to test, place a drop of jam on it. Let it sit for a minute. Tilt the plate; if the jam is runny then it needs to be cooked. If it is set then the jam is ready. While testing the jam you can either remove the pan from heat or set the heat on low.
- Use a sterilized glass jar to store the jam.
- Always use a dry spoon to take out the jam from the jar.
- If the strawberries are sour then use the ratio of 1:1. For 1 cup of strawberry, you can use 1 cup of sugar. But depending upon the sweetness of berries you can decrease the quantity of sugar to ¾ cup for every 1 cup of strawberry.
- If the berries are sour then you can reduce the quantity of lemon juice.
- You can easily double or triple this recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen strawberries to make the jam?
Yes, you can make this jam with frozen strawberries.
Why my strawberry jam doesn’t set?
There might be two reasons. Either you didn’t add enough sugar or you didn’t cook it longer. You have to take the drop test mentioned in the recipe notes. It will give you an indication that the jam is cooked and is ready to be stored.
If using a cooking thermometer, make sure it reaches 220 degrees F.
It may take 24 hours for a jam to be fully set. The jam will be set more if you place it in the refrigerator.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes, you can easily double this recipe.
More homemade jam recipes that you might like
Storing Suggestion
- You can store the jam in a sterilized glass jar and keep it in the refrigerator. It stays good for a month.
- You can freeze the jam for longer shelf life. If you are freezing this jam then leave ½” of space from the top of the jar. You can store it for up to 3-6 months in the freezer.
- Always use a dry spoon or knife to take out the jam.
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Homemade Strawberry Jam recipe (without Pectin)
Homemade strawberry jam recipe made with only 3 ingredients - strawberry, sugar and lemon juice. This easy strawberry jam is made without pectin, is chemical-free and no added color or preservatives.
Servings 1 jar
Calories 113kcal
Equipment
- Heavy bottom sauce pan
Ingredients
- 375 grams strawberries
- 250 grams sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Rinse the strawberries and drain off the water completely. Wipe it with a dry kitchen towel. Or you can let them dry naturally.
- Remove the stem and leaves of the strawberries. Roughly chop them.
- In a heavy bottom pan, combine strawberry and sugar.
- Heat the pan over low medium heat, stir and cook until the sugar dissolves.
- Now increase the heat to medium. Cook until the mixture comes to a boil.
- Add lemon juice. Cook stirring frequently until the strawberries soften.
- Slowly mash the strawberries with the back of the ladle (or use a masher).
- Continue to cook it for 10-12 minutes, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens.
- Reduce the heat and do the drop test. Check out the notes below for detailed instructions.
- Put a drop of jam on a plate. Let it set for 1-2 minutes. Tilt the plate. If the drop is not runny, your jam is ready. Remove from heat.
- Strawberry jam is ready. Pour it into a sterilized glass jar when it is warm. Do not close the lid.
- Let the jam come to room temperature, close the lid. Store it in the refrigerator, stays good for a month.
Video
Notes
- For making jam without preservatives you have to use a natural preservative. Like in this recipe, sugar acts as a natural preservative. Do not cut down the quantity of sugar as it will decrease the shelf life of the jam.
- Sugar combines with the pectin inside the fruit and fruit acid to form a gel structure and helps to set the jam in gel form.
- Lemon juice prevents the crystallization of sugar. It stops the jam from getting very hard.
- Keep stirring the jam while cooking it. Do not leave it unattended as it may stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Drop test - While cooking the jam place a small plate in the freezer. When you are ready to test, place a drop of jam on it. Let it sit for a minute. Tilt the plate; if the jam is runny then it needs to be cooked. If it is set then the jam is ready. While testing the jam you can either remove the pan from heat or set the heat on low.
- Use a sterilized glass jar to store the jam.
- Always use a dry spoon to take out the jam from the jar.
- If the berries are sour then use the ratio of 1:1. For 1 cup strawberry, you can use 1 cup of sugar. But depending upon the sweetness of berries (if the berries are sweet) you can decrease the quantity of sugar to ¾ cup for every 1 cup of strawberry.
- If the berries are sour then you can reduce the quantity of lemon juice.
- You can easily double or triple this recipe.
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