open jar of strawberry jam next to fresh strawberries

Strawberry Jam

 

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4 from 3 votes
Strawberry Jam is an early summer classic treat with bursts of tart and sweet. Feel free to use other sweeteners that measure like sugar or honey in this recipe. For example, you can use Stevia in the Raw or another Stevia product that measures like sugar, or Splenda that measures like sugar. You can also use a different liquid sweetener, like agave or maple syrup. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener.

Notes

If you’re not sure if your jam is sweet enough, taste it after the pectin is dissolved and jam has come back up to a boil. Not sweet enough? Add more sweetener and stir 1 minute at full boil.
Servings 5 cups

Ingredients

  • 4 cups mashed strawberries about 8 cups whole strawberries
  • 2 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
  • ½ cup up to 1 cup honey or ¾ cup up to 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin mixed with sweetener

Instructions

  • Before you begin, prepare calcium water.
    To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.
    Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
  • Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small sauce pan; cover and heat to a simmer. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.
  • Wash, remove hulls, and mash strawberries. Measure fruit into sauce pan.
  • Add calcium water and mix well.
  • Measure sugar or room temperature honey into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sweetener. Set aside.
  • Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sweetener mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
  • Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.

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61 Responses

  1. Vilinta
    | Reply

    Is it necessary to heat the lids?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Heating the lids is recommended.

  2. Christina M
    | Reply

    Is it safe to double the jam recipe and have it jell up as jam? I thought I had read somewhere you could double Pomona recipes. Do you double everything in the recipe? (Namely the pectin and calcium water.)

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Christina,
      Yes, you can double any of our recipes! Just be sure to multiply each ingredient.

  3. Julie
    | Reply

    Can you leave strawberries whole, or cut larger in half to make a preserves instead?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      We do not recommend leaving them whole. This recipe is designed for mashed berries, so if you decide to leave them larger, it will throw off the measurements and you will need to guess as to how much pectin is needed to jell your mixture, it could be 1/2 tsp less, or it could be 1 teaspoon less.The pectin also tends to stick to the larger chunks of fruit.

    • Macy
      | Reply

      Hi Julie,
      Waaay back in my early canning days (50 years ago) I was gung-ho to put up every fruit I could get as I had to pack in 5-6 month’s food for winter. Strawberries were one of my major disappointments! The fruit pulp/fiber separated from its juice and I was left with about 1/2 jar of pale pulpy mush over 1/2 jar over-sweet strawberry-honey juice. If you jammed your berries whole, if it set, you’d get something similar.
      Cheers, Macy

  4. Michael Monington
    | Reply

    I just made strawberry jam recipe and it looks like my jam is still a little watery when you tip the jar. Did I not boil it long enough? I believe I followed the directions to the letter. While it thinking in the jar? Any suggestions if it doesn’t thinking this time?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Michal,

      How long have your jars been resting outside of the canner? Sometimes it can take up to 24 hours to get a full jell.

      If you do not see a good set after that time, try our troubleshooting page and potential fixes, HERE.

  5. Jennifer
    | Reply

    I poured the full calcium water mixture in instead of just adding 2 teaspoons. will it still turn out?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Jennifer,

      Uh oh! Your jam should be just fine to consume, as long as all other procedures were followed.

    • Ez-E
      | Reply

      I did the same. I know I should read better but who writes instructions like this. Make a 1/2 cup of something but only use 2tsp… angry rn. I hope it doesnt change the flavor profile.

  6. Mary
    | Reply

    I just made my first 2 batches ever using Pomonas Pectin and it was so EASY! I was a little short with my strawberries so I added some blackberries and blueberries to get the 4 cups and it seems to have turned out great. After reading some of these comments should I have added lemon to my mixed batch? It was roughly 1/2 strawberries, 1/4 blueberries, and 1/4 blackberries.

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Wonderful Mary!! We would suggest that you add a couple tablespoons of lemon juice to this mixed batch, just to ensure that the pH level is safe for water-bath canning and shelf storage. If you do not want to recook them though, you can always place them in the freezer for storage up to 1 year.

  7. Shelia
    | Reply

    You don’t have to add lemon juice to this recipe?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Not with strawberries, they have enough acidity on their own. Happy jamming!

  8. Audrey
    | Reply

    Do you have a raw strawberry freezer jam recipe?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Audrey,

      We sure do! It can be found, HERE on our website.

  9. Bill Galbreath
    | Reply

    I created a Strawberry Mango jam recipient using the Create Your Own Recipe page which was yummy using cinnamon!:

    2 cups mashed strawberries
    2 cups mashed mangoes
    Calcium water: 3 teaspoons
    Pomona’s pectin: 2.5 teaspoons
    Sugar: 1 cup
    Lemon juice: 2 teaspoons

    Up to 1 teaspoon ground spice (I used cinnamon)
    If using Alcohol: 1/4 cup, 3 3/4 cups mashed fruit

  10. Deb
    | Reply

    Would I start with a whole 3/4 cup if I am using Stevia as the sweetener?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Deb,

      You will base it off of the conversion chart on the sweetener you are using. IF it measures cup for cup, then yes, you will want to start with 3/4 cup.

  11. Carol Burrows
    | Reply

    My jam was wonderful. It’s the first time I’ve used Pomona. I used 3/4 of a cup of sugar. But I did have a lot of foam. I saw a comment about using butter to cut the foam but being vegetarian I don’t have butter. Can you suggest an alternative that I could use in the future? Cheers and thanks!

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Wonderful! Thanks so much for your great review Carol 😊

      We believe you can use 1 teaspoon of butter, margarine or vegetable oil to reduce the foam (according to http://pickyourown.org/foam.htm).

      Happy jamming!

  12. Sarah Zdroik
    | Reply

    Both my batches over flowed 🙁
    I had 1/4″ head space, removed air and wiped rims, tightened them like I always do. Any ideas what could have happened? I used maple syrup as my sweetener. And used two different brand lids (didn’t seem to matter which one).
    Some still sealed, but many did not

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      We are so sorry to hear that! There is a lot that could have gone wrong. First, it could be the lids, many companies have had issues with faulty lids recently. Did you have a rack at the bottom of your pot, were you using a canning pot?

    • Bill Galbreath
      | Reply

      Hi Sarah,
      I don’t know what size jar you are using , but I had the same experience using a 4 oz jar.

      I found that by scooping out some jam to increase the head space to 1/2″, I was able to re-water bath 5 of my 6 did-not-seal 4 oz jars successfully today!

  13. Kristi
    | Reply

    Hello,
    I noticed that your strawberry jam recipe and your rhubarb jam recipe both DO Not have lemon juice in them but your strawberry rhubarb jam does. I assume both the strawberries and the rhubarb are acidic enough to can on their own safety so can I leave the lemon juice out of the strawberry rhubarb jam? I can’t have citrus (migraine trigger). Thank you.

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Kristi,

      That is a great question and a great catch! Yes, the lemon juice would not be necessary for the Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. We did want to mention that Pomona’s Pectin is a citrus pectin, just in case that will effect you as well. 😊

      Happy jamming!

      Kindly,
      Shelby

      • Clyde
        | Reply

        Is there anything that can be done to help retain the deep red color of the jam over time?
        Tastes fine, but looks awful.
        Should be red not brown!
        Thanks

        • Shelby Collings
          | Reply

          Hello Clyde,

          You can always add some lemon juice or some citric acid to your jam, that should help with retaining the color. Happy jamming!

        • RobinM48
          | Reply

          Sugar is what keeps the color in jam. If you replace the sugar with another kind of sweetener, its color will deteriorate.

          • Shelby Collings
            |

            That is slightly true, though we would argue that high sugar content actually has a greater effect on the clarity of the jam vs. the color (ie. the jew like coloring of high sugar jellies). The acid of the product is a key factor in the color for low sweetener jams and jellies. Using an alternative sweetener in low sugar jams and jellies will give you able the same coloring as low sugar jams and jellies.

        • Bella Breault
          | Reply

          I’ve used Fruit Fresh on my peaches, because it took me quite a while to peel them all, cut them into slices and put them into the jars. I mixed the Fruit Fresh in the pot with the syrup mixture, and it REALLY brightened up my peaches and made them look really fresh.

        • Macy
          | Reply

          Hi Clyde
          For some reason strawberry jam tends to go brown over time. A year is usually max. I’ve been canning 50+ years and am rather new with using Pomona. Since you brought up the question I’m going to double the lemon or add some citric acid (I add a bit to almost everything, especially light fruits like peaches and pears) and add a tad more honey to my favourite honey ratio. if needed. Thanks for the new experiment!
          Cheers, Macy … think I’ll try the citric acid

  14. Kate
    | Reply

    Hello!
    Is this recipe meant to be canned in half-pint jars? I couldn’t find the jar size in the recipe.
    Thank you,
    Kate

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Kate,

      We recommend that all of our recipe be canned in 4oz or 8oz jars.

      Happy jamming!

      • Jen
        | Reply

        Why in only 4 or 8 oz jars? Would it be harmful in 16oz?

        • Shelby Collings
          | Reply

          Most households cannot consume 16oz within 1-3 weeks so we suggest 4-8oz, but if yours can consume 16oz in 1-3 weeks- go right ahead! The water-bath canning time will be the same 10 minutes. Happy jamming!

    • Macy
      | Reply

      Hi Kate,
      It doesn’t matter what size jars you use. Use what works best for your household. Standard size is 8 oz – 250 ml. I often use the litltle 4 oz. as I don’t eat a lot of jam and often have several flavours open so I can eat what the mood calls for rather than have it go mouldy. If you have six kids who love P+J’s save on lids and go with pints.

  15. Dana Dacres
    | Reply

    Shouldn’t there be lemon juice somewhere in this recipe for safe canning…? I’m new to this realm, forgive

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Dana,

      Not in this one. Strawberries have a safe pH for canning.

      Happy jamming!

  16. Jami O'Bryant
    | Reply

    Can monk fruit be used in place of sweetener in this recipe?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Jami,
      It sure. can be! We would recommend starting with 3/4 cup and then adding additional, should you deem it needs more, after the pectin/sweetener is dissolved, just before you can you jam.

  17. Patty Fisher
    | Reply

    Do I stir the fruit mixture while bringing it to the first boil?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hello Patty,

      Yes, you can stir it gently, over stirring can cause foaming.

      Happy jamming!

  18. Kristen
    | Reply

    I’d like to see the ingredients by weight if possible.

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Hi Kristen,

      Thanks so much for choosing Pomona’s Pectin! We are working on getting that feature on our website, so sorry it is not available yet.

  19. HL Parsons
    | Reply

    Is it possible to modify this recipe for freezer jam (no-cook)?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Absolutely! You can find those directions, HERE.

      Happy jamming!

      • Sheri
        | Reply

        Can leftover jam be eaten?

        • Shelby Collings
          | Reply

          Absolutely! It can be placed in a container and store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Enjoy 😊

  20. Lee K. Portland OR
    | Reply

    Made this jam yesterday with our local Hood strawberries. Delicious! But oh my the foaming was pretty bad. It also looked like it is separated in the jars. I wonder if using a stick blender after taking it off the heat would help, or just aerate it too much…

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      Wonderful!

      Strawberries are the worst culprits for foaming! No fun. You can try mashing them up more fine, and making sure they do not boil too high, for very long. Just enough to get the honey/pectin to dissolve.

      What you have is called “fruit float.” When the jars of jam are very hot and there is no jell yet, the pulp, which is lighter than the juice, is able to float to the top of the jar. Strawberries are prone to fruit float although it doesn’t always happen. Other fruits can have fruit float also. You are not doing anything wrong. However, if you want to discourage fruit float from happening, you can mash your fruit a little more and you can cook your fruit for a little while before you bring it up to the full boil. You could even add a little of your sweetener to cook with the fruit, still leaving enough sweetener to adequately disburse the pectin powder without going over the sweetener limit.

      In the future, when you take the jars out of the water bath, leave them for about an hour to start cooling and seal. Then come back and check to make sure they are all sealed. If you see that you have fruit float, turn the jars upside down to force the pulp to redistribute through the jar. Come back in about 45 minutes and turn the jars right side up to once again force the pulp to redistribute through the jar. Check again in another 45 minutes and if you have a distinct dividing line, turn the jars upside down again. Turn the jars right side up again in about 30 minutes. You always want the jars to end up right side up. By keeping the pulp well distributed throughout the jars, there will not be a dividing line when the jell finally starts and locks everything into place.

      If your jam has jelled in a separated state, you can gently stir the pulp and juice back together when you open the jar to eat it. Separated jam in sealed jars will store safely.

    • Jami O'Bryant
      | Reply

      you can add a little pad of butter – helps great with foam!

  21. JoAnne
    | Reply

    Preparing to do another batch of strawberries with Pomonas. Love this pectin! I use it for all my jams & jellies. Easy, uses 1/2 the sugar of recipes, and comes out tasty!

    • Kelli
      | Reply

      Can you can in pint jars? My kids go through it so fast the half pints seem a waste of lids.

      • Shelby Collings
        | Reply

        If it is consumed with in the 1-3 weeks, you sure can!

  22. Maki
    | Reply

    Can you use the instant pot for this?

    • Shelby Collings
      | Reply

      We do not suggest using an instant pot for jamming with Pomona’s Pectin.

    • Emily
      | Reply

      Having issues with foaming. I know regular pectin says butter can help. Can I do that with this pectin?

      • Shelby Collings
        | Reply

        Hello Emily, strawberries are common culprits! Yes, 1/4 tsp butter can help reduce foaming. It is also helpful to cook them as little as possible.
        Happy jamming!

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