• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Start Here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop

The Bake School

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start Here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Start Here
    • Baking 101
    • Recipes
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Preserves

    Published on: June 16, 2022 by Janice Lawandi; Updated on: December 14, 2022 Leave a Comment

    Strawberry jam

    29 shares
    • Facebook
    • Reddit
    • Flipboard
    Jump to Recipe
    Toast served with homemade strawberry jam and butter.

    Learn how to make the best strawberry jam with this easy recipe. Use fresh strawberries to make this easy homemade jam with the perfect set without adding pectin following the tips and tricks!

    Toast served with homemade strawberry jam and butter.
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    "Homemade jam is easy to make," many of us say. And it's true that it isn't difficult, but you have to follow the quantities and steps carefully so that you are successful every time. The good news is that strawberry jam is the perfect jam to make to practice and develop your jam-making skills!

    Before you dive into making this recipe, please read all about the jam setting point so you know all the tricks to determining if your jam will set.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Foam on surface of jam
    • Substitutions
    • Strawberry jam variations
    • Equipment
    • Storage and food safety
    • Using strawberry tops
    • What to make and serve with strawberry jam
    • 📖 Recipe
    • Further reading on jams and jellies
    The three ingredients you need to make easy homemade strawberry jam: strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice.

    Ingredients

    You only need a short list of ingredients to make jam, and they are very simple and easy to come by:

    • strawberries—use a combination of ripe and slightly under-ripe fruit (like 75 % ripe and the rest under-ripe) so that you have enough pectin from the fruit to achieve the perfect set
    • sugar—I use regular white granulated sugar, though evaporated cane sugar can also work. Don't use a coarse sugar and avoid sugars with too much flavour, like muscovado brown sugar, unless this is the flavour you are going for
    • lemon juice—to make sure the pH of your jam is below 4.5, acidic enough that botulism won't be an issue
    • vanilla bean (optional)—if you happen to have a vanilla bean leftover from another project, you can add it to the pot to infuse your jam!

    See recipe card for quantities. If you want to explore other flavours with this base recipe, visit the sections below on variations and substitutions.

    For the weight of fruit in this recipe, make sure to weigh what you have left after doing all the washing and trimming. You want the weight of fruit that is going into the pot, not the weight of strawberries with the tops and leaves. Otherwise you may end up with more sugar and less fruit. The jam will be sweeter.

    Instructions

    Use this section for process shots, alternating between the step and image showing the step. Users don't like seeing process shots cluttering up the recipe card, so include your process shots here.

    Hulling washed strawberries and chopping to make homemade jam.

    Hull strawberries to remove the tops then slice in half or quarter.

    Splitting a vanilla bean in half lengthwise to open up the pod to infuse a batch of homemade strawberry jam.

    Split open lengthwise half a vanilla bean to infuse your jam (if using).

    Tip: To wash your strawberries, give them a generous rinse in cold water and spread them out on paper towel to blot any excessive moisture. Trim and remove the stems only AFTER rinsing and patting dry.

    Combining sliced strawberries with sugar and a vanilla bean to macerate before making homemade jam.

    Combine the strawberries with half their weight in sugar and the vanilla bean (if using).

    Strawberries macerated in sugar with lemon juice and a vanilla bean to make homemade jam.

    Let the berries macerate to release the juice

    Boiling jam that is at (or close to) the setting point with big, stable bubbles on the surface.

    Use a thermometer to monitor if you are approaching the jam setting point.

    Performing the freezer plate test on a dollop of jam. The jam wrinkles when pushed with a fingertip, showing that it has boiled enough to hit the jam setting point.

    Use the freezer plate test to check if the jam will set once cold.

    Hint: Use two or three techniques to check the jam set. I like my jams to be thick and so I tend to boil them longer sometimes, but you may like to boil a little less for a looser texture. Always make sure to boil above 217 °F to make sure the jam will gel nicely.

    A pot of homemade jam ready to be transferred to jars.

    Foam on surface of jam

    With certain berries and fruits (strawberries, notably), you will notice as the fruit and sugar boil, a stable foam forms on the surface of the jam, and it doesn't always go away.

    The foam is air bubbles. It's harmless, but it doesn't look great. To remove the foam:

    • Skim the foam by pushing it to the edges of the pot
    • Use a long handled spoon to carefully scoop it off the surface
    • Transfer the foam to a bowl
    • Repeat the process to remove as much of the foam as possible

    Follow these steps and you will have a clearer jam in the end.

    For some jams, like rhubarb, blueberry, and apricot jams, the foam disappears on its own as the jam boils. It seems to depend on the type of fruit.

    To reduce the foam that forms on the surface, you can add ½ teaspoon of butter or canola oil (4–5 grams) to the ingredients. The fat will prevent foam from forming. You will have less skimming to do. This amount should not alter the flavour significantly.

    Toast served with homemade strawberry jam and butter.

    Substitutions

    You only need a few ingredients to make jam, so substitutions are limited:

    • Sugar: you can replace regular granulated sugar with cane sugar. You could replace a portion of the sugar with honey. Just remember that honey and other sugar sources will impart a strong flavour that may distract from the taste of the berries.
    • Strawberries: you can replace the fresh strawberries with the same weight of frozen strawberries. Weigh them before thawing them, then mix them with sugar and let them thaw.
    • Lemon juice: you can use fresh or bottled, though I prefer the taste of fresh lemon juice

    While you can substitute one sugar for another, if done carefully, gram for gram, you cannot reduce the quantity of sugar. Without sugar, you will likely end up with a runny, loose jam that doesn't set as well.

    A jar of strawberry jam served with toast on a plate.

    Strawberry jam variations

    If you want to jazz up plain strawberry jam, try these variations:

    • Rhubarb—replace half the weight of strawberries with the same weight of chopped rhubarb to make strawberry jam with rhubarb
    • Red currant—replace half the weight of strawberries with the same weight of red currants (follow this strawberry and red currant jam for details)
    • Peach—replace half the weight of strawberries with the same weight of sliced peaches
    • Vanilla—add half of a vanilla bean (or even a full) to the pot to infuse the jam with vanilla flavour
    • Juniper berry—add a couple of teaspoons of crushed juniper berries to give this jam an herbal hit (I did this with rhubarb jam and it was really good!)
    • Anise or cinnamon—add a few teaspoons of crushed anise seeds or a cinnamon stick and it will completely transform this jam, in a good way.

    I encourage you to explore flavour pairings with this jam. As long as you don't make any changes that have an impact on the ratio of fruit to sugar, you can try anything, really!

    Smearing homemade strawberry jam on toast.

    Equipment

    To make homemade jam, you don't need much! Here's a rundown of the tools you need to make this jam and other preserves:

    • a stove
    • a big pot
    • a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula
    • a canning kit that includes a non-reactive wide-mouth funnel, jar lifters, headspace measuring tool, etc.
    • 250 mL jars or 125 mL jars to store your preserves in
    • a Thermapen or a ChefAlarm to monitor the temperature

    If you choose to process the jars to seal them, you will need a canning kit. A canning kit usually comes with a jar lifter, a helpful tool to measure headspace and remove air bubbles, among others. You can actually skip the step of boiling the closed jars to seal them and instead, invert the closed jars of hot jam and let them stand upside down for 2 minutes before flipping right side up. This will create a vacuum and seal the jars too.

    Strawberry jam served with brioche toast and butter.

    Storage and food safety

    If you have gone through the process of sealing the jars properly, then you should be able to store this jam for a year in a cool, dry, dark place. After this time, you will notice the jam loses its bright, vibrant colour. It will still be good enough to eat, but it won't be the same.

    Note that if you don't seal the jars properly, or if you have a doubt, just keep the jars in the fridge.

    When it's time to using your jam, always use a clean spoon or knife to take out a serving and don't double dip into the jar of jam because you will contaminate it. Otherwise, mold may develop.

    After the jar of jam is open, you must store it in the refrigerator and according to most professional canners, an open jar of jam will last up to one month if stored in the refrigerator.

    One common misconception is that you can reboil a jar of jam that has developed mold. I would not recommend this. I also would not recommend removing the layer of mold from the top and eating what's below. The mold you see is a fraction of what exists below and it's better to be safe: toss the contents of jar, wash and sterilize the jar, and reuse it to make a fresh batch of jam.

    Using strawberry tops

    When you wash and trim such a large quantity of fresh strawberries, you will end up with a lot of strawberry tops. Use them to infuse water, just like you would with slices of cucumber or mint leaves!

    shortbread cutout cookies sandwiched with strawberry jam filling

    What to make and serve with strawberry jam

    When you start making jam at home, you will inevitably wind up with many jars of it. It makes a great gift, but you should also keep some for yourself to enjoy and to bake with! Here are a few ideas of what you can bake with jam and what to serve with it:

    • Jam-filled shortbread cookies
    • Thumbprint cookies
    • Bostock
    • Scones
    • Butter biscuits
    • Brioche kneaded in the stand mixer

    📖 Recipe

    Toast served with homemade strawberry jam and butter on a pink plate.

    Strawberry Jam

    AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi
    Learn how to make the best strawberry jam with this easy recipe. You can achieve the perfect set without adding pectin as long as you follow the ingredients quantities listed below and boil to the jam setting point.
    5 from 1 vote
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved Recipe
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 50 minutes mins
    Course Preserve
    Cuisine British
    Servings 75 tablespoons
    Calories 30 kcal

    Equipment

    • Big pot
    • Canning kit
    • 5 Mason jars 250 mL
    • Wooden spoon
    Need measurements in CUPSUse the button options below to switch from Metric to US measurements! It's that easy!

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 kg fresh strawberries weigh after washing and hulling the berriies
    • 500 grams granulated sugar
    • 60 mL fresh lemon juice

    Optional flavour add-in

    • ½ vanilla bean split in two

    Instructions
     

    • Mix the berries with the sugar, lemon juice, and the split vanilla bean (if using) in a big pot.
    • Cover the mixture and let the berries macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes with a wooden spoon to help the sugar dissolve.
    • Place the pot on the stove, uncovered and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. If you notice that a stable foam forms on the surface of the jam as it boils, you can skim it off the top with a spoon to remove it. This way your jam will be clear and free of too many air bubbles.
    • When the jam comes to a boil, continue cooking it until it hits the jam setting point, around 104 ºC (220 ºF). For a softer set, you may boil until the jam reaches 103 °F (217–218 °F).
    • Remove from the heat. Fish out the used vanilla bean pod and discard it.
    • Let the pot of jam stand 5 minutes off the heat to cool slightly and thicken, then stir to distribute and suspend the fruit more evenly.
    • Divide the jam among the jars, leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe the rims clean, then cover with the lids, fingertight. If any of the jars aren't filled full, don't seal them. Instead you can cover them and enjoy them right away, storing in the fridge.
    • Seal the closed jars according to the manufacturers recommendations, by inverting the hot jars for 2 minutes before placing upright or using a water bath canning kit.
    • Let sit 24 hours undisturbed before storing them in the pantry.

    Notes

    This recipe makes 4–5 jars (of 250 mL (1 cup) each)
    To sterilize your jars: wash them well with soap and water if they aren't clean or are new, then place on a sheet pan in the oven, and heat them at 250 °F for at least 30 minutes. Leave them in the hot oven until you are ready to use them.
    If you notice that a stable foam forms on the surface of the jam as it boils, you can skim it off the top with a spoon to remove it. This way your jam will be clear and free of too many air bubbles.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 30kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 21mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 1mg
    Give backIf you enjoy the free content on this website, buy me a pound of butter to say thanks!

    Further reading on jams and jellies

    • Read up about the jam setting point. This article includes the different techniques for checking the set of jam.
    • On the subject of adding fat to jams and jellies to prevent foam, read about more from the USDA: https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE07_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf
    • Recipe books on making preserves and jams:
      • Camilla Wynne's Jam Bake
      • Camilla Wynne's Home Preserves

    More Homemade Preserve Recipes

    • Peach jam served with sourdough bread and butter on the side.
      Peach Jam Without Added Pectin
    • Strawberry jam with rhubarb smeared on a piece of toast on a plate.
      Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
    • The freezer plate test with a dollop of strawberry jam to show it wrinkles when it sets.
      The jam setting point and how to determine jam set
    • Transferring homemade apricot jam into jars to seal them.
      Apricot jam

    Baking resources

  • Baking conversion charts
  • Baking ingredients and pantry staples
  • Baking substitutions
  • Common baking conversions
  • Choosing baking pans
  • How to measure ingredients for baking
  • Mixing methods
  • Reader Interactions

    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    This is a picture of Janice Lawandi

    Hi, I'm Janice!

    I am a baking-obsessed recipe developer with a PhD in Chemistry who writes about baking and the science of baking.

    More About Me

    Join the Community

    If you enjoy the free content on this website or have questions, consider joining the Bake School Community!

    Easter Treats

    • Freshly baked rhubarb crumble ready to be served.
      Rhubarb Crumble
    • Rhubarb upside down cake sliced to serve it.
      Rhubarb raspberry upside-down cake
    • Serving rhubarb muffins on plates with a side of butter.
      Rhubarb muffins with sour cream and streusel
    • Let's bake with rhubarb-best rhubarb recipes roundup
      What to bake with rhubarb
    • Bluebarb or blueberry rhubarb crumble with a marzipan oat crumble topping in a blue baking dish with a fluted edge
      Blueberry rhubarb crisp with marzipan crumble
    • A perfect slice of rhubarb pie, ready to be served.
      Rhubarb Pie Without Strawberries

    Berry Baking

    • Milk crumbs on a Momofuku Milk Bar style cake-layers of blackberry curd, almond cake, and almond frosting
      Blackberry almond cake — Milk Bar style
    • raspberry amaretti semifreddo slice
      Almond raspberry semifreddo
    • Vanilla cardamom tapioca pudding with strawberries
      Homemade tapioca pudding recipe with fresh strawberries
    • A pan of baked honey blueberry muffins with streusel topping.
      Honey blueberry muffins
    • A plate of raspberry financiers.
      Raspberry Financiers
    • Honey-kissed-strawberry-rhubarb crumbles
      Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble With Honey

    Eggless chocolate cake

    Chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles on a cake stand.
    Learn to make an eggless chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting!

    Baking conversions

    Buy the baking conversion charts NOW!

    As seen on

    Logos of online and offline publications that featured the Bake School and Janice Lawandi.

    How to poach pears

    Poached pears on an enamelware plate.
    This easy poached pears recipe is simple and you can use the poached fruit for salads, appetizers, and desserts!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Meet Janice Lawandi
    • FAQ
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and conditions
    • Accessibility
    • Press

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services
    • Portfolio

    As seen on

    Logos of online and offline publications that featured the Bake School and Janice Lawandi.

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    COPYRIGHT © 2025 · THE BAKE SCHOOL

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.