Strawberry Jam without Pectin

Yesterday I visited a local TN strawberry festival and bought 5 lb strawberries, the sweetest and ripest I ever had. So I decided to make jam as it was quite some time ago when I made this jam last. But I had no pectin, just sugar in the pantry. Not a problem because the recipe I used turned out to be pretty good. The jam is not quite as thick as jams are but it’s also not liquid. And I left some junky strawberry pieces, so it’s soft and spreads smooth on a piece of bread or the WASA crisp bread that I like. Happy Cooking!

Ingredients Strawberry Jam without Pectin

2 pounds strawberries, cleaned and hulled
3 cups raw organic cane sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Cooking Instructions

– Wash strawberries and remove the green stem.
– Cut big strawberries in half and/or quarters, and place them in a bowl
– With a potato masher mash them a little bit. It depends on how many fruit pieces you like to get. I prefer some nice junky pieces in the jam.
– Place strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a large pot.

– On low heat, while stirring, heat them until the sugar breaks down completely.
– Increase heat to medium high and bring to a full boil.
– Stir jam often while boiling for a full 25-30 minutes. If you can measure the temperature, it should be 220 F within the 20 min.
– Rinse jam jars and lids with boiling hot water. Turn upside down on a clean kitchen cloth and let dry.
– When jam is done, do the test by placing a bit of jam on a spoon and see if it has thickened.
– Fill into the jars, close with a lid tightly and turn upside down for 1 min. This will seal the lids.

If you like a thick jam you need to boil it longer or use pectin.