Strawberry Jam for Canning

Juicy red and dead-ripe strawberries are always coveted—in southeast Ohio, where I live, the start of the local harvest in May is one of the first signals of an amazing summer ahead. People don their sunscreen and head out to u-pick farms for the annual ritual of picking enough of the precious, ephemeral fruit to freeze and preserve. Once you’ve eaten enough berries right there in the field to give yourself an ulcer, you drive home with your quarry and invest some steamy, satisfying hours in the kitchen making and canning strawberry jam to cherish and share. 

The Best Strawberries for This Jam

Though I envisioned this recipe for those glorious days when you come home from the u-pick farm with a flat of dead-ripe strawberries, don’t feel limited to making this in the thick of strawberry season.

• Grocery store berries will work fine. 
• Frozen strawberries should be okay in this recipe. Let them thaw most of the way first.

How to Make Strawberry Jam Without Adding Pectin

Pectin is a big deal when it comes to jam. It’s a soluble fiber found in nearly all plants, and it’s what makes jam set. An undercooked jam or a jam without sufficient pectin will be loose and runny.

All fruits have naturally occurring pectin. Some have more than others; strawberries are somewhere in the middle. The riper the fruit, the lower the pectin. 

You can buy powdered or liquid pectin to add to your jam to make it set. Jams with added pectin cook a lot faster, too. I make nearly all my jams without added pectin because…I’m a snob. Seriously! There’s nothing wrong with added pectin; I just prefer the silkier mouthfeel and glossier look of jams made without it. Seasoned preservers have tricks up their sleeves for success without pectin products. Here, you’ll get to learn a few of my tricks.

For the Best Strawberry Jam, Keep the White Parts of the Strawberries

Those white parts at the tips and stem ends of strawberries that you might leave behind when you’re eating them by hand? Don’t trim those off. These white parts are higher in pectin, and good for getting our jam to set. 

Best Tool for Stemming Berries 

The best tool for stemming berries are those cheap, broad, short metal tweezers. You can often find them in grocery stores with the cooking equipment, and sometimes displayed right by the strawberries in the produce section (they cost more online than they do in the store). Buy a few and recruit help in stemming your berries. Young kids love doing it. Pluck out the stem, leaving as much of the berries themselves intact as you can.

Toss the Fruit With Sugar and Refrigerate Overnight 

My best tip for making jam? Toss the fruit with the sugar and refrigerate it overnight, or even up to 3 days. I learned this technique from a few jam recipes by Cheryl Day, who sells preserves at her Savannah, Georgia bakery, Back in the Day Bakery.

Initially I scoffed at this extra step, but it’ll make things go smoother for you. Macerating the fruit draws out the liquid and dissolves the sugar, so the moisture evaporates faster once you get around to cooking it. The wins? A lot less initial stirring, a quicker cook time, and a purer, fruitier flavor. I also like how resting the fruit overnight breaks the work into two parts. 

This overnight maceration is not required, but you’ll need to reduce the heat to medium and stir the berries constantly during the first 10 minutes of cooking if you skip it.

Do You Need to Use So Much Sugar for Jam?

Folks new to jamming often have a visceral reaction to the heaps of sugar necessary for traditional preserves. Yes, it’s a lot. It’s what you need for canned jam that’ll keep on a shelf for ages.

The sugar is a natural deterrent against bacterial growth. It also makes a thicker, glossier jam. If you happen to find a jam recipe with a lot less sugar, keep in mind it might not be safe for canning, and if it is, it often has a shorter shelf life than traditional preserves.

Other sweeteners (such as honey) won’t work in this recipe. I opt for the high sugar route and eat strawberry jam only on occasion. When I do, I don’t hold back. You do you. 

The Pot Matters for Making Jam

The wider your pot, the better off you’ll be. A wide pot means your jam has more surface area as it cooks down, so the liquid evaporates off quicker. This means less pot-minding for you, and a brighter-tasting jam. 

I make all my jams in a 5.5-quart enamelware pot. You can use any heavy-bottomed pot with a non-reactive interior, such as stainless steel or enamel. 

Equipment You’ll Need for Canning Strawberry Jam

Making jam is one beast; canning it is another. Fortunately, we cover the basics here.

Here’s what you’ll need to prepare this recipe for canning in a water bath.

• 6 half-pint canning jars
• 6 clean new lids and screw-on metal bands
• Jar lifters (a.k.a canning tongs)
• A canning funnel
• A stockpot to use for your water bath
• A rack that fits in the water bath

You can get canning kits that include most of these things for $17 to $75. Here’s one I recommend. If you don’t want to make that commitment, see if you can borrow canning equipment from a friend.  

Your Jam Didn’t Set? No Biggie!

It happens. Jam takes practice. If your jam doesn’t set, pass it off as strawberry sauce. Use it to sweeten smoothies and cocktails. Dribble it generously over hot biscuits and just be okay with it being messy.

Keep in mind that jam sets more as it cools, and firms even more in the fridge. When it’s warm, it’ll still be a bit runny. When in doubt, I prefer to err on the side of less cooking than more. Jam that’s overcooked is as thick as spackle and hard to spread nicely over toast.

Too Much Work? Try Easy Strawberry Jam Alternatives

Full-scale not your style? Bang out a jar of microwave strawberry jam in 15 minutes. No microwave? Make low-sugar chia jam or try roasting strawberries, which requires little hands-on time.

More Jam and Jelly Recipes for Water Bath Canning

• Quince Jam
• Elderberry Jelly
• Apricot Riesling Jam
• Meyer Lemon Marmalade
• Rose Hip Jelly