You will love this Easy Strawberry Jam
Have you ever taken your toddler strawberry picking? I’m considering taking Camille, who is 2, but I have some questions. Do they teach the kids about bees and how not to piss them off and elicit a sting? And do they go over exactly why you shouldn’t eat unwashed berries covered in dirt in the field? Help this first time Mama out, and she’ll reward you with a small batch strawberry jam recipe. :) I’m one of those crazy Mams that doesn’t buy sweetened yogurt for my kid (grass-fed full-fat plain, please!), and so I made some jam to stir into her yogurt for a flavor boost. I can’t get over how much FRESHER this strawberry jam tastes than store-bought. It has a bright, acidic FRESH strawberry flavor that tastes like real berries…with a little extra sweetness. And I have to say…the red in these photos hasn’t been enhanced. It’s just bright red because it’s so fresh! This small batch strawberry jam is great on ice cream, stirred into yogurt, and even right off the spoon. I also have plans to use it for a dessert for two, so stay tuned for that! I used 2 pounds of strawberries to make just 1 pint of jam. Scale it up as you need to, but if my recipe for a small batch of apple butter is any indication, you guys love making small batches of jam. All you need is a surplus of fresh strawberries and a little sugar. And some time. You definitely need time. I’m not going to give you hard and fast rules for making this jam. I want you to cook it, while stirring every 2-3 minutes until it starts to feel like it’s sticking to the pan. It will thicken and threaten to stick to the bottom. Take it 1 minute further while constantly stirring. It will set into jam as it cools, I promise. No pectin needed. Though, if you have some leftover from my strawberry pate de fruit, I’m sorry about that. That reminds me, I need to make those again. Off to the kitchen! Oh, and these are the exact jam jars I used in the photos. They’re half pint mason jars that hold 8 ounces.
Homemade Strawberry Jam ingredients
Strawberries. Two pounds of fresh strawberries, washed and hulled. The size of the berries does not matter, but taste them to make sure they’re fresh, bright and flavorful. Turning fresh fruit into jam is just going to condense the flavors, so make sure the fruit is good. Sugar. Regular granulated sugar. No, this recipe doesn’t contain any pectin. Strawberries have enough natural pectin in them, so this jam will set without pectin.
How to make Strawberry Jam
How to Use/What to Make with Strawberry Jam
You can use jam any way that you prefer, but here are my favorite desserts with strawberry jam:
Strawberry Jam Thumbprints Jam Bars Jam Cocktails Strawberry Rolls
How to store Small Batch Strawberry Jam
This recipe is not made with pectin, nor is it pressure cooked for canning. This means that it must stay in the fridge at all times, and it must be used up within 2 months. For longer storage, follow a different recipe with a canning method. SaveSave SaveSave
