How to make your own strawberry jam

Posted: 23 October '09 by Niall

Make your own strawberry jam

Make your own strawberry jam

 The last time we walked around our local supermarket I spied some sorry looking strawberries – small and misshapen they might have been, but perfect for making jam!

You don’t need any special skills for jam: it’s a fairly simple process, and the end result is well worth it. But strawberry jam is a slight exception to the rule – strawberries are low in “pectin”, a natural gelling agent that helps the jam to set. Because strawberries are low in pectin, it’s best to use a jam sugar, which has added pectin. I’ve also added a good squeeze of lemon juice – lemon is high in pectin, and will help your jam to set.

Basically, with a little care, you shouldn’t have any problems.

Makes six 250ml jars of strawberry jam

You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5

Ingredients:

  • 1.1kg fresh strawberries (slightly under-ripe is better than over-ripe)
  • 1.1kg jam-making sugar
  • 1 large lemon
  • A preserving pan
  • A jam funnel (optional)
  • A large ladle
  • A couple of small plates
  • A wooden spoon
  • 6 x 250ml jam jars
  • Wax discs and Cellophane

Method:

  1. Put the small plates in the freezer
  2. “Hull” the strawberries (i.e. take out the hard core below the leaves) and halve the larger ones, so every piece is roughly the same size
  3. Put the strawberries into the preserving pan with the sugar and the lemon juice. Put over a low heat and warm through until the sugar dissolves. Don’t stir the strawberries too much as this stage as they’ll break up, and you want nice large pieces of fruit in the finished jam.
  4. Now that the sugar has dissolved you need to boil the jam. Run a wooden spoon around the corners and across the bottom of the pan to make sure all the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring the jam to a gentle rolling boil.
  5. Allow the jam to boil like this for 4-5 minutes and then remove the pan from the heat.
  6. Take 1 of the cold plates from the freezer. Spoon a little of the jam onto the plate and set it aside to cool. Once it has cooled, run your finger through the cold jam – if you see wrinkles then your jam will set, and you’re ready to move on. If you don’t see any, return the jam to the boil for a further 1-2 minutes and repeat this process. You might need to repeat this step a few times until you get it right (just remember to use a new plate from your freezer for each pectin test).
  7. Take a dessert spoon and skim off as much of the scum (i.e. the white froth) as you can from the jam in your preserving pan, then leave the jam to sit and cool slightly for a while before potting it – about 20 minutes should be fine – which prevents the fruit from floating to the top of the jam.
  8. While you’re waiting for the jam to cool, you can sterilise your jam jars. Preheat the oven to 120°C/fan100°C and wash the jars in warm, clean soapy water, then rinse in clean water. Put the jars upside down on a clean baking tray and put into the oven for 10 minutes to dry out, removing them and setting the aside just before you need them.
  9. If you have a jam funnel you can use it to put the jam into your jars – we didn’t, and it does make a mess in a sticky, molten-lava kind of a way. Just make sure that you don’t overfill your jars.
  10. Now put the wax discs on while the jam is hot to melt the wax and seal in the jam, then cover with Cellophane.
  11. Taa-daa! You’ve made strawberry jam!!
VN:F [1.9.3_1094]
Rating: 8.7/10 (3 votes cast)

Categories: Featured Post > Jams and Preserves > Recipes

1 Comment