My Mother's Strawberry Jam Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Is strawberry jam better with or without pectin? ›

No extra pectin– You may wonder if strawberry jam is better with or without pectin. Strawberries are naturally low in pectin, so some people prefer to add additional pectin to jams and jellies. However, I actually prefer homemade jam without extra pectin. They are a bit softer in texture, making it more versatile.

(2)Most jam recipes call for a 1:1 ratio of fruit to sugar. I usually use a 75 % ratio, or 1 ½ pounds of sugar to every 2 pounds of fruit, unless the fruit is not very sweet, in which case, I adjust accordingly.

Lemon juice: Lemon juice is essential for getting the pectin to gel properly, setting the jam. It also helps prevent the growth of bacteria.

The addition of ¼ teaspoon butter or margarine during cooking helps cut down on the foam formed. To fill the jars, pour hot fruit mixture into hot sterilized jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Process jams, preserves and conserves in a boiling water bath for the length of time specified in the recipe.

You don't have to, but proceed carefully. "If you are really anti-pectin, you can omit it, but you'll need to cook the jam longer. Doing so will remove most of the water content in order to get it to set up properly and in turn, will result in a smaller yield," adds Wynne.

Once the jam reaches a slow, thick boil, add lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam returns to its earlier consistency, about another 5 minutes.

The ratio between fruit and sugar varies: with sweet fruits, it's about 2:1 (2 kilos of fruit, 1 of sugar), while with more bitter fruits like oranges, it should be more like 3:2. If uncertain, it's better to round up with the sugar. The other potential ingredients – lemon and pectin – are found in many jam recipes.

It's important to add the jam sugar at the right time. If you add it in too early, the sugar can cause the fruit to break down and become mushy. If added too late, the jam may not set properly.

Pectin, naturally found in fruit is vital to make your jam set. With low-pectin fruits like strawberries, help them along by either mixing with pectin-rich fruit like gooseberries or by using jam sugar (with added pectin and citric acid).

What happens if I forget to add lemon juice to my jam? ›

If your recipe called for lemon juice and you forgot to put it in, your mixture will not be acid enough for safe canning. You have to open the jars and put the mixture into a sauce pan. (If you made the jam or jelly recently and you carefully remove the lids without damaging them, you can re-use the same lids.)

It's Not Only About Pectin

There's another reason why lemon juice is added to most jam recipes: for safe canning and to prevent the growth of bacteria. Bringing the pH level down means jars can be sealed in a regular boiling water bath in a reasonable amount of time (sometimes as little as 10 minutes).

5. Do Not Stir Once Mixture Is Boiling. Once your jam/marmalade it has reached a rapid rolling boil do not stir it. Stirring it will alter the temperature of the jam/marmalade meaning it will take longer to reach the setting point.

Cooking glossary

Circular pieces of waxed paper that are placed on the top of home-made jams or jellies to help exclude air and prevent deterioration, eg pot the jam and cover with a waxed disc while the preserve is piping hot or completely cold.

If, on the other hand, the jam is rock solid, that means you've gone too far and cooked it too long. You can try adding a little water to thin it out, but bear in mind that after overcooking a jam, you can't really get those fresh fruit flavors back.

Though it's not essential to all preserving, pectin helps jams and jellies jell, so you achieve the exact consistency you want — without adding loads of sugar. With pectin, healthy, homemade jams will taste more like the fruits you love (like this Honeyed Plum-Cardamom Jelly; scroll down for the recipe).

In my opinion, Ball's low-sugar pectin is the most convenient commercial pectin to use; it is found wherever canning supplies are sold and online. You will use about 6 tablespoons per batch; the jars hold enough pectin for three batches or so.

You will need approximately half the amount of pectin that is indicated by your recipe. Please be careful when adding pectin as too much will leave you with a set that is too solid and it is not possible to rectify this so always add less than you think is necessary and test the set and then add more if required.

Do not vary the sequence in which the ingredients are added. For example, powdered pectin does not dissolve in a sugared solution, so if you add the sugar and then the dry pectin, the jam will not be firm. Be sure you use a kettle large enough to accommodate the preserves when they are brought to a full rolling boil.