Home RecipesBreakfast How to make Homemade Strawberry Jam

How to make Homemade Strawberry Jam

by Jamie

When spring time hits and strawberries are in abundance my kids start saying things like…

“Hey, Mom. When are you going to make the strawberry jam?” and…

“Yo, Mama. We have been out of strawberry jam for like 10 million years. Are you going to make some more or what?” and…

“Did you make the jam today, Mom?” and…

“Today?”

“TODAY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?”

Good grief. What could this mother do, but make the jam. 🙂

I thought you might like to see how to make it happen as well.

Let’s do it.

How to make Strawberry Jam from Jamie Cooks It Up!!!

Homemade Strawberry Jam
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***NOTE: The recipe below makes 3 batches of jam resulting in 12 pint sized jars. Each batch needs to be made individually. If you try and double the recipe the jam will have a hard time setting up. Best to just do each batch at a time. ***

Time: 2-3 hours
Yield: 12 pints
Recipe from Sure Jell with a few great tips from my Grandma Barb

12 jars
12 new lids
12 rings
8 pounds strawberries
3 (1.75 ounce) boxes Sure Jell pectin
21 C sugar
large mouthed funnel
water bath canner
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1. Wash all of your jars in hot soapy water.

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2. Pour about 2 and 1/2 pounds strawberries into a colander and wash them with cold water.

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3. Slice the green tops from the strawberries.

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4. Place them in a blender…

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and blend away, baby. You want all of the strawberries to be crushed. You don’t need the mixture to be super smooth. You will need 5 cups crushed berries.

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5. Measure 7 cups of sugar into a medium-sized bowl. It really helps to measure out the sugar before you get the berries on the stove. That way when you have a bubbling hot mixture on your hands you aren’t trying to deal with a heavy bag of sugar as well.

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6. Pour the crushed berries into a large heavy pot.

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7. Grab 1 box of Sure Jell.

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Sprinkle  it over the crushed berries.

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8. Add 1/2 teaspoon butter. This will help keep the jam from foaming up while it cooks.

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Give everything a nice stir. It will look a little bit clumpy at first. No worry there. Just stir it around until it’s well combined.

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9. Turn the heat to high and stir it constantly. You want it to reach a rolling boil, which means it continues to bubble up even while you are stirring.

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Once you have achieved a rolling boil, pour the sugar in. Now…do not panic at the amount of sugar here. Remember this will make 4 jars of jam and a serving size is super small.

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10. Stir the sugar in and bring the mixture back to a rolling boil while you stir constantly. Let it boil for 1 minute and then remove it from the heat. Now, a word of caution here. Don’t let the bubbling pot get out of control. It should bubble nicely for you, but if it’s spitting jam all over and bubbling clear to the top of your large pot then turn the heat down. Sometimes I turn the burner off once I reach the rolling boil so it won’t get too hot. Just watch it carefully and use your best judgement according to how hot your stove top is. Keep the boiling in control. 🙂

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11. Grab your wide-mouthed funnel and place it on the top of a jar.

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12. Pour the hot jam into the jar leaving about 1/2 inch of space between the top of the jar and the jam.

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13. Take a damp paper towel and wipe the rim of the jar. You want to be sure it’s free from any sticky jam so the lid can seal properly.

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Just a word about lids and rings. You can reuse the rings, but you will want to be sure and purchase new lids for your jam. Your jars won’t  seal properly if you use old lids.

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14. Place a new lid on the jar…

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and screw a ring over the top.

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Lovely. 🙂 This batch will produce 4 pint-sized jars for you. Repeat steps 1-14 to make the additional batches.

IMG_5890_edited-1Please note that I forgot to snap a picture of the strawberry jam being processed. I had to grab this picture from the Apricot Jam recipe I posted last summer. Your eyes are not deceiving you. That is most definitely orange Apricot jam above. 

15. In order to be sure that your jars seal completely, pour warm water into your water bath canner. Carefully place the jars of jam on the rack and lower it into the water. The water should come at least 1 inch above the jars. Bring the water to a boil, place the lid on and let them process (with the water boiling) for 25 minutes.
16. Carefully remove the jars from the water bath and allow them to cool on the counter. The lids will make a popping sound when they have sealed. You can test them by pressing your finger in the middle of the lid. If it’s firm, they have sealed and you are good to go. If the lid gives a bit, then they haven’t sealed and need to be processed longer in the water bath.

Homemade Strawberry Jam from Jamie Cooks It Up!

Store your jars in a dark cool place.

Homemade Strawberry Jam from Jamie Cooks It Up!!
PS…it makes a fun little gift. 🙂

Homemade Strawberry Jam
Enjoy!

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How to make strawberry jam Jamie Cooks It Up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for dropping by today!

Leave a Reply to Jen Cancel Reply

8 comments

Jen May 21, 2014 - 5:54 pm

Just a question, I noticed in your apricot jam post that you boiled your lids but you didn’t do it here. Does it matter?

Reply
Jamie May 22, 2014 - 7:12 am

Jen,
That’s a good question. 🙂 Some information I have read calls for boiling the lids, some does not. I seem to get my lids to seal a little better if I don’t boil them. So, it’s really up to you. Either way is fine, but it doesn’t seem to be a necessary step so I left it out this time. Hope this helps. Best of luck to you!
~Jamie

Reply
Deanna May 22, 2014 - 3:15 pm

Ok I’ve got to stop visiting your blog when I’m hungry LOL! 🙂 This looks SO yummy and since I have the summer off, (I’m a teacher) I will be making this very soon! Thanks for your wonderful blog that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Reply
Rok Jurca (ROKCO) May 29, 2014 - 1:18 am

Lovely! I always put som forest strawberries into my strawbery jam. Forest strawberries give an extra flavour. Lovely recipe.

Reply
Nelia Pitre May 9, 2015 - 10:59 pm

please re-read the list of ingredents and correct should it not be 7 cups of sure instead of 21. As an old canner, in more ways than one, I never boil my lids but I do keep them in a pot of simmering water until used. This step will help soften the rubber gasket on the lid and make for a better seal.

Reply
kali March 15, 2016 - 5:31 am

The ingredients list says 21 cups of sugar – that seems a bit excessive!!

Reply
Jennifer Hill April 22, 2016 - 3:44 pm

Do you have a recipe for a smaller batch? I would like to make it but definitely don’t need this much. Thanks, looks very tasty!!

Reply
Stephanie Schmeling August 13, 2016 - 1:23 pm

Can I use frozen strawberries for this recipe? Thank you 😉

Reply

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