Several weeks ago, I got up early on Saturday morning, collected my friend Shay (she’s my regular fruit-picking buddy) and drove half an hour out into the New Jersey countryside. We spent the rest of the morning in the field of Gaventa’s strawberry farm, crouching over the rows of plants, plucking handfuls of berries into our containers.
I stopped picked only when the back of my neck had turned a bright pink (I somehow only got sunscreen on my front, it made for an entertaining burn) and the knees of my jeans were stained red from kneeling on errant berries between the rows.
I brought home nearly 15 pounds of hard-earned berries (they were $1.35 a pound, I love how inexpensive things can be when you just invest a bit of your own labor). I washed and chopped nearly all of them (I kept about two quarts unchopped for plain old eating) within a couple of hours of getting them home.
I tossed approximately 10 overflowing cups of the processed berries with two cups of sugar and a broken-up vanilla bean and then tucked them into the fridge for a rest, so that they could get nice and vanilla-y. The rest I sugared (2 tablespoons sugar for every pound of cleaned and hulled berries) and froze in quart-sized yogurt containers.
I actually left the strawberries in the fridge for nearly two days before I got around to making jam. When it came time to cook the berries down, I fished the vanilla pieces out (squeezing out the vanilla seeds so that the jam was beautifully flecked) and then poured the berries and all the juice they had produced into my 10 quart stainless steel pot (this stuff foams, so give yourself plenty of room).
I added the rest of the sugar and then proceeded to cook the crap out of those berries (that’s the official term) in order to assure a good, jammy set.
Of all the jams I’ve made so far this year, this one is my very favorite. There’s something special about strawberry jam and when it’s scented with vanilla and so rich in color, it’s just that much more amazing. Get yourself some strawberries and make this jam. Or, if you don’t feel like making your own batch, I do have one half pint jar to give away. Leave a comment by Friday afternoon for a chance to win.
Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
- 10 cups of chopped strawberries preferably macerated with a split vanilla bean and two cups of sugar over night
- 7 cups of sugar 2 cups during maceration + 5 cups at the time of cooking
- 2 lemons zested and juiced
- 2 packets of liquid pectin that’s one box total
Instructions
- Fill your canning pot 2/3 with water and put on the stove to bring to a boil (I used a large stock pot for this much jam).
- Put berries, sugar and lemon zest/juice in a large pot and cook over medium high heat for about fifteen minutes. You want to really boil the fruit down so that they begin to look syrup-y. If you have an immersion blender, use it at this point to puree some of the fruit. If you don’t, use a blender to puree about half the jam (working in batches, you don’t want hot jam to splash you).
- Add the blended jam back to the whole fruit jam. Bring to a boil and squeeze in the pectin. At this point, there will be a bunch of foam on top of the jam. Skim the foam with a large spoon. Let boil for approximately ten minutes more, until the jam looks very syrup-y (when boiling, it should resemble boiling candy).
- Lay out your clean jars, you’ll need approximately five pints or 10 half pint jars. Put your lids in a saucepan of hot water in order to soften the sealing compound. Bring a kettle to a boil now as well, in case you need a bit more boiling water for your canning pot.
- Fill the jars. Wipe the rims with the edge of a towel dipped in boiling water. Top with lids and screw on rings. Put a rack or folded towel into the bottom of your canning pot (you don’t want the jars to be in direct contact with the bottom of your pot). Carefully lower the jars into the boiling water. You can stack them one on top of the other if need be.
- Process for ten minutes in the boiling water. When time is up, remove the jars from the water and put them on a towel on the counter. They should begin to ping fairly quickly, indicated that they’re sealed. If any of your jars don’t seal, make sure to refrigerate them.
I introduced my Wife to PYO last year with Raspberries and she loved it, although maybe a bit sick from eating more than she put in her basket.
I’ve not thought of using vanilla in strawberry jam But will be trying it later this year.
Great site will be taking a look at other tips i can get 🙂
I just finished experimenting with using this as my first jam recipe ever! I tasted the foam and it seemed more like strawberry lemonade instead of strawberry vanilla. Is this okay? I would have figured it would be less lemony. I haven’t made labels so not afraid to call them strawberry lemonade jam if this is the case.
It could be that your berries weren’t as sweet as mine. You should be able to taste the lemon, but it shouldn’t be crazily prominent.
This looks great… I have a question about the amount of sugar, though. In your recipe narrative, you said you used two cups of sugar (while macerating the strawberries) and then added five more cups later. But in the recipe at the bottom of the post, you list five cups of sugar and say that it “includes any sugar you added during the maceration step”. So is it a total of seven cups or a total of five? I just don’t want to end up with to little sugar, but don’t want to add more if I don’t need to. My berries are macerating now :). Just want to make sure I get things right. Thanks for the recipe… can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I made this tonight. It’s amazing. Way too much sugar though. I doubled the amount of berries (20 cups of berries), but used only five cups of sugar. it’s plenty sweet (my berries were picked in NJ and already were like candy!). I also used Pamona’s Pectin instead of the liquid so I could cut the sugar. The vanilla bean adds a nice flavor dimension. Thanks!
Just made my first batch of Strawberry-Vanilla Jam *ever*! Was so excited to hear all my jars ping!
Hi Marissa,
I made this Jam last year and it ended up really runny. I love the flavor and want to make it again but was wondering if you have any tips to thicken it up? Thanks for being an inspiration!!
Hi Erin. I wrote a blog post on just that topic awhile back. Here’s the link: https://foodinjars.com.s164546.gridserver.com/arugulapesto/2010/07/canning-101-how-to-ensure-that-your-jam-sets/
Hi Marissa,
My strawberries are macerating as I type. I was reading the comment about the runny jam. How can I make mine not so runny? Do I add more sugar?
Cathie, I know I’m too late to help, but the best insurance against runny jam is to keep checking the set by monitoring the temperature of the jam and observing the droplets as they fall off a spoon. Adding more sugar won’t do it.
When I saw this recipe, I was intrigued because usually jams and jellies have almost double the volume of sugar to fruit, which I find unattractive. It’s amazing that you’re able to reverse the amounts here and still come out with an amazing product. Mine turned a brilliant ruby red and is absolutely delicious. I even saved the skimmed foam and am using that. Thank you so much for making this awesome recipe available to the public! P.S. You pushed me to try something new: I’ve never used the liquid pectin (Certo, in my case) before.
I just can’t stop making this stuff! The vanilla gives it such a subtle oomph!
I used this recipe as the base for a batch of jam this weekend. I skipped the vanilla, substituted limes for lemons (juice from 3 limes, zest from 4.) It was a little more sour than I wanted, so I added an extra cup of sugar. I’m really pleased with the way it turned out! The strawberry flavor is strongest at the beginning, but the lime hits you on the backswing and builds bite after bite. I forgot to skim off the foam, so my jam has some pink frothy spots. Oh well, I’ll remember next time! I have enough strawberries for another batch of jam, and I think I’ll do the vanilla next.
Your blog has so much inspiration material! Thank you!
Thanks so much, Christine!
I run a B&B here on the Eastern Mediterranean Island of Cyprus and have been making my own conserves for a good number of years. People just love the idea of their food being made from home grown produce. I have never used pectin or preserving sugar and have mixed other fruits in as well as vanilla, extract in my case as i can’t find the real thing here, and find that if you use the correct amount of sugar and cook for long enough you get a great consistency of jams/marmalades. My advice is don’t panic just go with the best recipe you can find, a matter of trial and error, and you can even use the errors…mix with yoghurt, add to fruit pies , crumbles…..ooooh endless delicious possibilities.
I have a question. I’m making strawberry jam later this month, but I don’t have any special equipment (about to start law school = no money to buy equipment :(). I making it with my cousin, and we decided that we’d just make enough for ourselves and maybe our families and that we wouldn’t preserve it. Someone suggested we just put it in cleaned mason jars and use it up in about a week. Is that doable? Is it okay to not sterilize/preserve so long as we eat it before it goes moldy? About how long would it be safe to eat? We like the idea of starting out simple without having to worry about the whole complicated preserving process.
Any tips would be much appreciated. We’re so excited about learning how to make jam, but feeling rather intimidated by the process. Thanks!
Rachel, if you’re making moderate amounts of jam, you can definitely skip the boiling water bath step and just refrigerate your full jars. It will last up to a month in the fridge like that.
Thanks so much!! I really appreciate it! Can’t wait to make it, and explore your blog more 🙂
You can also make freezer jam it will keep up to a year but its very very sweet
I have been making jams,preserves,and butters all summer from not so sellable produce from the grocery store. I was intreiged with using a vanilla bean in the masserating process…… so got me thinking of making some home made pure vanilla extract… long story short bought 5 bourbon vanilla beans to make a first attempt at vanilla extract and did a double batch of your strawberry jam. I didn’t use the lemon and only used 4 cups of sugar, and 2 pouches of liquid pectin…. made 2 half pints and 6 pints with the last pint only 3/4 the way full…. Just pulled them out of the water bath…My BF tells me that I have bottled perfection….. (was hoping that there would be a smig left in the pan to go on an english muffin but alas it wasn’t the case). Hats off to you and your fab recipe.
I love your site. You are truly an inspiration. I found it looking for a “how to” on homemade butter. I’d never considered canning before and I’ve since made the butter and all kinds of jams and pickles…even ketchup. Thanks for the motivation!
Thank you!
I was perusing google for Strawberry Jam recipes when I came on yours. I made some and then designed a printable. I didn’t know if you would like it for yourself or not but I thought I would give you the link…
http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2011/08/strawberry-jam-labels.html
Just wondering if you have any recipes {new to this site :)} that you could use splenda or a generic? Don’t get me wrong I LOVE sugar but it doesn’t love me. 🙁
Mandy, I don’t really do much with artificial sweeteners, they’re just not my thing. When I want to make a product that’s lower in sugar, I make a fruit butter instead of a jam. You cook it slowly for a long time, in order to remove the water and concentrate the natural sweetness. If you look at my recipe archive, you’ll find a whole section on fruit butters. My friend Shae did make a sugar-free jam recently using fruit juice as the sweetener. The post is here: http://hitchhikingtoheaven.com/2011/07/sugar-free-cherry-blueberry-jam-2.html
Thank you!!
Mandy – I use Pamona’s Pectin – you can use it for sugar free versions of jam (artificial, no sweeteners, honey, agave, you name it!) HTH
Use 3/4 splenda or equal for every 4 cups of berries I am a diabetic also so understand they also have the low sugar no sugar pectin you can use
Help! I made this recipe last year – loved the flavor, but the consistency was more sauce-like. Although, it was my first time canning, so I chalked it up to canning novice-ness. Anyway, made 4 batches this week, with about 18lbs of hard picked strawberries, and it still turned out really really runny. I remade about 4 pints of the jam thinking I might need to remake all 22 jars (ugh!). The pectin pkg says it could take up to 2 weeks, so I’ll compare them in a week or so. But, in the meantime, any thoughts? If I just recook it and make sure it hits 220* would that work to gel it up better?
Also, I used my copy of the recipe from last summer which says 7 cups of sugar (2 w/ the vanilla + 5 more during/at time of cooking).
So sorry that your jam was runny! I’ve found that the Certo brand liquid pectin just isn’t as good as it once was, which could be part of the problem. You can always substitute powdered pectin for a better set. Four tablespoons would do the trick.
I’m making some of this jam this weekend, and was going to go the powdered pectin route. Do you add powdered at the same time you’d add liquid?
It occurred to me to wonder in general, what dictates WHEN pectin is added to a jam? It seems like the timing would affect jam set. Some recipes include pectin from the start – even mixed in with the sugar (e.g., your blueberry jam recipe) – while with other recipes, you add pectin right at the end, then strictly time the jam before taking it off the stove (e.g., Ball canning recipes from the packets).
…um. Nevermind. I can totally use the ‘search’ bar on your blog to see that you have already answered that question in detail. >_>
So glad you found the answer you were looking for!
Hi Marisa,
We just moved to China from the US and I have no idea where to get pectin here. Could you please suggest a few substitutes for store bought pectin? I am dying to make some jam. I did try some small batches (don’t know where to buy cans either) of mango pineapple jam (using lemon) and that turned out really good but I did see someone mention in the comments that the lemon killed the flavour of the strawberries. The berries here in Shanghai aren’t super sweet, so I fear the lemon might not do much good 🙁
Thanks,
Veena.
Veena, there’s really nothing that can substitute for pectin. You could try making smaller batches. I wouldn’t suggest skipping the lemons, because their juice actually adds pectin.
Nutiva organic Chia Seed. It works great. You can find recipes on the net. I made both strawberry and blue berry. Was great and not overly sweet.
Just finished making the strawberry jam and realized I only added one package of pectin instead of two. What difference will it make?
It will be runnier. Still edible and totally delicious, but it will probably have a consistency closer to pancake syrup.
Thanks! Im sure it will be just as delicious on pancakes.
Hi there! I have the strawberries, sugar, and vanilla sitting in the fridge, just waiting to be made into delicious jam. 🙂
Quick question, though–is it 5 cups sugar total, or 2 cups overnight + 5 additional cups? The directions were a bit unclear to me.
Thank you, as always!
Taryn, it’s five cups total. The sugar you added during the maceration time counts towards the final amount of sugar. My apologies that the directions were unclear.
Thank you for clarifying, Marisa! I’m excited to make the jam this evening.
I was actually planning on going strawberry picking tomorrow with my family. Can’t wait to come home and make this jam!!
Is there anyway to tell if the jar is sealed other than the pinging? I heard 2 or 3 pings but don’t know for sue which ones were the culprit:) Also what would be the reason for them not sealing if I followed the directions?
Usually the next day, I take the rings off and lift the jar up (just an inch off the table) by just the lid to make sure its sealed.
I will let you know how it turns out.
Any reason why I couldn’t use Vanilla Paste instead of beans? Just bought a gallon bucket of Strawberries and am anxious to try this recipe.
Kathy, you could certainly give it a try. These recipes are written as I made them, but they are certainly open to interpretation.
Hi Marisa,
I made this jam last night. It looks delectable! But unfortunately, I woke up this morning and it wasn’t set to the right “jammy” consistency. I normally don’t use pectin in my recipes; I’m more accustomed to the slow-cook method, but this recipe looked so good that I had to give it a try. I followed the directions perfectly and it didn’t turn out…Do you still have to do the gel test when using pectin? Is there any way I can save my already jarred jam? Can I just take it out of the jars and re-cook it?
Thanks!
Kristin
Kristin, this is a fairly loosely set jam. However, if you are unhappy with the consistency, you can take it out of the jars and recook it. Even when you work with pectin, you’ve got to check the set. Remember, set depends on the amount of moisture in the fruit, the weather an even the variety of pectin you use.
Thank you for your quick reply! I’ll give that a try!
This will be the first jam I try and make! (Yah, I’m excited!) But I’m wondering, is there a way to see if the jam has been cooked long enough to set? Is there a certain temperature or I read something about a freezer plate test in another recipe?
Any tips to avoid failure would be great! 🙂
Kristen, if you have a candy thermometer, you can use it to cook the jam up to 220 degrees (that’s the point at which sugar sets). The plate test involves putting a few small plates or saucers into the freezer before you start to cook the jam. Then, when it feels like it’s getting close to done, pull one of the cold plates out and drop a small dollop of jam on it. Put it back in the freezer for a minute or two. When you pull it out again, gently bump your finger against the jam. If it’s done, it will have formed a thin skin which will wrinkle when nudged. If it wrinkles, it’s done. If it’s not done, it will just be runny strawberry syrup. Cook it longer in that case.
Thanks so much!
I halved the recipe, and I have a little more than two pints in the water bath right now. So excited to try this when it’s finished!
I’m planning on making several variations on this jam in the very near future–strawberries are coming in here in East TN. However, I have a question: how much Pomona’s pectin would I use to substitute for the liquid pectin?
Kat, I don’t really use Pomona’s pectin, so I can’t advise you on its use. I’d recommend checking out either Put ‘Em Up or Canning for a New Generation.
I know this is an older post, but I just got around to really reading it. i plan on making some of this jam as soon as berries come in. I just received my vanilla beans in the mail.
Anyway, you mentioned putting a towel in the bottom of the boiling water bath. I’ve never heard of this before. Have you done it? I have a bit of a safety concern. I just want to make sure this is safe. I don’t have a rack for my pot.
Brandee, if you don’t have a rack to put at the bottom of your canning pot, a towel is an acceptable substitute. I’ve done it before to no ill effects. The one thing to know is that when there are no jars in the pot, the towel will float. However, as you start to put the jars it, they anchor it down and keep it in place.
strawberry season is just beginning, and I am making this today!
Just wanted to let you know I tried your recipe… it was AMAZING!
You are a canning genius! Thanks for all of your creations!
You can check out the shout out here:
http://clearlyclaireblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-first-jam-fest-strawberry-jam.html
I have never followed a blog before either but I came across yours when I was looking for some good pickling recipes and now jam. I’m loving your blog even more now!
Hello! I have never followed a blog in my life ~ I fell in love with yours instantly. I intend to begin canning again after parting from it for nearly 15 years. The strawberry jam is beautiful! Best regards, Kimberly
Hi Marisa, I found your canning blog several days ago and I’ve been making my way through all your entries and bookmarking several recipes to try out! I actually just got a water bath canning pot yesterday and made my first batch of strawberry jam this afternoon. It turned out really delicious, but when I processed the jars in the water bath, all the berries rose to the top of the jam. I seem to recall reading the reason for that somewhere on this blog, but of course I went searching and couldn’t find it! Could you tell me what causes this? It seems to have set just fine, it isn’t runny or syrupy, but it would be more aesthetically pleasing if the berries were evenly dispersed throughout 🙂 Any tips?
Just made this jam this afternoon and it was my first time canning. Your recipe did a great job of taking the intimidation out of the canning process. I did struggle with the jam’s consistency and don’t have the nerve to see if I have jam or strawberry sauce in my jars. What is more important – staying true to the recipe or boiling the sauce until it is the right consistency? I ended up boiling for about 20 minutes and then stopped, as I was worried that I was negating all that the pectin was put in there to do. I only ended up with 9 jars but it could be because of my longer boiling. They did not ping right away but I think that all of them did eventually. Thanks for helping me get up the nerve to try this recipe!
Just wanted to say thank you for the recipe.. We made the jam this morning. We did not wait very long to taste it, didn’t have to it set right away and lids popped in seconds. The Strawberry vanilla smell in my house is to die for.. I like that it used half the sugar that the commercial pectin recipes were calling for. I cannot imagine any more sugar. Thanks again. I will be passing this recipe around a lot and credit will be all yours! Have you ever made jam with honey? We are beekeepers and like to use honey when we can. I would love your input. Thanks in advance.
help!! i made this yesterday (my first time to make jam). i thought i did everything right, but it’s been almost 24 hrs and the jam isn’t set! what did i do wrong??? thanks for your help!!
Hi. I am new to making jam and made my first batch following this recipe today! I am worried I did something wrong though. The cans pinged, but it still looks a little runny in the jars. Does that mean it didn’t “set”? Also, the strawberries seem to be migrating to the top and leaving more liquid at the bottom. Any thoughts on what I may have done wrong? I am going to try again.
I made this jam this weekend..turned out good but found the lemon killed the flavors…
Wow, I’m sorry to hear that you felt that the lemon killed the flavor. The thing I find with jam making is that every batch is a little bit different, so even with the best recipe (and I’m not saying that mine is the best), there’s always a little flavor variation. The strawberries I used in my jam were really, really flavorful and sweet, so the lemon worked nicely to tame the sweetness without dampening the natural flavor. However, the mileage does vary, which you’ve discovered.
YUMMY! I just got a canning pot for my birthday, and I am going to try this out!
can i use lemon juice instead of lemons and if so how much juice do i use?
Thank you for a fantastic recipe! This was my first time making strawberry jam and it has turned great. I’m so glad I didn’t use the box recipe. Your recipe is definitely going to be one of our standards. I did add a half teaspoon of butter which significantly reduced the foaming. I was a little uncertain about adding two packets of pectin, but it my jam set was perfect (I used Certo brand). The only thing was that my yield was lower-9 and 1/2 jars (8oz.) per batch instead of 14 jars. Tomorrow morning we are making our third and last batch of the season! My husband and I are now planning for more canning sessions – apricot, peaches, maybe nectarines, and pickles (sweet and dill), and whatever else inspires us. I’m glad I found your site!
Nicki, I don’t have a box of pectin in front of me, so I’m not sure. It is the contents of one box of liquid pectin, each box contains two packets of pectin.
you mention 2 packets of liquid pectin…is that the 170 ml package??
I made it! I couldn’t find a pick your own, but I found an Amish produce stand that had home grown berries. They were amazing and in no way compare to the store bought berries. I halved the recipe and used a lime instead of a lemon. The lime did change the taste but not drastically or in a bad way. 🙂 It was fabulous-and the color was amazing. Deep ruby red. The whole process reminded me of when I was a little girl and I would go pick strawberries with my grandmother and then freeze or jam them. Thanks for the reminder! 🙂
stunning!
Ooh, I would love to taste that jam. I made apple butter last year, my first adventure in canning, and I’m determined to make berry jams this year. The vanilla bean and strawberry combo sounds fantastic.
Carly, isn’t apple butter wonderful! I make a couple of batches each fall.
Mmmm, those jars look beautiful. I love berry picking – must make it a point to do that this summer.
Tina, we’re coming to the end of strawberry season, but there are still blueberries and blackberries to be had!
So beautiful! I have actually taken your idea and have been eating some strawberry rhubarb jam from last year in plain yogurt. Very tasty. And great idea about letting the berries macerate with the vanilla bean.
Tara, I’m so glad to hear you’ve been enjoying jam in yogurt. It’s one of my favorite things!
I am pretty sure I’m not going to get to making my own jam before the end of strawberry season, but it looks terrific and I’d love to win a jar!
Karen, get yourself out to pick up some strawberries and just make a small batch!