How To Make Strawberry Jam: Simple Method Creates a Sweet and Tart Spread in Under an Hour

Smoothing some melted butter and strawberry jam over the nooks and crannies of an English muffin is one of life’s simple pleasures, but there’s a way to make it even more enjoyable. Instead of reaching for a jar of Smucker’s to top your toast, you can easily make your own jam using fresh strawberries. All it takes is four ingredients to whip up a batch of jam in under an hour — no sterilizing needed. Keep reading to find out how to make this sweet and easy strawberry jam

What to do with leftover strawberries

Like many of us, strawberries love when the weather is nice and warm, but not too hot. So take advantage of the timing and buy a big container of freshly picked strawberries. You’ll definitely want to eat a bunch on their own right out of the basket, or throw some on yogurt or in a fruit salad, but with any extra we recommend you try making homemade strawberry jam. 

The step you can skip when making 4-ingredient strawberry jam

What makes four-ingredient strawberry unique is that you don’t have to go through the trouble of sterilizing mason jars because it’s not going to be kept at room temperature where it’s easier for mold to grow, compared to the fridge. Anyone who’s ever done that knows it can be a dicey juggling act carefully removing the jars from a pot of boiling water (ouch!). So, use cleans jars like Ball 140th Anniversary Keepsake Jars or another airtight container to prepare the jam without hassle. (Also, check out this guide on how to pickle cucumbers in the fridge as it doesn’t require sterilizing either.)

How to make strawberry jam in less than an hour

Making jam from scratch is a simple way to prepare the fruit so it tastes great and lasts — and it doesn’t get much easier than this recipe from the Scrambled Chefs food blog. This recipe will make about two to three cups of jam, so feel free to double or triple the amount of ingredients. That way you’ll never run out of strawberry jam to spread on toast with butter or on top of oatmeal! (Bonus: For more preserving tips and ideas, check out the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving 38th Edition recipe book.)

4-Ingredient Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. strawberries, cut into ½-inch thick pieces
• 3 cups sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. lemon zest

Directions:

• Active: 15 mins
• Total time: 50 mins
• Yield: 2 to 3 cups

1. First, soak strawberries with salt and enough water to cover fruit 10 minutes. This step cleans strawberries so that any harmful pesticides left on skin won’t get into jam. Afterwards, rinse berries in colander to get rid of salt water.
2. Place the berries in large pot with sugar, lemon zest and juice. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook 15 minutes while stirring it occasionally. 
3. Next, insert candy thermometer into mixture and make sure temperature reaches 220°F, which will allow it to set into thick jam consistency. Remove pot from heat and let it fully cool down about 30 minutes.
4. This jam will last up to 3 weeks in fridge in an airtight vessel.
5. Note: To store it in the freezer for up to six months, scoop one cup of the jam into individual Ziplock plastic bags and seal it tight.

Keep reading for more ways to enjoy your favorite fruit!

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