How to make homemade strawberry jam from scratch- no pectin & just 3 simple ingredients! With instructions for canning, refrigerator, or freezer jam.

I know that homemade jam sounds complicated and overwhelming, but I promise you it is easy. Just follow the steps and you will have the most delicious, sweet, and flavorful result. It’s like an explosion of summer in your mouth!

What is the difference between jam, jelly, and preserves?
Sometimes the terms may seem interchangeable, but jelly is actually in its own category because it is made from fruit juice rather than whole fruit or puree. Because of this, jelly is clear.

Strawberry jam recipes — Image by RitaE from Pixabay

Jam and preserves are other categories. Technically preserves are a kind of jam. Jam is made with pureed fruit so it is not clear. It has more of an opaque appearance. And preserves will also have nice chunks of fruit in them.

Strawberry preserves are my favorite, so that is what I made for you today. It’s slightly quicker than regular jam because you don’t have to puree the fruit first. But if you prefer to do that, you totally can (use a blender, food processor, or food mill on the raw fruit, and then begin the cooking process).

A few secret ingredients make this basic strawberry jam from great to fabulous. The reality is the best strawberry jam!

Canning has become one of my favorite summertime hobbies. Few things feel as rewarding as opening a summery jar of preserved fruits or vegetables in the middle of winter, and for me, it is well worth the effort.

Basic homemade strawberry jam is already better than anything you can buy at the store, but this recipe has a few simple additions that make it shine above all other recipes I’ve tried.

Jam is essentially just fruit and sugar cooked until it’s nice and thick. No other ingredients are needed to produce a great tasting jam. However, I like to add two things to mine to really make it shine— vanilla bean or extract and balsamic vinegar.

Just a little of both make a big difference. Strawberry jam is no longer a minor supporting character. You’ll find yourself putting it on anything and everything, and you’ll even want to eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon.

Homemade Strawberry Jam will become the star of your breakfast table. You can easily prepare a quick breakfast with it. Butter and jam on toasted bread make the perfect on-the-go breakfast. And the recipe is so easy to make. You need only three ingredients.

Have you ever made your own jam? It is a great feeling! Seeing that you can make things way better than stores or restaurants will make you feel like a highly experienced chef. Believe me, you will feel proud of yourself when you finish pouring your jam in jars.

Before transferring your jam to jars, make sure that they are washed and dried well and have new lids. Otherwise, the surface of your jam might go bad soon.

Strawberry jam is my favorite jam and I love it spreading on a slice of bread with a piece of white cheese on top. They together balance their sweetness and salinity and make a great choice of breakfast.

The first most important rule of making delicious strawberry jam is choosing the berries. You must start with the freshest, ripest, juiciest, and most flavorful berries that you can find.

Wondering how to make strawberry jam? All you need to do is boil a few ingredients you probably already have! This easy, pectin-free, and lower in sugar homemade strawberry jam can also be sweetened naturally and is paleo and vegan.

Every year after going strawberry picking, we come home and I immediately get started making these amazing strawberry jam recipes. It’s so simple and is a great way to use up a few pounds of strawberries.

You can also use other types of berries or stone fruit but you’ll almost definitely have to increase the sweetener – especially for fruit that’s not too sweet, like raspberries or apricots.

But keep in mind that if you don’t use sweet and flavorful strawberries, your jam isn’t going to be very good. I’ve tried this recipe with frozen strawberries, which were lacking in both taste and sweetness, and the result was almost bitter.

For two pounds of strawberries, there’s only 1/4 cup of sweetener called for so you need to use naturally sweet strawberries or add more sweetener. Other recipes use 2 pounds of strawberries and up to FOUR cups of granulated sugar!

It makes me wonder if I’m crazy and I don’t know what strawberry jam is supposed to taste like. But I promise you, this is delicious! As long as you use sweet berries.

Questions about how to make strawberry jam?

Can I use another type of sweetener?

I don’t think the slightly caramel-like taste of coconut sugar would blend so nicely with the strawberries and lemon. Brown rice syrup (for a non-paleo version) would be great. I think dates or date syrup would be odd. And I, unfortunately, have no clue when it comes to low-carb sweeteners.

Can I use another type of juice / zest?

I think any citrus juice + zest would be great!

Can I use another type of fruit?

Another type of berry or stone fruit should work just fine. But you’ll likely need to increase the amount of sweetener quite a bit, unless you’re using something that’s really sweet, like peaches.

The Advantages Of Making Your Own Fruit Jam

First, the quality and freshness of the fruit. I’ve turned to make strawberry jam into an annual event. As soon as Louisiana strawberries arrive at the farmer’s market, I get to work.

Of course, you don’t have to use locally grown strawberries. You can use what’s available at your grocery store. You still have control over the quality.

Second, I know exactly what’s going into my fruit jam – strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and pectin. No preservatives or turnip-fillers here.

Third, the flavor just doesn’t compare. Put my strawberry jam recipe against the leading store-bought. It will blow the brand name out of the water.

After making your first batch of homemade strawberry jam, you’ll never buy store-bought again. It’s surprisingly easy and the flavor simply doesn’t compare.

Browse collection of strawberry jam recipes.