Strawberry Jam

I’ve always found strawberry jam a bit tricky to make, usually it ends up too runny, and then if you reboil it, it ends up like concrete.  I would say that the best strawberry jam should be on the runny side…certainly not set solid.  However, homemade strawberry jam is, in my mind, far superior to supermarket offerings.  It’s also a good way to making use of gluts of strawberries, I freeze any spare strawberries and make jam towards the end of summer.

I’ve tried a few methods to get it to set over the years, but the most reliable for me is to add pectin powder.  This is available online, I’ve not seen it in the local supermarkets.  You could use “jam sugar” which is normal sugar with added pectin, and about three times the price of normal sugar, or Certo which is (liquid) apple pectin.  I’ve not had much success with Certo, and you seem to have to add a lot to the jam, which in my mind makes it more of a strawberry and apple jam, rather than strawberry jam.

Ingredients:

2 kg/4.4 lbs of strawberries (you can use frozen strawberries)

2 kg/4.4 lbs of normal white sugar

16 g/½ oz Pectin Powder (the amount will depend on the brand used – check the instructions)

Juice of 3 lemons

Equipment:

Jam pan (or large stock pan)

Food thermometerJam funnel (not essential but makes life easier)

Clean jam jars and lids.  I sterilise my jam jars twice, once with sterilising powder, and then via the dishwasher just before use.  Make sure the lids are clean as well.  You can buy lids cheaply online.

Instructions:

1.   Clean, hull and roughly chop the strawberries.

2.   Mix the pectin powder with the sugar in a large bowl.

3.   Combine all ingredients in a large jam pan (or pasta pot).

4.   Slowly heat, increasing the heat until you reach the setting point (104-105°C (219-221°F)).  It can take a while to reach this temperature.  Be vigilant that the jam does not burn on the base of the pan.

5.   Whilst heating, give the occasional stir and mash the fruit a bit (a stainless steel potato masher works).

6.   I tend to keep it at this temperature for about 5 minutes.

7.   Decant into sterilised jam jars.

Be careful, once at the setting point the jam may bubble and spit, and it will burn skin if it comes into contact.