Strawberry Jam – No Pectin, No Sure Jell

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This recipe yields 12 jelly jars (8 oz)

  • 1 Gallon fresh berries – caped, washed and chopped
  • 8 cups of sugar – divided
  • 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Real Butter
  • 12 sterile jars, rings and lids

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Place the jars in the oven, heat to 200°.  Cap, wash and chop berries.  Measure berries.  An average gallon yields 8 cups of chopped berries; this is important.  For every cup of berries, you will need one cup of sugar.  Add berries and 1/2 of the sugar to a stock pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Increase temperature to high.  Once it’s at a rolling boil, boil for 5 minutes, occasionally stirring.  Add remaining sugar, lemon juice and butter.   Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.  Be sure to stir it enough that it doesn’t stick.  Skim off any excess pink foam.  Boil lids, fill hot jars with the hot jam and wipe the tops with a clean sterile cloth.  Place the lids, put the rings on and tighten.  Water bath for 10 mins.

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Water Bathing Instructions:  While cooking the berries, I start my canner of water on high.  Jelly jars require 1-2 inches of water over the jars.  If placed carefully you can get 12 jars in the canner.  Once the jars are ready and placed in there, I put a lid on the canner and bring it to a boil.  Once boiling, I boil for 10 mins.  Remove jars, cover with a towel and cool over night.  Don’t be surprised if your jars start sealing as soon as you take them out of the canner.

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3 thoughts on “Strawberry Jam – No Pectin, No Sure Jell

  1. Josie July 20, 2016 at 12:07 am Reply

    Hello, I found your website and love your ideas and recipes. I will definitely be making and canning some of them. I always make stawberry, blackberry, blueberry jam, every year but have always use the pectin. Could you explain to me how yours doesn’t have pectin in it? I want to try it the way you do just a little nervous spending the money on fruit and it not turning out? Does the butter have anything to do with it? My grandmother taught me how to can the things like jam and she always taught me to put a little butter in when I’m boiling the strawberries. But again she always told me to use pectin or I would ruin the jam . Lol. Anyways I’m just interested??? Thank you.

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    • Preserving the Good Life July 20, 2016 at 2:43 pm Reply

      I’ve never used pectin. Pectin recipes call for more sugar than fruit. The key is cooking it the 10 mins after adding the 2ND batch of sugar and you’ll find that the jam will “set”. The lemon juice adds the acidity needed to preserve it.

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  2. Preserving the Good Life May 12, 2019 at 12:01 pm Reply

    Reblogged this on Preserving the Good Life and commented:

    Strawberry Season has begun!

    Like

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