Once you taste this easy recipe for classic strawberry jam, you won’t want the store bought jams anymore. I think this jam is one of the tastiest and easiest you will ever make. It has only 4 ingredients, no pectin or canning involved.
I am a sucker for fresh strawberries. When they are fully red, ripe, and juicy, I want to put them in everything from salads to barbecue sauce.
The only one who may love strawberries more is my sweet little great-nephew. I love cooking for him – all of his favorite foods. He is my biggest critic and also my biggest cheerleader. When he came to visit, I made him this easy recipe for strawberry jam but used lime juice instead of lemon juice. He was less than thrilled and thought the lime taste was too strong.
When I tasted a batch of the jam with lime alongside a batch with lemon, I knew he was right. The lime, for my tastes (and his too), is too strong of a flavor against the sweetness of the strawberry. Out of the mouths of babes, right?
For this classic strawberry jam, each ingredient plays an important part. The berries are obvious. The sugar and lemon juice help to preserve the fruit and allow it to keep in your refrigerator for about a month. The lemon also adds a brightness to the flavor. The vanilla rounds out the flavors, marries them together, and enhances the flavor of the berries.
This easy recipe will become your new ‘go-to’ jam recipe. It has 4 ingredients, no pectin, and doesn’t require canning.
The steps are just slicing the berries; mixing berries with sugar; boiling both until it becomes thick and syrupy; then finally stirring in the lemon juice and vanilla.
This jam is thinner in consistency than store bought jam or jam made with pectin. It should look like a thicker syrup.
The best part of this easy recipe is that it is easily scalable to meet the amount of berries you have on hand. The rule of thumb is that for each cup of sliced berries you add:
If you enjoyed this recipe, take a look at a few other breakfast recipes:
This easy recipe for a fresh strawberry jam could not be quicker or tastier. Fresh berries, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla are all that’s needed for this delicious jam. No pectin or canning required!
To prevent mold and to lengthen the shelf life of your jam, be sure to sterilize the jars and the lids in boiling water. Place them upside down onto a clean kitchen towel. Be sure not to touch the inside of the jar or the part of the lid that will touch the jam. Once you place the lid on the jar, turn it upside down for 10 minutes.
Need more help with picking the best strawberries? The Produce Guy has a quick and informative video. Check it out here: