Homemade strawberry jam + free labels
Earlier today I shared my favorite homemade white bread and now I’m sharing my favorite homemade strawberry jam. I remember helping my grandma make this as a little girl and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. I only make it once a year because it is definitely a treat, but it brings back wonderful memories from my childhood when I helped my grandma in the kitchen. She always said I was the best “taste tester.” I was always happy to have that job! ;)
Homemade jam is actually really easy to make and SO much better than store bought jam. Give it a try. You will soon be hooked! It is so delicious!
Homemade strawberry jam + free labels
Ingredients:
- 2 pints (4 cups) fresh strawberries (washed and stems removed)
- 4 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 (1.75 ounce) package regular powdered fruit pectin-not instant
- 3/4 cup water
- 5 half-pint containers
Directions:
1. Cut strawberries into 4 and place in a blender with the lemon juice. Pulse the strawberries about 5-10 times. Note: You'll want to still see little pieces of strawberries.
2. Pour strawberries into a large bowl and then stir in sugar. Stir for about 2-3 minutes and then let sit for 15 minutes.
3. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in fruit pectin and boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
4. Pour mixture into the strawberries and then stir for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Next pour the jam into jars (leaving about 1/2 inch from the top) and place lids on. Let the jars sit on the counter for 24 hours so they can set. Store in the refrigerator for 3 weeks or place in the freezer for up to 1 year.
Recipe source: Fruit pectin package
If you do not have a blender, you can use a potato masher as well. I use my Blentec for everything! :) I have to say my strawberry huller is amazing too. It made prepping the strawberries that much easier!
Now enjoy a thick slice of homemade bread with butter and homemade strawberry jam. Invite your friends over too. They’ll be in heaven! SO so good! I think I’ll go make some more…
Free download
I also included some free jam labels for you guys! Double the batch and hand some out to your friends and family. Jam makes a great homemade gift around the holidays. To download these cute labels click HERE. Please note these are for personal use only. If you are pinning, please pin directly to this post and not the image
I printed the labels out on sticker paper and punched them out with my handy dandy scalloped punch. You could also just print them on card stock and attach the square tags with string to the top of the jar. :)
If you’re looking to use other fruits in your jam, I found this cool tool to help you figure out the measurements. Check it out here.
Enjoy!! :D
Have you made any jam this season?
Looking for more recipes with strawberries? Here’s a few I think you’ll love:
love the free labels thank you! I have’nt tried the jam recipe yet as I have rather put the cart before the horse…I already made strawberry jam with a recipe very similar to this one but without pectin and guess what ? I din’t think it has set properly and I boiled it for at least half an hour though they said 6 minutes!! So now I am checking out various recipes to see what I should do next time. Thanks for the recipe will now try find pectin to see if will give a better result Regards, Kiki
I love this! I have been searching for hours on Pinterest and online and I think this is the best one yet! I would like to freeze some jam….I am worried about the canning part of it. When you let it set for 24 hrs does that mean you can add the ring and then they should be good to freeze? I’m not sure if I need to do something else for them to be good to freeze?
Hi Megan! Once I fill the jars with the jam, I add the lid and the ring and then let it sit for 24 hours. Then I just pop it in the freezer and its all ready to go! :)
When do you add the lemon juice?
Hi Lacey! Add the lemon juice in the blender with the lemon juice! :)
Love this recipe, I’ve been using it for almost two years! It’s the only jam my family likes now, no more store bought for us!
Is the pectin you talk about like Sure Jel in the yellow box?
Yes, that is exactly it! :)
Love this site. Has a lot of great ideas!!!
This looks yummy! Sorry, new to jam making. Do I need to boil the jars and lids prior to making this recipe? or don’t need to for this recipe?
Since this is a freezer jam, you’d want everything very clean but they don’t have to be sterilized (boiled) because you aren’t putting it in a water bath after.
It wouldn’t hurt to boil them, you just don’t have to. :)
Thank you so much for responding! Appreciate it! Great, I’ll give it a try.
I made this recipe yesterday afternoon. The jam is setting up well. The seal did not deal properly. The seal pops. What did I do wrong? How can I fix it? Should I start over?
This recipe is for a refrigerator/freezer jam, and does not have the components for seals to set. Once your jam is cool, place in the freezer or fridge and you’ll be prepared for jam whenever you like. :)
Okay thanks!
Would it be ok to can this? I’ve canned apple jelly before and would like to try some jam as well!
You’ll need to bump up the lemon juice to 2 Tablespoons in order to can it, then I think it would be okay (but I haven’t tried).
Canning requires an exact amount of acid and pectin to be shelf stable, plus all the canning sanitation, to make sure it will be shelf stable. As-is, this recipe is great for freezer jam (putting it in the freezer for up to six months instead of canning). :)