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Jam-making may be the easiest way to preserve. Other than the fruit, all you need are two ingredients. Yes, there’s sugar, which is one of the most important ingredients in jam. Eaten as a treat on plain yogurt, a slice of good bread, or oatmeal, you only need a small amount to go a long way.
Note: This French-style jam, using the Christine Ferber method, is not thickened with powdered pectin and will result in a thinner consistency preserve.
Food safety tip: This recipe may not be approved by the USDA. To prevent the risk of botulism, always check with the USDA Canning Guide.
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How to Make French-Style Strawberry Jam
Equipment
- 5 jam jars
Ingredients
- 3 lb fresh or frozen strawberries hulled and washed
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottomed kettle, combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a rolling boil on the stove. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid from the strawberries. Return the liquid to the heat and gently boil until the liquid reaches 221°F. Add in reserved strawberries and continue to boil for 5 minutes.3 lb fresh or frozen strawberries, 3 cups granulated sugar, 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Prepare boiling water in a large pot for canning.
- Remove the foam from the strawberries. Remove from heat and mash or blend strawberries to desired consistency. This French-style jam is not thickened with powdered pectin and will result in a thinner consistency preserve.
- Pour in sterilized jars leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe off the rim of the jar with hot water.
- Prepare lids to the manufacturer's instructions on the package and place them on each jar with a ring, turned finger tight.
- Boil in a water bath for 10 minutes, making sure to adjust for your location's altitude.
- Remove from the water bath and cool at room temperature for 24 hours. Make sure the jars are sealed. When you press down on the center, there should be no flex.
Love watching your videos. Just watched the strawberry jam video. I wrote down the recipe, then discovered you have the recipe on line. Please continue to make these videos. It came at a very difficult time in my life. I’ve just lost my job and feeling really depressed with little motivation to do anything. Started scrolling on FB and saw your video….now I’m off to make some jam. Have never made it before, so should be fun. Thank you for being an inspiration. Just love you.
Well Hello! 😂😉,
I was just wondering and as a long time supporter.. you mentioned while canning strawberries that you were thinking about maybe zoom classes on cooking, canning.. etc. . What do you think.. already ( tho I have been fateful) some have asked or even left your support group..😢. If you did a limited zoom of course you couldn’t just always include your support group.. would you stop it or ?? I appreciate all that you give to us.. I’m afraid as it is now.. they may feel paying both.. isn’t? I love the idea of a zoom class! Just 🙏 even if I cannot be selected for all of course.. somehow I could access the post?
Again praying for both you and Mr. Kip ❤️. 🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️
Love you 😍
Love all of your videos. Great and easy instructions. Thank you.
I made this today, praying mine turns out as good as yours.
So very helpful
Thanks for this – so fun! Wondering where you bought the flat canning insert to keep the jars off the bottom of the pan?
I used 3 pounds of fruit but only got 4 cups of jam. Did I do something wrong?
Thank you for the great video. I’ve been itching to make strawberry jam for awhile. Thanks to this great video I feel ready to tackle it.
Why no pectin in the recipe?
Fruit has pectin in it naturally. You can add store bought pectin to speed up the cooking process but it’s not necessary.
Making this for the first time. Can I refrigerate and skip the canning process? We will eat pretty fast.
Hi does anyone remember a video he had making jam or when he picked blackberries, he said that he soaked his berries in salt water to draw out an little tiny bugs. What is the salt to water ratio?
Hi Kaleb. I love your shows and recipes. They are great. I had a problem with the canned strawberry jam setting. I followed your directions exactly and the result was very liquidy. Good for topping ice cream but not so good for toast. I did a second batch and kept the strawberry jam at a rolling boil for about 8 minutes. This was soft set but still not really jelled. I noticed that the cooking directions for canned blueberry jam calls for keeping the rolling boil going for 12minutes. I haven’t tried the blueberry recipe but I am wondering if the cooking directions for the strawberry should be a 12 minute boil also? Can you get back to me bbn on this? Strawberries are
expensive. I want my jam to set! Thanks very much!
Hello!! Sorry the jam isn’t turning out well. This jam does not use packaged pectin (like the sure-jel brand) and instead uses the fruit syrup cooked to 221 degrees F which is the key to thicken. This is a French method for making jam but will never be the same consistency as a more solid sure-jel type from packaged pectin. The cooking time once the fruit is added back of 5 minutes after at a rolling boil is the time I use. Strawberries break down quickly and with too much cooking can lose flavor. Cooking them longer can condense the liquid more but will lose flavor. I tried to explain in the video the consistency. In the jar this jam will be thinner than ones with pectin added but I have always found it spreads also. I am sure you checked the consistency by dipping some of the jam on a frozen plate while cooking. As the hot jam hits the cold plate it will show the consistency once cooled down. Hope this helps!
How long should it take for the strawberry jam to gel? It’s only been a couple of hours since I made mine but it is still very watery inside the jars.
Thank you in advance for your help. I have another 10lbs of strawberries to go but I don’t want it all to be for nothing.
Colleen
Can I substitute frozen raspberries for the strawberries in this jam recipe
what are reserved strawberries
Canned in the past, retired now and needed a refresher. Thanks, Peggy
I just made the Strawberry Jam, it turned out GREAT! Thanks!
Kaleb, I would very much like to make habanero Strawberry jam, the fields by me are advertising picking time now, but I want the sweet heat, have you ever done this,? and if so would you cook the peppers longer or the same amount of time as the strawberry’s this would be a first, but absolutely love they idea of giving as homemade gifts this year.
I’m not sure what happened, but mine is more like sauce than jam. I followed your instructions exactly. I used fresh berries instead of frozen.
Hello! Jam can be a different texture for each preference and this jam has no added pectin. As described, the resulting jam is a texture of a preserve that is different than many store-bought jams. Fresh or frozen berries should have no difference in the resulting jam but the jam will be more spread-like.
Can bottled lemon juice made from concentrate be substituted for fresh lemon just?
I made this exactly as instructed. It is no thicker than a syrup and has an over powering lemon flavor. I wasted my time and resources. I hope to prevent others from doing the same.
Hi Andrea!
Sorry your outcome on the jam was not what you expected. The jam is a preserve based on french jam techniques that bring the mixture to correct temperature so the sugars will slightly thicken. It does sound like you did everything right, making sure it is at the correct temperature is key. This is not a powdered pectin jam that results in typical store-purchased consistencies. The benefit of this method is the pure flavor and less sugar needed.
No, it was the best I loved it!
Perfect recipe and very easy! I’ve tried others but none compare! Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
I did exactly how you said it, and it came out perfect. The consistency was not that gloppy mess of jams or preserves. It had the consistency between a butter and preserves beautifully smooth, and the sweetness was just enough. The berries shine through. I like this method the best!😋
This is the only preserves recipe I use! I love it!