Strawberry Jam
This recipe has been updated 4-26-2023.Â
It’s springtime in Texas, bluebonnets are blooming, farmers markets are plentiful with the bounty of local farmers, and the weather is just right. Vibrant yellows, reds and greens from tables stocked with fresh produce catch my eye every time I head into Stahlmans at Bear Creek, a farm stand just outside of New Braunfels, Texas. They source most of their fruits and veggies locally and have a steady supply of strawberries from strawberry farms in Poteet, Texas.
There are many local farms you can visit in central Texas and one of my favorite hill country road trips is to Fredericksburg. Lydells is a go to for me but there is also Jenschke and Marburger farm stands are amazing, especially when peach season kicks off in May. Visiting your local farmers market is also a great way to find strawberries in season and to support your local farming communities.
Farmers truly are some of the most wonderful people I have met in my life, they love the land and nurture wonderous bounty from our Texas soils. What better way to preserve this season of abundance than making strawberry jam, one of my absolute favorites and a recipe staple in my kitchen. Support local when you can!
The fun part is washing, cleaning, and chopping up your berries. I usually canning several flats at a time since I like to gift jars of jam throughout the year and, let’s be honest, my family would go nuts if we ever ran out. The flavor of fresh fruit straight from the farm is unparalleled and truly is the secret ingredient to why this jam comes out so gosh darn good. Strawberries are grown in sandy soil so if you get them fresh from the farm, it’s a good idea to have extra hands to help prep them for the jam pot. We want to make sure they are extra clean. No sandy jam over here folks. I will usually save the hulls, the top green part, as a special treat for my chickens but they make a great addition to the compost pile as well. So, grab a few friends and let’s get jamming!
The secret ingredient is using strawberries that are in season. This jam is wonderful on anything my favorite ways of using homemade jam are:
- a topping for fresh goat cheese on toasted sourdough bread.
- scooped on top of a piece of pound cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
- layered onto delicious Strawberry Shortbread Cookies.
- swirling into a Strawberry Jam Cookie (recipe coming soon!).
- whipped into cream cheese with vanilla bean paste for a strawberry cheesecake dip.
- layered on top of yogurt or cottage cheese.
Ingredients You Will Need
- 2 lbs. Strawberries, cleaned, hulled and chopped into quarters
- 4 cups Sugar
- Lemon juice from one lemon
- Pinch of salt
- Canning jars- This recipe can fill a dozen 4oz. jars
- Deep stock pot or saucepan
You can scale this recipe up or halve it as needed. Cooking times will need to be adjusted accordingly. If using frozen strawberries, this jam will need to cook for a longer time since the frozen berries will have extra liquid in them.
Let’s Make Jam!
I wash my fresh berries 2-3 times before hulling and chopping if I am getting them in season from a local farm. Place strawberries into a large bowl, fill with cold water covering the berries. Next, gently massage the berries to rid them of dirt, sand, and debris. Dump the water out and repeat until the water is clean and free of sand.
Once the berries are washed I tip them out onto a few dish towels to dry off before hulling and chopping the strawberries into quarters. I prefer to have some large chunks of strawberries in my jam but if you want a smoother consistency you can dice them more finely.
After cleaning and chopping all the strawberries, place them in a large bowl and add the sugar. You want to let the berries macerate in the sugar for at least an hour as this will help the berries release all their juices before cooking them down.
In a large saucepan add in your berries that have been marinating with the sugar. Add in a good pinch of salt, juice of one lemon, and slowly bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Make sure your pan is taller than you think you need. Cleaning boiled over strawberry jam is not fun and it will bubble up significantly as it cooks down. You will need to stick around the kitchen to stir the pot every now and then, but it will smell heavenly while it cooks.
When it reaches a boil bring the heat down to a gentle simmer. This can take up to an hour or so depending on how juicy the strawberries are. While your strawberries are cooking, you can prep your canning jars. Wash in hot soapy water and lay out the lids and jars on a dish rack or towel to dry.
You will notice the jam getting thicker and more syrup like after an hour so be sure your stove isn’t too hot; it can burn easily at this stage.  A simple way to check if your jam is done is to take a spoon, dip into mixture in pan and drop onto a clean plate. I look for a jam that has a domed drop when it hits the plate. You want it to be thick enough not to run off the plate. Take off heat and turn off your stove. See pic below.
At this point you want to ladle in the hot, caution VERY HOT, jam into clean mason jars, screw the lid on snug and flip them over. If you are using the jam for Strawberry Shortbread Cookies, or Strawberry Jam Cookies, set aside a half cup in a bowl. Let the jars cool on the counter. Once they are cooled, they are ready to be stored in your pantry to enjoy year-round.
If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok. New posts every Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!
Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Fresh Strawberries
- 4 cups Granulated Sugar
- pinch Salt
- 1 Lemon medium size.
Instructions
- Clean and thoroughly wash strawberries. Hull them and slice into quarters.
- Add chopped strawberries to a bowl with the 4 cups of sugar. Stir to combine.
- Allow strawberries to macerate for 1 hour.
- Place strawberry and sugar mixture into a tall stock pot with a good pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Heat over medium heat until it reaches a boil. Caution, it will be bubbly and frothy.
- Once it hits a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally until it thickens. This will take an hour or so.
- Check the jam to make sure it has reached the jam stage by placing a small dollop on a plate. If it is thick and not runny it is ready to poured into jars.
- Ladle hot jam into clean mason jars. I used a dozen 4 ounce mason jars but any size you prefer would do.
- Place the lids and bands on each jar screwed down snug but not too tight. Flip the jars over and allow to cool to room temperature undisturbed for several hours.
- Any jars that have not sealed after cooling can be placed in a boiling hot water bath for 5-10 minutes to try to reseal or you can store in fridge.
