4-ingredient Strawberry Jam

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Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/Nut-Free/Vegan

Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Yield: About 4 half-pint jars (around 4 cups of jam)

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Colander

• Paring knife

• Kitchen scale

• Large saucepan or stockpot

• Wooden spoon

• Candy thermometer

• Ladle

• 4 half-pint mason jars or covered container(s)

• Canning funnel (optional, but handy)

• Spill-proof mason jar lids (optional, but handy)

• 2 small plates

The Recipe:

This recipe is adapted from a recipe by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and cut in half (or fourths if you are working with larger berries-see tips section for notes on hulling)

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 6 tablespoons bottled lemon juice (do not use freshly squeezed or the jam might not set up the way it's supposed to)

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Procedure:

1. Put two small plates in the freezer to chill while you make the jam.

2. In a large saucepan or stockpot, mash strawberries with a potato masher until they are mostly broken down and very juicy.

3. Stir in sugar, lemon juice and salt.

4. Set pan over medium-high heat and allow to come to a boil, stirring often.

5. Set up a candy thermometer in the mixture and continue to boil, stirring frequently and adjusting heat as needed, until it has thickened and the thermometer reads between 217 and 220 degrees Fahrenheit. This will take some time, so a little patience is necessary, but don't give up! When my jam got to the correct consistency, I saw and felt a very noticeable change in how it felt when I stirred it.

6. Remove one plate from the freezer and put about a teaspoon of jam on the chilled plate. Put the plate back in the freezer for 2 minutes. Drag one finger through the jam on the plate. If your jam is the right consistency, your finger will leave a clean trail (see photo in tips). If it is still runny, return the pot to the heat and simmer for 1 to 3 minutes before testing again.

7. Place your jars or container in the sink and run under hot water until the jars are heated through (this helps ensure that the jars will not crack when you place the very hot jam in them).

8. Using a funnel and ladle, divide your jam into the prepared jars or container. Allow to cool to room temperature before covering and refrigerating. The jam will take 12 to 24 hours to completely set. Jam can be refrigerated for about 2 months.

To Serve: My kids love this jam on toast, as a waffle topping, in a PB & J, on top of ice cream...you name it, we've probably jammed it :)

Tips:

• When hulling strawberries, use a paring knife to get the most out of your berry. Insert the tip of the knife at a 45 degree angle on the edge of the line where the berry turns from red to white (see photo below). Keep your knife steady and turn the berry in a circle with your other hand, then pop out the hull when you have completed the circle. Waste not, want not :)

• I think this recipe is much easier with the aid of a thermometer so you can really see where you're at. If you have an instant-read thermometer that doesn't clip onto your pan you could definitely use that too! I just like the ease of having the thermometer right there where I can see it the whole time. My temperature stalled out at about 210 degrees for a while; don't be afraid to inch the heat up a bit if this happens to you, too. Just make sure you are stirring frequently.

• As you may have noticed, I am a bit of a purist and generally prefer to use fresh citrus juice in recipes EXCEPT when making jam. With fresh lemons, the level of acidity will vary from fruit to fruit and you don't know exactly what you're getting. The acidity of bottled lemon juice is actually regulated, so you can rest assured that you are getting the correct level of acidity. The level of acidity will affect the pectin (a soluble, gelatinous polysaccharide found in ripe fruits) in the fruit and it's ability to gel, so these are important science-y facts, not just fun ones.

• The freezer test is an easy way to make sure your jam is going to set up properly. Here are a couple of photos if the directions in the recipe were confusing at all for you:

• If you don't have a wider-mouthed funnel suitable for this job, you can definitely fill jars without one, it will just be a little messier. You could also try fashioning one from a piece of parchment paper if you have some novice-level origami skills (I'm not being a jerk; I actually think this could work).

• I have also made blueberry jam using this same method, and it was delicious! I only made 2 half-pint jars since I hadn't picked quite as many blueberries as I did strawberries. I used 1 pound of blueberries and did not mash the blueberries before bringing them to a boil along with 3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice, 1 cup of sugar, and a pinch of salt. The cooking time was not nearly as long; probably only 10-15 minutes.

The Story:

As I mentioned in my last post, the kids and I do an annual trip to a strawberry patch with my mom to pick fresh berries every June. It's a really fun tradition that my kids look forward to each summer. This year we were blessed with an overcast and somewhat cool day, which contributed to us picking a whopping 15 pounds!

My kids adore jam on...everything. So, jam is usually our first stop on the recipe train after we pick. Last year we ripped through our jam way too fast, so I doubled our efforts this year and made 4 jars instead of just 2. I've tried some lower sugar recipes in the past but haven't ever been overly happy with the taste and consistency, so now I've resigned to believing that sometimes you just have to say oh, well and realize this is a once-a-year treat and go for the full-sugar recipe.

I got into water-bath canning for a hot second a while back, but honestly with how fast my kids go through jam it just makes more sense to make this type that you can't store in the pantry for a year, because well...ours would never make it a year anyways.

You got a science lesson in the tips, so time for some fun facts! Did you know that...

• Strawberries contain more Vitamin C than an orange

• Strawberries are not considered true berries, because their seeds on the outside

• The average strawberry has 200 seeds

• The strawberry is 91% water, which is pretty close to a watermelon (92%)

• 1 billion pounds of strawberries are produced each year in California alone

• The strawberry plant is a perennial, which means it comes back every year (my parents actually have a ton of wild strawberries that grow all over their farm every year; they grow teeny tiny little berries that my kids love to hunt and eat)

• Strawberries contain high levels of nitrate, which has been found to increase blood and oxygen flow to the muscles (so if you pound some strawberries before you work out, you might have greater endurance and burn more calories!)

Happy tasting!