It’s strawberry season and the best time for homemade strawberry jam! This low-sugar or no-sugar strawberry jam with pectin is easy to make and keeps the delicious flavor of summer strawberries in your life all year long.
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There’s nothing quite like ripe strawberries, their flavor holds distinct lifelong summer memories for me. The best way to eat strawberries is to pick them fresh right off the bush, but to keep the flavor all year long try your hand at making and canning strawberry jam!
Homemade strawberry jam has been popular for ages, and for good reason. It seems to capture the flavor of summer right in the jar with perfectly ripe strawberries.
Whether it’s spread on toast, stirred into yogurt, or in a PB&J sandwich, strawberry jam brings a bit of sunshine to your day every time you eat it.
Homemade Strawberry Jam
This is an easy strawberry jam recipe with a low-sugar or no-sugar option. With the perfect amount of spreadable chunkiness and healthier ingredients, making strawberry jam with pectin is the best way to get a perfect set.
I use Pomona’s Universal Pectin for my low-sugar jam recipes. It comes with 2 packets, the smaller one with calcium powder is to make the calcium solution with water. The larger packet has pectin powder that is for adding to the sugar while making this jam.
Ingredients
Strawberries: Fresh strawberries are a magical part of summer! Whether they’re fresh from your garden or from a U-pick, bought at a farmer’s market, or from a store. For homemade strawberry jam, fresh is best.
Calcium water: In the box of Pomona’s Pectin, the smaller packet is calcium powder for mixing with water. It makes more than what you need for this recipe, so refrigerate leftovers for later use.
Sugar: For low-sugar strawberry jam, I use organic sugar. To substitute, use honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar.
Apple juice: For no-sugar strawberry jam, use apple juice or other juice, or water.
Pomona’s Pectin: The larger Pomona’s Pectin packet in the box is the pectin for making the strawberry jam.
How to Make Strawberry Jam
First, prepare your boiling water canner for a water bath method. Put the canning rack at the bottom of a large pot and heat the jars in simmering water until it’s time to use them.
Wash the lids in warm soapy water and set aside until ready for use.
Then mix the calcium water as per Pamona’s Pectin instructions. If there is excess, store it in the fridge for another use (like this no-sugar blueberry jam).
Now it’s time to rinse the strawberries and remove their stems. However you want to remove them is fine, I keep it simple with a paring knife. Mash the strawberries in a large bowl, I find that a potato masher works well for this.
Measure 4 cups of the mashed strawberries and put them in a saucepan. Add the calcium water to the strawberries and mix well.
If you happen to have leftover mashed strawberries, I recommend putting them on top of ice cream or yogurt, or freezing them for later use.
Next, combine the sugar and pectin powder in a small bowl and mix it thoroughly.
Turn the stove on high heat and bring the strawberry mixture to a full boil. Then slowly add the sugar-pectin mixture, stirring constantly.
Continue to stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin as the jam comes back up to a full boil, then remove it from the heat.
To Make No-Sugar Strawberry Jam
- Replace the sugar with ¾ cup water or juice and bring it to a boil.
- Then, put it into a blender or food processor with the pectin powder and vent the lid.
- Blend for 1-2 minutes until all of the powder is dissolved.
- Add this mixture instead of the sugar-pectin mixture to the boiling strawberries.
Canning Strawberry Jam
The jars will be hot, so use a jar lifter to place them onto a wooden cutting board or kitchen towel. Use a funnel over the jars to ladle the hot jam into the prepared jars.
Leave about 1/4 inch of headspace and remove any air bubbles.
Wipe the rims of the jam jars and center a lid onto each jar and apply the band, adjusting to fingertip tight. Place the filled jars into the boiling water canner, making sure there is 1-2 inches of water covering the jars.
Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the pot lid, and let the jars sit inside for 5 minutes.
Use a jar lifter to remove the hot jars and let them cool for 12 to 24 hours. Check to make sure the lids are all sealed, they should not flex when you press the center.
Now enjoy summer fresh homemade strawberry jam all year long!
Strawberry Jam FAQs
Canning homemade strawberry jam doesn’t require lemon juice like most canning recipes do, because the strawberries have enough acidity on their own.
I have had the best results with Pomona’s Pectin for low-sugar and no-sugar jams.
Canning strawberry jam gives it a shelf-life of one to two years. Once opened, it will keep in the refrigerator for 6 months.
I think a potato masher works best, and gives the jam a really nice consistency. If you like the jam super smooth, you can blend it with an immersion blender or puree in a food processor.
Yes! If you have frozen strawberries without anything extra added, use them after thawing just as you would use fresh.
How to Use Homemade Strawberry Jam
In preparation for a year-round summer celebration with streaming sunshine, butterflies, and fresh-grown berries, can this homemade strawberry jam. You’ll feel a free summer feeling every time you eat it!
Enjoy strawberry jam on toast or English muffins, scones, stirred into yogurt, topped on thumbprint cookies, or on oatmeal. Personally, I like a sourdough baguette with chevre and strawberry jam. Paired with wine (or mead) it’s a happy hour treat!
The uses of homemade strawberry jam are truly endless, let’s not forget PB&J’s, or the people who like jam on grilled cheese sandwiches. How about waffles or pancakes? Seriously, this will get daily use.
Prior to opening, store it in a pantry or on a kitchen shelf. It will keep peak freshness for a year or two. Canned strawberry jam lasts months in the fridge, but I guarantee it will get eaten up before then!
More Fresh Strawberry Recipes:
- Skillet Strawberry Cobbler
- Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Butter
- Fermented Soda with Strawberry, Yarrow, and Rose
- Strawberry Honey Butter
- Naturally Fermented Strawberry Rhubarb Soda
More Low Sugar Jam & Jelly Recipes
- No Sugar Apple Jelly
- No Sugar Peach Jam
- Low Sugar Raspberry Jam
- Low Sugar Wild Violet Jelly
- Low Sugar Dandelion Jelly
- No Sugar Blueberry Jam
- Low Sugar Lilac Jelly
- Low Sugar Blackberry Jam
Homemade Strawberry Jam: Low-Sugar or No-Sugar
Equipment
- 4-5 Half Pint Jars
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ pounds strawberries
- 2 teaspoons calcium water from the Pomona’s Pectin box
- 1 cup sugar see no sugar option in the notes below
- 2 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin
Instructions
- Prepare your boiling water canner for a water bath method. Put the canning rack at the bottom of a large pot and heat the jars in simmering water until it’s time to use them. Wash the lids in warm soapy water and set aside until ready for use.
- Mix the calcium water as per Pomona’s Pectin instructions.
- Rinse the strawberries, remove the stems, and mash them in a large bowl (a potato masher works well).
- Measure 4 cups of mashed strawberries (saving any extra for another use) and put in a saucepan. Add the calcium water and mix well.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and pectin powder and mix thoroughly.
- Bring the strawberry mixture to a full boil over high heat, then slowly add the sugar-pectin mixture, stirring constantly.
- Continue to stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin as the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
- Use a jar lifter to place the jars onto a wooden cutting board or kitchen towel and ladle the hot jam into the funnel to pour the jam into the prepared jars. Leave about 1/4 inch of headspace and remove any air bubbles.
- Wipe the rims of the jam jars and center a lid onto each jar and apply the band, adjusting to fingertip tight. Place the filled jars into the boiling water canner, making sure there is 1-2 inches of water covering the jars.
- Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the pot lid, and let the jars sit inside for 5 minutes.
- Use a jar lifter to remove the hot jars and let them cool for 12 to 24 hours. Check to make sure the lids are all sealed, they should not flex when the center is pressed.
Notes
- Pomona’s Pectin comes with 2 packets, the smaller one with calcium powder is needed to make the calcium solution with water. The larger packet has pectin powder that is added to the sugar while making this jam.
- Honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar can be substituted for the sugar.
To make no-sugar strawberry jam:
- Replace the sugar with ¾ cup water or juice (apple juice works well).
- Bring the water/juice to a boil and then put it into a blender or food processor with the pectin powder and vent the lid.
- Blend for 1-2 minutes until all of the powder is dissolved.
- Add this mixture instead of the sugar-pectin mixture to the boiling strawberries in Step 6 of the recipe above.
What is the purpose of calcium powder, I have never heard of that before. What does it do for recipe?
The calcium powder comes in the Pomona’s Pectin box and is necessary to set this low or no sugar jam.
I see there are bubbles and foam in jars. That happened to my Autumn Olive jam when I proceeded it last November. Is it still safe to eat if present now in jars?
Absolutely!
What is this calcium powder? Is this in the USAm
Hi Nancy. The calcium powder comes with Pomona’s Pectin.
Do you know if anyone has attempted to freeze dry strawberry jam? I appreciate your commitment to healthier eating!
I’m sure someone has tried!