{This post is sponsored by Ball® Fresh Preserving}
Late spring and early summer means fresh strawberries, and they are always a welcome sight! Whether they are from the garden or overflowing out of baskets at the farmer’s market, I’m always trying to think of new ways to use and preserve them. Strawberries are one of my favorite things to preserve because they are delicious and my family loves strawberry jam. This recipe for strawberry honey butter is truly amazing and I know it will be a new favorite in your household!
Proudly Homemade Preserves
Preserving foods that my family loves to eat is so rewarding, especially because I know exactly what is in it. Knowing what is in my food is important to me, even more so now that I have a toddler running around!
What’s even better is preserving my own foods to replace store bought foods. I get such a sense of pride and accomplishment knowing that I made it from scratch myself using quality ingredients, and without all the preservatives and extra stuff that just isn’t necessary!
Ball® Canning makes it easy to make your own #BallProudlyHomemade food too! Head on over to theBall® Fresh Preserving website to find more great recipes, as well as promotional offers (all of June you can get a free Ball® Real Fruit Classic Pectin when you buy a pack of Ball® Aqua Vintage Jars and upload your receipt)!
This also marks the 135th anniversary of the Ball® Jar! In celebration Ball® Fresh Preserving is offering these gorgeous Aqua Vintage Jars that I absolutely love. Aren’t they just perfect? They feature the vintage design, color, and logo originally produced 1910-1923!
Strawberry Honey Butter Recipe
Now on to this delicious recipe! This strawberry honey butter is easy to make, about as simple as it gets, and perfect for beginners who haven’t delved into canning much. Plus it tastes amazing!
The first thing you want to do is prepare your boiling water canner. Heat four half pint jars in simmering water until ready to use, but do not boil. Wash the lids in warm soapy water and set aside with the bands.
It all starts with 3 pounds of fresh strawberries. Yum!
Cut off the hulls and feed them to your chickens if you have them. Then puree the strawberries in a food processor until smooth.
Combine the strawberry puree with the sugar, honey, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt in a deep pot set over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Then lower the heat and simmer until the mixture is very thick, about 60-90 minutes, stirring frequently.
Any foam produced by the strawberries will disappear with the cooking process. The strawberry honey butter is finished cooking when it holds shape on a spoon.
Using a jar lifter, grab one canning jar, place on a towel or wooden cutting board, then ladle hot butter into a hot jar leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles (this headspace tool is perfect for this). Wipe jar rim.
Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
Once the water is boiling, process the jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off the heat, remove lid, and let jars stand in the water for 5 minutes. Remove the jars and let them cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when the center is pressed.
This strawberry honey butter is so amazingly good! It’s thick and rich and I love that it uses honey as a natural sweetener. So much better than store bought, that’s for sure!
It’s especially delicious spread on a toasted sourdough English muffin or toast that is slathered with grass fed butter. Yes please!
You will love this strawberry butter! Make it this season and start your canning obsession. I know that I’m obsessed! Now I just have to decide what I’m going to preserve next.
Maybe some peach jam later this summer? Or spiced apple butter in the fall?
I also have a recipe for strawberry rhubarb butter if you happen to have some rhubarb laying around.
Have you done any preserving this year? Tell me what you’ve made!
Strawberry Honey Butter
Equipment
- 4 half pint Ball® Jars with lids
Ingredients
- 3 pounds strawberries washed and hulled
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup honey
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp bottled lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Prepare your boiling water canner. Heat four half pint jars in simmering water until ready to use, but do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set aside with bands.
- Puree the strawberries in a food processor until smooth.
- Combine the strawberry puree with the sugar, honey, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt in a deep pot set over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
- Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture is very thick, about 60-90 minutes, stirring frequently. Any foam produced by the strawberries will disappear with the cooking
process. The strawberry honey butter is finished cooking when it holds
shape on a spoon. - Using a jar lifter, grab one canning jar, place on a towel or wooden cutting board, then ladle hot butter into a hot jar leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles (this headspace tool is perfect for this). Wipe jar rim.
- Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
- Once the water is boiling, process the jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off the heat, remove lid, and let jars stand in the water for 5 minutes. Remove the jars and let them cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when the center is pressed.
I am confused regarding the strawberry amount. Are you weighing 3 pounds fresh berries? I had 3 lbs of strawberry puree in the freezer from the summer so I used that but it is taking a long time for the jam to thicken. I am thinking it is because I probably had more than 3 lbs of fresh berries? Thanks. Otherwise it tastes delicious :)🍓🍓
Hi Barb. Yes, the 3 lbs are fresh berries that have been hulled, but I don’t see how your puree would weigh more than that unless you used over 3 lbs.
My daughter made this last week and my husband, and I just loved it – my question is – we are in wineberry season could i substitute wineberries for the strawberries
Hi Toni. Yes, you can, but you may need to adjust the sweetness depending on how sweet your wineberries are.
Hello, would the cooking time be the same if I used pint jars instead of half-pints? Figured I would double the recipe and use jars I already have!
Thanks!
Hi Katie. Do you mean the canning time for pint jars? You would process them for the same amount of time, 10 minutes.
Hey, this looks super yummy. Would this work with frozen strawberries? Strawberry season is over but I would love to make them.
Hi Benita. Yes, you can use frozen strawberries.
I am wondering if you can make this in a crock pot like I do with apple butter
You could try it, but I haven’t tested this recipe in a crockpot so it’s hard for me to say how it would turn out.
can you use frozen strawberries? Still the same 3#?
Yes, frozen will work just fine.
I made this today and it turned out AMAZING!!! I truly appreciate a recipe that uses honey in place of some of the sugar and the vanilla and lemon juice make this a keeper for our family.
We live in a tiny home and space is a premium, so I used my instant pot on low saute. It took a bit longer to thicken, but I am totally okay with that and the flavor cooking slow and low gave this butter.
There was just a tablespoon or so left in the pot so I made a PB&J for dinner! It was soooo good!
Thanks for the recipe and all the tips!
You’re welcome, Jeni! So glad you liked it.
Could you substitute Agave Syrup for the Honey? I don’t particularly like the taste of honey. If not Agave, could you just use more sugar?
Either works!
Love the looks of this recipe, I’m a seasoned canner but I still have a question. I have some strawberry jam that did not set up. Do you think I could use your recipe to re use my strawberry mixture?? Thanks for your help
Cindy
I’m not sure what you put into your strawberry jam, so it’s hard for me to say what the result would be if you reused it in my recipe, but its worth a shot. Let me know how it turns out.
Just finished making this the first time! So delish! We made 3 pints + enough for the three of us to try it on a piece of bread, we did add vanilla bean & a teaspoon butter to keep the foam down. Will definitely make this again!,
Yum! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Anna!
Will using less sugar affect the acidity?
Can you freeze this jam instead of canning?
Hello! I just made this & cannot wait to try it after it sits! You mentioned that after canning it will last for a year (or longer!) but I was wondering how long it will last after it’s been opened?
I love this recipe, I have made it many times. A lot of people are talking about the thickness. I got this recipe from the ball website the first time:) I figured out that if I added 2-3tablespoons of the ball classic pectin (powder) to the mix towards the end of cooking I got a much better texture. Just remember to keep the boiling going for about 5-10 minutes to boil away the pectin taste. Came out perfect. I will note that I am in southeast Texas so most of my recipes take a little bit more pectin than usual even when I just make jam:)
Thank you for this tip! My first attempt-none set up at all….runny strawberry stuff. I will be re-processing with pectin. I had asked that question yesterday before I started-but my question was removed?
You have been so very helpful and I am hoping your suggestion will also save my double batch :D
Just made this today… waiting to let it cool completely… I’ll try it tomorrow! Tasted some of the “residue” and I can’t wait to put some on a biscuit!
Made this last night. It wouldn’t thicken. After 3 hours I gave up and put in jars and canner. It came out ok but seems to have an “overcooked” taste. What went wrong?
Thanks. I’m willing to try again
Hi Cindy, I can’t say for sure why it took longer to thicken. Some strawberries may have more water content is all that I can think of. I’m sure your jam will be ok! This is a tested recipe that I made that was given to me by Ball® Fresh Preserving, so it is not my own recipe.
Thanks. The jam turned out good! Going to make it again!
You need a low heat, simmer, after it stays boiling. Not being there or seeing your process, I’m only guessing… stir almost constantly. Your “overcooked” flavor could be from sticking to the pan. If you’re using an electric stove you probably need to stir more often… element doesn’t maintain constant temp… heats then cools to maintain the set temp.
Hi I love the sound of this! I don’t have canning equipment but was hoping to make this to give as gifts. Is there a way to do this and not do the heat canning part but put it in mason jars anyway?
Hello. You don’t have to have a canner for this because they are small jars. Just use a big pot and lay a towel on the bottom. I do that a lot when I don’t want to drag my huge canner out.
Hi Mandy, you do still need to can the recipe, or else the jam will need to be refrigerated and eaten within a week.
I cooked mine for 1.5 hours and I have now let it cool and even tested one in the fridge but found it to be a little runny. Is there a way to make it thicker? The flavor is wonderful!
Hi Lauren! I’m not sure how to make it thicker once the canning process is done. Sorry!
You’ll have to let it cook longer to thicken next time, mine took nearly 3 hours. But it can’t be thickened after canning. Cook until it piles onto a spoon and doesn’t run off… like any fruit butter…I overdid my apple butter last time…
How long does the strawberry butter last?
Once it is canned it will last for a year (maybe longer)!
Usually recipes will tell you the puree should be X cups. Do you know how many cups we should end up with after pureeing? I dont have a food scale and volume measurements work better for me. Thanks.
I just made this recipe and weighed it…I took almost a whole 1/2 peck (4 quarts) of strawberries to get to 3 lbs.
My food processor holds 8 cups max…o think the 4 lbs of pureed strawberries was at the 7 cup mark,
Hi there!
This recipe sounds amazing! Unfortunately, strawberry season is already over here, do you think I can use frozen ones instead?
I just made some plum jam yesterday. And I pickled tiny plums and garlic. I foresee blueberry jam and everything peach in the near future, and if I can find them preserves with quinces in the fall. I’m also trying your elderflower mead recipe and your spruce beer recipe!
Hi Marit! Yes I think that frozen strawberries would work just fine. And yay for elderflower mead and spruce beer!
Hope to try this next week. I’m wondering if I can substitute xylitol for cane sugar bcuz I’m sensitive to cane sugar.
Also in step 7, it says to remove the lid. Would that be the lid to the water canning pot thing? (I’ve never canned before, but have some equipment. Is the giant water bath pot the same obe I process them in?)
Hi Laura, I haven’t tried it with xylitol so I can’t be certain of the results. One thing to consider is that by omitting the sugar you will be changing the pH content, which can effect the canning safety. I would probably look up a low or no sugar recipe to follow instead of changing this one. And yes, step 7 is referring to the lid of the water bath canner.
I really want to make this but I don’t want to run to the store for bottled lemon juice? Will fresh squeezed lemon juice work?
I looked that one up mid recipe. One Lemon = 3tsp lemon from bottle
Hi Jacqueline, yes fresh squeezed lemon just should work just fine!
I want to can this but was wondering if it can be doubled? Thank you for your help!
Hi Molly! Yes the recipe can be doubled, that’s actually what I did when I made it and it worked great! You may need to let the strawberry mixture simmer for a while longer to get the desired consistency though.