Summer time means that it’s time to put the slaves children to work in the name of “summer fun.” Don’t let my kids fool you, they actually love helping me make this homemade strawberry jam every year. The cool thing this year is that we were able to find an awesome natural u-pick strawberry farm here in Minnesota called the Minnesota Fresh Farm that made the experience even more fun this summer.
The cool thing about U-pick farms is that it’s a lot cheaper to get your berries because you are doing all of the labor. (Shhh, don’t tell the kids it’s work. They thought it was a fun field trip) We had big aspirations when we first got to the farm thinking we would be bad butts and pick two flats of berries. We quickly realized it would’ve taken all of us about 2 hours to pick that many berries so we quickly changed our minds and were ok with one flat of natural berries (no pesticides on these bad boys).
From a full flat of berries, we ended up getting 10-11 jars of homemade strawberry jam AND 5 pounds of frozen berries. This made mama very happy. We only paid a whopping $20 for that flat. I mean, have you SEEN the prices in grocery stores? I checked. Organically labelled strawberries are $3.50 for seven ounces or about $8/pound. My frozen berries alone would’ve cost me $40 in the store.
The cool thing about this farm is that it is that they don’t use any pesticides. I assume they haven’t gotten through all the paperwork you have to pay to be called “organic” but I spent a lot of time talking to the farmers and it was super neat to learn about how their farm had been in the family for over 80 years. Plus, they really want to build a community around the food they sell. We’re really excited to be heading back to volunteer to weed the garden and then later for U Pick raspberries. (Bayla’s really excited about all the fruit leathers she is going to see in her future)
We had a blast picking berries and spending time as a family. Then we headed back home to clean and hull strawberries to put half of them in the freezer and leave the rest for the jam. I warn you this isn’t a low sugar strawberry jam recipe. It’s got tons of sugar, but that’s what makes it so lickably good. Next year, we are going to try and whip up a recipe that’s more of a spreadable fruit spread so we can not make it so sweet. Until then you just have to “suffer” with this yumminess.
PrintHomemade Strawberry Jam Recipe That Will Leave You Licking the Spoon
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 Jars
Ingredients
- 5 Cups Cleaned and Hulled Strawberries Crushed
- 7 Cups of Real Cane Sugar
- 1 – 1 1/2 Boxes of Fruit Pectin (1.75 oz Boxes)
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
Instructions
- When you get your strawberries, the first thing you need to do is rinse the dirt off and hull them.
- Cut the strawberries up in smaller pieces, and then use a potato masher to crush the strawberries.
- In a large stock pot place the strawberries, and mix in lemon juice.
- Over medium heat, gradually add pectin.
- Once the pectin is all mixed in, turn up to high and bring to a rolling boil stirring constantly.
- Add sugar, and stir constantly. Let it hard boil for a minute.
- To test that the jelly will set, take a spoon dip it into the jam and then set it in a glass of ice water. Jelly should stick to spoon. If it doesn’t, gradually add a little bit more pectin.
- Remove from heat, and then fill leaving about 1 inch from top of jar.
- Place lid on jar, and place in water bath to preserve.
Next you might want to make some of this homemade Blackberry Jam or maybe this Strawberry Delight recipe!
Danielle F says
this sounds amazing and very simple.. I will definitely have to try this Strawberry Jam recipe sometime!
★★★★★
Crunchy Frugalista says
It is super easy to make Danielle. Let me know how yours turns out.
Super MomEO says
Yum! One of my favorite summer memories is of my grandmother’s homemade strawberry jam. I just got my garden in, and I hope you’ll be sharing zucchini recipes in the future! I may need them pretty soon.
Crunchy Frugalista says
Actually I have a great parmesan garlic zucchini recipe that I will be sharing later in the summer. It’s like garlic bread but better!
Meagan P - Sunshine and Sippy Cups says
I love, love, LOVE homemade strawberry jam 🙂 Great recipe!
★★★★★
Crunchy Frugalista says
Then you have to make some 🙂
Sadie says
Wow that looks a bit simpler than I imagined it. And looks so delish!
★★★★★
Crunchy Frugalista says
Trust me if I can do it anyone can 🙂
Caryn B says
Wow that looks awesome! I actually just received some canning items so I’m thinking this might be a good recipe to try them out on : )
Crunchy Frugalista says
Caryn, you should definitely give it a try it is really easy!
Monica says
Love strawberry jam and this recipe looks great. Will give it a try in a few weeks when our strawberries are in season.
Crunchy Frugalista says
Let me know how it turns out, my kids have been devouring ours
nicole dz says
Homemade strawberry jam is the best, my grandma makes it and it is so good on toast in the morning. Awesomeness!
★★★★★
David says
No matter what berry or fruit you use, the recipe is essentially the same. We always make a large variety when we make jams and jellies.
David says
My grandmother used to make her own jams, and they were always better than the congealed mess you buy at the store.
★★★★★
Cat says
I’ve never made anything like this before, but this seems easy enough, even for me. Lol. But with this much product, how long would it keep before spoiling? Can it be frozen, and if so, what would be the best way to freeze it? Thank you!
Ashley Sears says
Cat, Once it’s canned it should be good for about a year if canned properly. You can also make smaller batches as well if you don’t want that much jam. I’ve never tried freezing it, but there are many recipes out there for freezer jam so you should be able to freeze it too.
Caren Detgen says
Are these pint jars or bigger?
Ash Sears says
Caren, I use pint or jelly jars. They are the ones that have the little “quilting” on the sides.
Amanda says
I don’t have real cane sugar, could I use regular granulated white sugar?
Ash Sears says
Amanda, Regular white sugar is fine. I was just explaining it shouldn’t be something like a sugar replacement as the jelly won’t set properly if you are using something like Stevia or Truvia or Sweet ‘n Low
Annette Zebracki says
This looks delicious and easy. I’ve never made jam before. I understand all directions except for #9. What is a water bath. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Ash Sears says
Annette, A water bath is when you place the closed jar in boiling water for a set amount of time. I use the Ball Blue Book of Canning to know how much time 🙂