Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe
I love living on the Central Coast! Not only is it gorgeous with the beaches and the ocean on the coast or the great weather, but also because I have access to freshly grown California Strawberries just minutes from us. I’ve always loved strawberries, ever since I was a little girl. I remember my Grandma growing them in wine barrels in her backyard. She had about four barrels filled with them and I honestly don’t ever think she got any of them for herself. This wasn’t because they weren’t growing, but rather because her grandkids would eat them whenever they came over to visit (I know this because I was one of them)!
For a long time, I’ve been wanting to make homemade and had the canner to do it, but had never just done it! Well that changed and one day, I decided to make homemade jam with our daughters. It was my first time making it and it turned out delicious! I shared it with family and friends and kept some for ourselves, too. I honestly thought that my first time making it might turn out to be a disaster, but to my surprise, it was easy and fun, as well as rewarding with how good it tasted and the compliments we received on it. In fact, I had a few friends ask when I was going to making jam again – ha ha!
Homemade Strawberry Jam Recipe
SUPPLIES NEEDED
- Half Pint (8 oz) Glass Preserving Jars with Lids and Bands
- Automatic Home Canning System with SmartPreserve Technology (Model FTAC-13-10)
- Canning rack (this comes with the Model FTAC-13-10 Canning System)
- Jar lifter (this comes with the Model FTAC-13-10 Canning System)
- Funnel
- Pot
- Blender (I used a Vitamix)
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups crushed strawberries
- 5 cups sugar
- 4-1/2 tbspLiquid Fruit Pectin
- 1/2 tbsp Butter
DIRECTIONS
Pre-Heating Your Empty Jars
1 – Remove the Inner Pot from the Appliance. Remove the Rack and set aside. Fill the Inner Pot with warm tap water to the fill line.
2 – Return the Inner Pot to the Appliance. Place the Rack back into the Inner Pot.
3 – Wash the jars, lids and bands in hot, soapy water. Rinse well.
4 – Place the empty jars onto the Rack in the Inner Pot. Set the preserving lids and bands aside in your work space. Close and lock the Appliance Lid.
5 – Press the PRE-HEAT button and then press START. The red Pre-Heating light will illuminate and the Appliance will begin Pre-Heating you jars. During this time, you can start making your jam recipe. Jars will be Pre-Heated when the green Ready light is flashing. Keep the jars in the Appliance, with the Lid closed, until ready to fill with the prepared recipe.
Make the Strawberry Jam
1 – Wash the strawberries and remove stems.
2 – Crush the strawberries. I put our strawberries in our VitaMix and used the pulse mode until they were crushed.
3 – Pour the crushed berries into an 8-quart saucepan.
3 – Gradually stir in the liquid fruit pectin. Add butter, if using.
4 – Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat. Stir constantly. Add the entire amount of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim the foam, if necessary, from the top of the jam.
Preserve Your Jam
1 – Unlock and open the Appliance Lid.
2 – Remove one hot jar. Close the lid, but do not lock, to keep remaining jars hot.
3 – Ladle the hot jam into a hot jar, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe any jam from the rim of the jar. Center the new lid on the jar. Twist on the band until fingertip tight. Return the filled jar onto the Rack in the Inner Pot. Repeat this step until all the jars are filled with jam and returned to the Inner Pot. Close and lock the Lid.
4 – Press JAMS & JELLIES and then press RECIPE 1. Press START to begin preserving. The Appliance will start sensing your recipe, indicated by the orange Sensing light. Then, the preserving phase will begin, indicated by the orang Preserving light. When your appliance beeps and the green Ready light is flashing, your jam has been successfully preserved! Press STOP. Unlock and open Lid.
5 – Remove the jars from the Inner Pot using the jar lifter and place upright on a towel. Allow to cool, undisturbed, for 12 to 24 hours.
Checking Your Lids for Seals
1 – Press on the center of the cooled lid. If the jar is sealed, the lid will not flex up or down.
— OR —
2 – Remove the band and gently lift up on the lid. You should not be able to lift it off the jar.
Storing Your Jars
You can store your sealed jars in your pantry or a cool, dry and dark place for up to 1 year! Jars may be stored without the bands, or you may clean the underside of the bands to ensure that no moisture is trapped during storage.
Enjoy your homemade food or share with your family and friends as gifts!
I loved making Homemade Strawberry Jam! Using the Automatic Home Canning System with SmartPRESERVE Technology (Model FTAC-13-10) was super easy! I can’t wait to make more strawberry jam and other jam flavors as well.
What is your favorite thing to preserve?
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I love home made strawberry jam. I have never tried making it but would love to.
WOW! Fresh Tech looks like an amazing appliance! It sure beats canning the old way, the dreaded hot water bath!
I love to make homemade jams and jellies. I like to buy fruit that’s all bruised up and on sale on the cheap then take it home and make up big batches.
Oh yum! My mom used to can tons of stuff so I rarely ate store-bought jam until I moved out. I miss being able to just go to the basement and grab a jar haha.
I love homemade jam. Our neighbor used to grow rows of strawberries and he always gave us some. I made lots of jam.
Strawberry jam is my absolute favourite! Yet I have never tried making it myself, I totally need to change that as you make it seem at least a little easier than I thought it would be.
I had no idea there were canning systems available. My inlaws grow a lot of vegetables and like to preserve them, so something like this would really come in handy.
I remember my mom canning our fruits and veggies when I was little. It’s something that I have always wanted to try my hand at, but haven’t made the leap yet. That’s promising to hear that your first experience was easy and successful!
And now I NEED a canner! Who’s going to explain to my hubby why we have another small appliance in the kitchen?
Such good use for all those fresh strawberries! It’s so much better to make your own jam than buy the ones in the grocery. It’s really easy as well!
I didn’t know it’s this easy to make some strawberry jam. I should try this recipe for my niece who loves strawberry jam!
I never tried making strawberry jam myself. I remember we had to “force feed” ourselves with strawberries when my friend gave me a lot of them (I really mean “a lot”). The Home Canning System sure looks like a nifty appliance to have if you happen to have an abundance of fruit.
Oh this looks delicious! I love strawberries and love them on my oatmeal, pb sandwiches, and more. This is perfect!
I love homemade jams! This recipe will be perfect for making all my jams and such
I absolutely love strawberry jam! This looks like it would be amazing. I have never made homemade before but it has to taste so much better than store bought.
I need to try making some! We made grape and black&blueberry last year!
This is a new way to make jams for me! I love the idea and I need to try it soon, maybe with other fruits, too! Yum!
Yum! We love strawberries over here, but I’ve never tried preparing homemade strawberry jam. Hopefully, soon.
We love making apple preserves when visiting the apple orchard. That’s about the only preserves I’ve ever made. However, my great grandma used to can a lot and she always had plenty of homemade preserves from all of the spring berries she gathered.
I have never made homemade jam before, but I would love to give it a try! It sounds awesome.
Strawberry jam is 100% the best! My Gran used to make the most amazing jams when I was a child but I’ve never tried making some myself I must change that.
Everyone has their favorite strawberry jam recipe. We have already put our strawberry jam up for the year months ago. Looks like all of you are having fun and will enjoy the end result.
Oh my gosh, this looks SO good. I really need to make my own jam one day. I admit, I’ve never tried it.
What a fun thing to do with friends. That strawberry jam would be so delicious with toasts, yum yum!
I love homemade strawberry jam! I have not made it in years but I love it. I can’t wait to try this version of it. It looks delicious.
This jam looks SO good! I have never made homemade strawberry jam before. Heck, I have never made any jam before. I need to try this with my kids.
I remember making homemade jam with my mom. I’ve never used my instant pot for canning before.
Oh, we haven’t made jam in so long, what a great reminder. It’s SO good when made at home like this! Never tried with an instant pot though, awesome!
Oh homemade strawberry jam smells so good and tastes even better. It reminds me of summer!
This looks like a fun recipe to make together!
My grandmother made grape jelly. It was so good and the purple color was intense. We used to “help” her can the jellies. She sealed them with parafin.
Homemade jams are the best! We love making strawberry jams after strawberry picking when they are in season!
whoa! it never would have occurred to me to make jam in the Instant Pot. How cool!
I’ve always wanted to do this but have been very intimidated by the process. You made it look like such a fun family project and absolutely doable! My daughters would love this.
I have never made homemade jam and would love to try this recipe!
[…] love to cook and bake and now I even enjoy the art of canning! I’ve made Homemade Strawberry Jam in the past and loved the process, as well as how it tasted. I shared it with my family, friends […]