.

Strawberries! These sweet, bright red fruits are always a highlight in desserts and cakes. And above all in homemade classic strawberry jam! Enjoy it on freshly baked rolls and you have the ultimate indulgence for breakfast.
You can easily capture the sweet taste of summer in a jar by making a classic strawberry jam.  This easy recipe only requires three ingredients and about 30 minutes of your time. And when it has cooled down, you can use it for breakfast, in pancakes or even as a cake filling.

Why you should make your own classic strawberry jam

You’ll see: it’s so easy to cook your own strawberry jam and the result is a thousand times better than store-bought products.

Home-made strawberry jam is fresher and more flavourful, especially when you use fully ripe fruits from your own garden or a local market.

You can tailor the recipe precisely to your preferences. You can decide how sweet you want it – in this recipe, we’ll use preserving sugar 2:1 for less sweetness – and add other flavours like mint or woodruff.

You have full control over the sugar content and completely do without dubious additives.

Cooking jam makes you happy and you’ll always have a great gift for family and friends ready at hand.

Three ingredients for classic strawberry jam

Only three ingredients are necessary for a classic strawberry jam:

1. Only pick strawberries that are fully ripe and don’t show any white spots. They should be bright red and have a sweet smell.  If they don’t smell at all, they most probably won’t taste at all either.
2. For sweet fruits like strawberries, I recommend using preserving sugar 2:1. That way, the jam won’t be too sweet and the characteristic flavour of the strawberries is more pronounced.
3. Lemon juice supports the gelation of fruits low in acid like strawberries. Furthermore, it helps to keep the red colour and adds a nice, fresh flavour to your jam.

My top tips for making strawberry jam

Sterilized jars will prolong the shelf life of your jam. Wash your jars and lids with boiling water and let them dry on a rack.

Cook the jam slowly. That way you make sure that it gelates evenly and doesn’t burn. Stir constantly to dissolve all the sugar.

Always test if the jam sets. Put a spoonful of jam onto a cold plate. If the jam runs it’ll need 1 – 2 minutes further boiling. If it sets on the plate, it’s ready to be filled in jars.

Fill the jam immediately into the sterilized jars and close the lid tightly. That way you prevent the formation of mould and prolong the shelf life of your jam.

Store the jars in a cool and dark place to keep the freshness and taste of your jam.

Classic strawberry jam

Yield: 6 – 8 jars à 200 ml

Ingredients:

1 kg strawberries
500g preserving sugar 2:1
1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Sterilize your jars and lids by washing them with boiling water. Let them cool on a rack and dry them out.
2. Wash the strawberries, cut off the green leaves and let them dry in a colander.
3. Next, put the strawberries into a high pot and blend them with a hand blender.
4. Add the preserving sugar and lemon juice and bring it all to the boil under constant stirring.
5. Let it boil for 5 minutes while constantly stirring. If foam forms, you can remove it if you like. It’s a purely optical matter and doesn’t impact storage or flavour.
6. Test if the jam sets. When it’s ready, fill it into the jars and close the lid tightly. Place the jars upside down onto a towel for about 5 – 10 minutes. This will help to build a vacuum within the jars.
7. Let the jars cool down and store them in a cool and dark place. Or you just eat the jam up at once after cooling.