Strawberry Jam (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my strawberry jam set? ›

Sadly, sugar plays a huge role in set. If you cut the amount in the recipe and you don't compensate with a pectin designed for low sugar preserving, your jam may well be runny.

Pop a plate in the freezer at the beginning of your cooking time. Once you think that your jam has reached its setting point or has thickened, spoon a bit of the jam on the cold plate and tilt it vertically so the jam runs. You are aiming for a slow descent, not a runny mess. If it runs slow, it's set!

For every 4 cups of jam that needs to be remade, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon powdered pectin. Pour the jam into a low, wide pan and add the sugar and pectin combo. Stir until the sugar and pectin has dissolved.

Lemon is crucial to balancing those sweet flavors, but it also helps the pectin to firm up the jam. It can be added at the start of the cooking process or towards the end, but what must be taken into account is that adding liquids to the jam mixture will inevitably require the jam to cook for longer.

Sugar - Sugar will help sweeten your jam but it also helps thicken it. The sugar binds to the water in the fruit and thickens the liquid. Lemon Juice - Lemon juice is great for flavor because it adds that bright acidic taste to all that sugar but it also helps your jam thicken.

If the jam is still liquid then we don't particularly recommend reboiling. It can be tried but there is a risk that the jam becomes over boiled, which also means that it will not set. The jam can also burn much more easily when reboiled. The thin jam can be repurposed as a sweet chilli sauce.

Stiff jams or jellies can be thinned with water or fruit juice. They may or may not form a gel again once they are re-heated, as over-cooking of pectin can reduce or destroy its ability to form the gel structure. You will need to experiment with how much liquid is needed to thin your jam or jelly.

Once the jam is done cooking, it may look a little thin, but just remember that it will thicken in the fridge as it cools. For a thicker version (good for fruits that are low in pectin, like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and peaches), add a tablespoon of pectin powder.

If this is the case, then heat your jar in boiling water to soften it, then pour it into a pan and reboil it, adding a little extra water. Then when it cools it will simply be a thick syrup, and shouldn't crystalise (Think how honey crystalises). Careful, if you cool it in your fridge it may still crystalize.

Most obvious thing to try is to use one jar and attempt a reboil - scrape out the contents into a pan and slowly add a little bit of hot water to thin the mixture. Beat it in and reboil to setting point tests as usual. Pour into fresh sterilised jars.

Will jam thicken without pectin? ›

The secret ingredient to making jam without pectin is time. The fruit and sugar need plenty of time to cook and thicken. A long, slow boil drives the moisture out of the fruit, helping to preserve and thicken it at the same time. Fruit varies in water content as well, and some fruits may take longer to jam up.

This can be caused by a lack of pectin and acid, or maybe the water hasn't evaporated enough, so return the jam to boiling for a few minutes then retest. Lemon juice can also be added before re-boiling to help add to the acid content.

Remove pot from heat and divide jam into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch of space at the top. Seal and transfer jars into a boiling water bath. Make sure jars are covered with at least 1 inch of water; let sit for 5 minutes. Lift jars and let them cool in a draft-free place without touching, 8 hours to overnight.