This small batch strawberry jam is easy to make as it needs no added pectin or canning. Store in refrigerator or freezer. Preserve the deliciousness of peak flavor strawberries.
2pintsstrawberrieswashed, green stems and hulls removed, cut in half or quarters. About 2 cups once cut.
½cupgranulated white sugarup to 1 cup depending on the sweetness of your berries and your preference for sweetness
Juice from ½ of a small lemon
¼small red apple with skin onfinely grated
Instructions
Sterilize 3 half pint jars and lids in the dishwasher, and set aside. Keep warm.
Put all ingredients in a medium-sized pot and stir. Start with ½ cup of sugar. Cook over medium heat. Set a time for 30 minutes and stir periodically.
When the liquid comes out of the berries, adjust the flame so that the liquid boils and starts to evaporate. Stir often to prevent scorching. If you get a lot of white foam on the top, spoon it out and discard.
As the berries soften, take a potato masher (or fork) and crush the berries into tiny chunks. After about 15 minutes, taste the jam for sweetness, and add more sugar to your desired level of sweetness. I don't like to use much sugar, so I make my jam just sweet enough to not be sour.
In another 5 minutes test the consistency of the jam, and stop cooking when the jam is just thick enough for toast and still looser than store-bought jam. If you have a candy or insta read thermometer, use it to see if the jam has reached 220ºF, which the temperature needed for the jam to gel. The jam should be ready after 20 to 30 minutes of total cooking time.
Spoon jam into jars taking care that the jam is very hot. You should have enough for 2 jars plus a little extra. Close the lids after the jam cools some. The jam keeps in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks and in the freezer for up to one year.