No Sugar or Pectin Strawberry Jam Recipe

With the world in the state it’s in, I’m feeling more and more like a homesteader every day. Last week, I felt like chowing down on vanilla cupcakes, so I broke out the stand mixer and whipped up a batch.

This week, I opened the pantry and a jumbo size tub of peanut butter was staring me right in the face. Naturally, it triggered a craving for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but unfortunately we didn’t have any jam in the house. What to do when you’re trying to minimize the number of outings you’re supposed to go on?

Well…you stay home and make your own shit! 

I promise you that it is so easy to make your own jam. And dare I say, healthier! My jam recipe only has 3 ingredients, and they are all standard things you probably already have on hand. 

I use frozen strawberries for this recipe, mainly because never once in my life have I had an abundance of fresh strawberries on hand. Also, if they’re out of season, they can be SO expensive, and cravings for PB&J wait for no man. But, I don’t think anything is stopping you from using fresh strawberries.

Instead of white refined sugar, my recipe uses honey. I love honey on buttered toast (the husband things that is so weird, but it’s delicious, so he’s the weird one), and in tea. Therefore, we are never short of honey in this house.

Most jam recipes use pectin. One of my biggest pet peeves in life is having to go buy some ingredient that I am probably only going to use once and then let the rest of it sit at the back of the pantry for many many years. In my search for something that can be used as a substitute for pectin, I came across apples! We always have apples on our countertop for the dogs’ and baby’s snacks, so I was so thrilled to learn I could use them to help my jam get more of that “jelly”-like texture. I don’t know too much about pectin, but it seemed like pectin also has a high sugar content. I’ve always limited excess sugar wherever possible, so using apples for this recipe is another win!

Strawberry Jam Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 lbs frozen strawberries
• 2 cups honey
• 1 apple, grated with peel left on
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Let frozen strawberries thaw overnight in the fridge. 
2. Add strawberries, honey, apple and lemon juice to a large pot and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
3. Lower to medium heat once the rolling boil is reached and allow mixture to continue cooking for 20 minutes. Scrape sides of the pot while cooking and stir occasionally. 
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for another 40 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally. The longer the jam cooks, the thicker it will be.
5. Skim any foam that forms at the top off with a spoon and discard.
6. At this time, you can choose to smush your strawberries with a potato masher or hand blending stick so that you get a really smooth consistency. I like my jam like Moto Moto from ‘Madagascar’ likes his women…chunky 😀 So no smushing for me! 
7. When the back of your spoon is coated, the jam is done cooking.
8. Spoon the jam into mason jars for storage and enjoy the fruits of your labour!

This recipe will make about three 250 ml jars of jam. I didn’t bother to go through a whole canning process for my jam because I’m lazy. Just being honest. Watching strawberries cook down for about an hour is enough time for me to put into this process.

If not canning, the jam will keep refrigerated for about 3-4 weeks. Jars can also be frozen if you make sure not to overfill them to allow for expansion. If you decide to can this jam, then it should last for about 6 months.

I really love this recipe, and I hope you do too. I can’t remember the last time I bought a jar of jam from the store!