Do you have a punnet of strawberries and an urge to make some jam? Well, I've got you covered! This easy small batch strawberry jam recipe will take you minutes to whip up a jar's worth of jam. No need to mess around with canning - just make a quick small batch to enjoy fresh!
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Springtime in Britain is synonymous with strawberries. As the season comes to a close, it is once again time for preserving the beautiful bright berries. With my small batch strawberry jam, preserving some strawberry jam is super quick and easy! The best bit is that this recipe makes one jar, so is low storage commitment and can be thrown together in a regular sized saucepan.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Small batch - this recipe makes one jar of jam. You don't need to hoard tonnes of fruit or deal with large scale canning. One regular sized saucepan and less than an hour is all it takes.
- Tangy, fresh and fruity - made with a punnet of fresh strawberries, you can capture all of the freshness and flavour of strawberry season, plus a light tang from orange a squeeze of fresh orange juice.
Small Batch Benefits
There are loads of small batch benefits!
So many jam recipes will make for a full day of canning. They require a large, deep pot, a full supply of sugar, considerable patience and several spare jars. This can be useful if you're looking to stock up thoroughly or give jars of jam as gifts.
But, if you're looking for a quick fruity treat, which can be ready in an hour for an afternoon tea party, small batch jam is the way to go!
My recipe here usually makes a little more than 1 cup of a quick and easy strawberry jam, which will fit into an 8oz (240mL) jar. There may be a little excess, but you can always just use this as a sample to taste test!
Ingredient Notes
For this recipe, you'll need:
- Strawberries - I highly recommend using fresh berries for this! My recipe uses essentially one punnet of berries, but this will vary dependent on where you're getting your fruits. You can use frozen berries in this recipe, but let these defrost these first.
- Sugar - granulated sugar or caster sugar work best in this recipe. In the UK you can also find jam making sugar, which has pectin added in. You can use this in this recipe (same measurements), but if using sugar with pectin added, leave out the pectin in this recipe!
- Pectin - a small amount of pectin will go a long way to thickening up your jam and helping this to set in a consistency that is perfectly jam like - firm but spreadable.
- Orange juice - fresh orange juice makes for a special zesty addition to this jam. You'll find a lot of strawberry jams call for lemon juice and you can absolutely use lemon here too. I just find orange a more robust flavour that enhances this jam. You can use store bought juice here, just not from concentrate.
Step-by-Step Small Batch Strawberry Jam
There are fundamentally just 4 steps to this simply strawberry jam.
- Chop the strawberries into halves or quarters and add to a saucepan (image 1 below) along with the sugar, pectin and orange juice (image 2 below).
- Over a medium heat, stir and occasionally mash the strawberries as the fruits begin to break down and release their juices.
- Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is at a boil, raise the heat to medium high and continue to boil until the mixture reaches approximately 225°F (107C).
- Remove from the heat (image 3 below) and pour into a heatproof bowl or a prepared jar to cool and set.
Expert Jam Making Tips
1. Chopping fruit for jam
As you'll be heating the mixture to release the juices, chopping your fruit isn't strictly necessary, but will make the process easier. I quarter my strawberries, as I prefer small bits in my jam over larger chunks. As the mixture cooks, I also like to mash my fruit with a fork to help break these down further.
2. Do I need pectin?
Pectin is a naturally occurring fiber that is essential for the gelling of jams. Some fruits have enough pectin on their own to gel without the addition of extra pectin powder. Unfortunately, strawberries do not have a high level of pectin and will need the help!
Citrus fruits have a large amount of natural pectin, so you will find many recipes suggesting lemon juice be added, both for the pectin and also the zesty freshness. In my recipe, I have opted for orange juice as the flavour pairs nicely with the strawberry.
I find the bit of citrus, isn't quite enough to produce a thick jam. To be on the safe side, I've also added a teaspoon of pectin. In the UK, you could also avoid using plain pectin, by using Jam Sugar (which is caster sugar with added pectin pre-mixed). To make this substitution, simply use the Jam Sugar in place of the caster sugar and leave out the teaspoon of pectin.
Alternatively, if you're happy for more of a sauce than a jam, you can leave out the pectin altogether - the flavour will still be great but the mixture may not reach a stable consistency.
3. How much sugar do you need for jam?
The quickest and easiest ratio to make jam is 1:1 - equal weights of fruit and sugar. This does depend a bit on the sweetness and natural pectin in your fruits, but when in doubt, a 1:1 ratio will stand you in good stead.
4. Jam temperature
For jam making, your mixture will need to reach a certain temperature to activate the gelling process. This is usually listed as 225F (or 107C). The easiest way to measure this is with a candy thermometer or an instant read food thermometer.
If you don't have a thermometer, you could also use the freezer plate test.
- When you start out your jam, place a small plate in the freezer.
- Once your mixture has been boiling and thickening for a little while, place a small bit on the cold plate and place back in the freezer for about 30 seconds.
- After 30 seconds, if you are able to nudge the jam with your finger and it wrinkles, then the mixture is ready. If it is still liquidy and/or stays smooth, then it is not yet gelled.
5. Quick cooling for small batch jam
With small batches of jam, such as this, you can cool the mixture quickly using a shallow baking dish. The wider surface area allows for quicker cooling. After about half an hour, the mixture can be stirred and added to a bowl or jar for keeping in the fridge for use over a few weeks.
If you are intending to seal your jam into the jar to preserve for several months, do not use this quick cooling process and instead pour the hot mixture directly into your sterilized jar for sealing.
Variations and Substitutions
Just like any jam, there are a few easy substitutions you can make here:
- Types of strawberries - the specific strawberries and their ripeness will have an impact on the overall flavor here. Try different ones and capitalise on their strengths. It is particularly fun to work with local supplies at peak ripeness!
- Different berries all together - this jam process will essentially work for any berry. You can try blueberries or raspberries and will have similar results.
- Lemon juice - I like a strawberry orange jam, as orange juice enhances and compliments the strawberry flavours. You can use lemon juice in this recipe or even lime juice. The key is to use a citrus as this will work to thicken the jam and give it a tanginess.
- Types of sugar - as noted above, you can use sugar with pectin already added (in which case, no need to add the pectin called for in the recipe). Alternatively, you could try using brown sugar in this jam. It will give a different depth and nuance with the molasses notes, but should cook down in a similar way.
Serving Suggestions
Need ideas for serving up your new small batch preserve? Here are some of my top suggestions:
- Strawberry Jam Cake - use this jam to assemble my light and fluffy Strawberry Jam Cake. It is perfect for a cake filling and can easily be mixed into frosting.
- Cheesecake - you could make my easy No Bake Vanilla Bean Cheesecake and serve it up with some homemade strawberry jam. Or, make a batch of my Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes and add a little dollop of strawberry jam on top!
- A classic topping for toast, a scone or even yogurt.
FAQs
You can keep this jam in the refrigerator in an air tight container or jar for several weeks. If you would like to preserve the jar for longer, you will need to follow proper processes for sterilizing the jar before adding the jam and then sealing this in a water bath. If preserved in this way, the jam can last for several months as long as the seal is unbroken.
Yes, absolutely, the beauty of jam is that it is all about the ratios! You can easily double or even halve this recipe dependent on the amount of fruit you are looking to preserve.
Yes - frozen berries are a great alternative to fresh for jam making. They will break down quicker than fresh when cooking and they do not require defrosting first (though it may take a bit longer to bring the temperature up to 225F/107C).
This is a recipe for small batch strawberry jam with pectin. You can make strawberry jam without pectin, however, because strawberries don't have a substantial amount of their natural pectin it will take longer to cook down and thicken.
If you like this recipe, you may also like:
- Easy Apricot and Vanilla Jam
- Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
- Small Batch Blueberry Jam (without pectin)
- Small Batch Cherry Jam
- Kiwi Jam
Strawberry Jam
Equipment
- saucepan average size pan with deep sides
- Sugar thermometer not essential, but helpful
- jar or heat proof bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups strawberries
- 1¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pectin
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
Instructions
- Chop the strawberries into halves or quarters and add to a saucepan along with the sugar, pectin and orange juice.
- Over a medium heat, stir and occasionally mash the strawberries as the fruits begin to break down and release their juices.
- Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is at a boil, raise the heat to medium high and continue to boil until the mixture reaches approximately 225°F (107C).
- Remove from the heat and bowl into a prepared jar to cool and set.
Notes
Nutrition
Bankie
Can you add half cranberries to this recipe and it not be affected?
Liz Mincin
Thanks for this message! Hm - I've not actually tried mixing in cranberries. In theory it should work as the cranberries will break down like other berries/fruits and the pectin in the recipe will help it to set. The timings might turn out a bit different, but the fundamental process should stay the same. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!