Home-Made Strawberry Jam| Preservative- And Pectin-Free Jam| 2-Ingredient Recipe

I have always wanted to make jam at home, among some other packaged things that we often buy off departmental store shelves. It kept being pushed further and further on the back burner, till it got lost among all the chores of everyday life. Things changed yesterday, though, when I decided to, finally, get to make that jam, using the packet of strawberries that the husband had got just the day before.

I set about to jam-making, after a bit of reading online about the process. Finally, I decided to follow this recipe, which sounded simple and free of fancy ingredients. In fact, this jam requires just two ingredients, can you believe it? It doesn’t call for pectin, either, which is a part of most jam recipes.

I made a few changes to the original recipe – I used only two ingredients out of the four stated therein. I am so, so very happy with just how beautiful the strawberry jam turned out. The texture, the flavour, the colour are simply amazing!

I am surprised by how very simple the jam was to make. Why didn’t I get to making it sooner?, I wonder.

The best part is that it is completely free of preservatives and other chemicals. I’m not going to be buying jams off a departmental store shelf any more!

Here’s how I made the jam.

Ingredients (yields 5-6 tablespoons):

• 12 medium-sized strawberries
• 7-8 tablespoons sugar, or to taste

Method:

1. Wash the strawberries and pat them dry, using a cotton cloth. Ensure that no moisture remains on them.
2. Remove the leaves and the thick stems from each of the strawberries.
3. Chop each strawberry into four pieces.
4. Place the chopped strawberries in a mixer jar, and puree them.
5. Transfer the strawberry puree to a heavy-bottomed pan, and place it on a medium flame.
6. Add the sugar to the pan.
7. Cook the puree on medium flame, stirring every now and then, till it reaches a semi-solid state. Make sure the puree doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, and doesn’t burn either.
8. Check for sweetness, and add more sugar if required.
9. Switch off the gas when the jam is not fully solid, still a little liquid in consistency. It hardens further on cooling. It took about eight minutes in all, for me.
10. Let the jam cool down fully, and then transfer it to a clean, air-tight bottle. Store refrigerated. Use only a clean, dry spoon to remove the jam from the bottle.

Notes:

1. You could choose to not blend the strawberry pieces into a fine puree, but keep some small chunks intact. I made a fine puree.
2. You could also add a pinch of salt to the jam, when it is just about done, to enhance its flavour. I skipped doing this.
3. If the strawberries you are using are quite sweet and not sour at all, you could reduce the quantity of sugar and add a little lemon juice to the jam when it is almost done. The strawberries I used were nice and tart, so I skipped adding the lemon juice.
4. I got only about 5-6 tablespoons of jam by using 12 medium-sized strawberries. Increase the quantity of the ingredients proportionately, if you intend to make more jam.
5. There are no preservatives added to this jam, so it is best to keep it refrigerated and use it as soon as you can.
6. Any fruit can be used to make jam, in a similar way.

You like? I hope you will try this out at home, too!

Advertisement