8 strawberry jam recipes and secrets that will make the dessert perfect

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Classic transparent jam with whole berries, as well as unusual combinations with oranges, bananas, cherries and apricots.

6 secrets of perfect strawberry jam

1. Carefully select the strawberries, remove the spoiled ones. If you want to make jam with whole berries, choose beautiful, dense and not overripe fruits. Not too pretty, mashed berries are suitable for jam with a uniform consistency.
2. Strawberries need to be washed very carefully, as they can wrinkle and become too soft. Some advise not to wash at all, but simply wipe each berry with a damp towel. If the strawberries are too dirty, place them in a container of water and gently stir occasionally with your hands. After 15–20 minutes, sand and mud will settle to the bottom. After washing, transfer the strawberries to a paper towel to dry.
3. The stalks should be removed only from dry and clean berries. Otherwise, the strawberries will lose some of the juice, and the jam will turn out to be not so juicy and tasty.
4. You can add spices such as cinnamon, vanilla, or cardamom to the jam to add flavor to your jam, as well as aromatic herbs such as mint or basil. You can add them at the end or at the beginning of cooking. In the second case, the aroma of spices and herbs will be more pronounced.
5. Cook the jam in a stainless steel or copper pot. An enameled container is also suitable, but provided that there are no chips on it. You can use aluminum dishes, but only if the jam is cooked in one step and immediately transferred to another container. If it is cooked in several approaches and cools down in the same container in which it was cooked, aluminum will not work. It can oxidize and spoil the taste of the jam.
6. Skim off the foam while cooking. If you leave it, the finished jam will be stored less. In addition, without foam, it will turn out to be more transparent, tasty and aromatic.

8 recipes for strawberry jam

1. Five-minute strawberry jam with whole berries

The jam is called so because after boiling it really boils for only five minutes, but in several approaches. The syrup turns out to be liquid, and the berries remain whole and beautiful.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of strawberries;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Preparation

Place half of the strawberries in a saucepan and add half of the sugar. Top with the rest of the strawberries and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Leave for 4-5 hours at room temperature for the berries to juice.

Place a saucepan over low heat and bring to a boil. As the strawberries boil, they will release even more juice. Cook the jam for another 5 minutes, then remove from heat and leave to cool completely. Then bring it to a boil again, boil for 5 minutes and cool. After that, repeat the cooking one more time.

According to the traditional recipe, the five-minute jam must be cooked three times. But you can do this a few more times if you want the syrup to become thicker.

What to cook with strawberries →

2. Thick strawberry jam

This jam is prepared in one go. In the process, the berries are boiled and become darker, and the dessert itself turns out to be more uniform.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of strawberries;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Preparation

Cover the strawberries with sugar and place over low heat. After about 15 minutes, the berries will exude juice. Cook the jam for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. When hot, the jam will be watery, but after cooling it will thicken.

What to do with strawberries that are already several days old →

3. Strawberry and banana jam

This dessert turns out to be incredibly fragrant, and the sweet banana taste sets off a light strawberry sourness.

Ingredients

• 500 g strawberries;
• 3 bananas;
• 100 ml of water;
• 300 g of sugar.

Preparation

Cut the strawberries into quarters and the bananas into slices. Pour water into a saucepan, add sugar and, stirring occasionally, bring to a boil over low heat. Then cook for about 5 minutes, until sugar dissolves.

Remove the sweet syrup from the heat and place the bananas and strawberries in it. Stir gently and leave to cool. After that, bring the jam to a boil over moderate heat, boil for 5 minutes and cool again.

Repeat cooking 3-5 more times, depending on the desired thickness of the jam. The more you cook, the thicker the syrup becomes.

3 options for banana-strawberry ice cream →

4. Jam from strawberries and oranges

Sweet but not sugary jam with a pungent taste.

Ingredients

• 800 g strawberries;
• 400 g sugar;
• 2 oranges.

Preparation

The berries can be left whole or cut into quarters. Put them in a saucepan, cover with sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat.

In the meantime, peel the oranges and remove the white film. If the latter is not removed, the jam will taste bitter. Remove the seeds and clear film from the orange slices and cut into large pieces.

After boiling, reduce heat and add orange to strawberries. Cook for 10 minutes, remove from heat and cool slightly. Then bring the jam to a boil over moderate heat, cool slightly and bring to a boil again.

How to cook chimichangi - sweet rolls with strawberries and cottage cheese →

5. Strawberry and cherry jam

The jam turns out to be very tasty, and the five-minute cooking method keeps the berries intact.

Ingredients

• 800 g of sweet cherries;
• 1 kg of strawberries;
• 500 g of sugar.

Preparation

Remove the seeds from the cherries. Transfer strawberries and cherries to a saucepan and cover with sugar. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, simmer for 5 minutes and cool slightly. Then repeat cooking in the same way twice more.

How to make biscuit bars with cherries and chocolate →

6. Strawberry and apricot jam

Apricot and strawberry complement each other well. To prevent the apricot from losing its shape, choose fruits with dense pulp.

Ingredients

• 500 g strawberries;
• 500 g apricots;
• 300 ml of water;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Preparation

Peel the apricots and cut into quarters. Add whole strawberries to these. Pour water into a saucepan, add sugar and, stirring occasionally, bring to a boil over low heat. Then cook for a few more minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the resulting syrup over the apricots and strawberries and leave for a few hours. Then bring the jam to a boil over medium heat and cook for 15 minutes.

A very simple recipe for jam from apricots and oranges →

7. Strawberry jam in a slow cooker

This method will save you time and effort, since you do not have to adjust the temperature, as is done when cooking on the stove. You just need to put all the ingredients in a slow cooker. The taste of the jam will not differ from the classic one.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of strawberries;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Preparation

Strawberries can be left whole or cut into quarters. Put it in a multicooker bowl and cover with sugar. You can mash the berries a little with a crush, if you want the jam to be more uniform. Set to "Sauté" and cook with the lid open for 1 hour.

10 of your favorite dishes that are more convenient to cook in a multicooker →

8. Strawberry jam without cooking

This jam is called raw. You can eat it straight away or freeze it in plastic bags and enjoy almost fresh strawberries in winter.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of strawberries;
• 700-800 g of sugar.

Preparation

Fill the berries with sugar and mash them with a crush. You can also use a blender to do this. It is better not to grind the berries in mashed potatoes, but leave small pieces. This will make the jam look more interesting. Leave it on for a few hours to completely dissolve the sugar.