There is nothing quite like strawberry jam on bread or toast for some serious comfort food. And while you may buy your favourite brand of strawberry jam from the supermarket, it's not actually that hard to make your own from scratch.
Check out the recipe below from Charlotte's Lively Kitchen for some speedy strawberry jam. Keep it all for yourself or why not make a few jars as gifts for friends and family?
Strawberry jam recipe
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Servings: 1 litre of jam
Cooling and setting: 1 hour
You will need
• Medium saucepan
• Wooden spoon - or similar
• Sugar thermometer - ideal but not essential.
• Jars
• Jam Funnel - ideal but not essential.
Ingredients
700g strawberries - If you like your jam chunky, keep the strawberries whole, if you prefer it smoother then cut them into smaller pieces.
700g jam sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
Method
- Place a medium-sized saucepan over a low heat and once the pan is hot add the strawberries (700g). Fry for a couple of minutes, stirring regularly, and then add the jam sugar (700g) and lemon juice (2 tsp).
- Stir all of the ingredients together. Continue stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved - you can tell if the sugar has dissolved by dipping a spoon in and looking at the back to see if any grains have stuck to it.
- Once all of the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat to medium/high. Let the jam bubble until it reaches 105ºC - make sure you move your thermometer around a bit to ensure it's all at the right temperature.
- Once your jam has reached 105ºC pour it into sterilised jars (if using) and leave to set.
When can I buy strawberries?
Gone are the days when strawberries would be synonymous with summer. Due to significant investment in the UK berry sector, strawberry season nows lasts around nine months of the year with strawberries arriving into supermarkets roughly around the end of February.
Strawberry picking season
If you'd like to pick your own strawberries for your jam, bear in mind that strawberry picking usually starts in early May and finishes in July.
Try other fruits
Fancy trying out some other types of jam? You'll be spoilt for choice as we've got recipes for cherry, raspberry, blackcurrant, rhubarb and even chilli jam.