Get the Recipe: Strawberry Balsamic Jam
Easy and delicious, no pectin, small-batch strawberry jam, with a touch of balsamic vinegar and a bit of black pepper.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. (500 g) fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and halved or quartered, if large
- 2 cups (454-500 g) granulated white sugar, approximately *see Notes below
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3-4 grinds freshly ground black pepper, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the strawberries by hulling, washing, and draining well, then halving or quartering, if large. Weigh the prepared strawberries, recording the weight, then place them in a large, non-reactive pot (not aluminum). * The mixture will bubble up considerably when it boils, so be sure to use a large pot.
- Weigh out the white sugar to the same weight as the prepared strawberries. (So if your prepared strawberries weighed 500g, weigh out 500g of white sugar. Add the sugar to the pot with the strawberries. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon and stir to combine.
- Heat the strawberry mixture on medium heat, stirring regularly until the sugar dissolves. Once the mixture comes to a boil, increase the heat to medium-high. Use a potato masher to break down the strawberries a bit. Continue to boil the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 221F on a candy thermometer or the mixture passes the Cold Plate Test (see below). This usually takes about 10 minutes. * The mixture will produce some foam as it cooks. You can spoon off and discard it if you like. I don't usually bother myself.
- Remove pot from heat. Add balsamic vinegar and black pepper and stir to combine. Carefully spoon jam into clean jars (careful, it's hot!). Fill to within 1/2-inch of the top. Place the lid on the jar and invert the jar on a tea towel and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Place jar in the refrigerator and keep refrigerated at all times. The jam will keep in the fridge for 4-6 months. The jam can also be frozen. Allow extra room in the freezer container or jar for expansion during freezing. The jam will keep in the freezer up to 1 year.
- Testing for set with a cold plate: Set a small plate into your freezer before you start to make your jam. As your jam is coming close to setting (has boiled for 8-10 minutes), remove the plate from the freezer and drop a small puddle of hot jam onto the plate. Let it stand a few seconds, then run your finger through the middle of the puddle. If the puddle runs back together, it is not set, and you need to cook longer. If the path remains and doesn’t run back together, and the edges of the line are raised and/or wrinkled, your jam is done.
If you don't have a thermometer and you will be testing your jam with the Cold Plate Test (see below), place a small plate in the freezer to cool before starting your jam.
Note that to store this jam at room temperature, you would need to follow safe canning procedures by sterilizing jars and lids and then processing the filled jars of jam in a hot water bath. Refer to a reputable canning source for instructions on how to do that.
Notes
Nutritional information is for the entire batch (2 cups) of jam.
If you don't have a scale to weigh the berries and sugar, note that 2 cups of sugar = 1 lb. If you start with 1 lb. of strawberries, use 2 cups of white sugar.
Be sure to read the notes about this recipe card for more tips and step-by-step photos that you might find helpful.
Serving: 2cups, Calories: 850kcal, Carbohydrates: 218g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.04g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Sodium: 6mg, Potassium: 360mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 212g, Vitamin A: 27IU, Vitamin C: 133mg, Calcium: 40mg, Iron: 1mg
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