Sugar Free Strawberry Jam
Ask and ye shall receive. For everyone wanting my sugar free strawberry jam recipe, here you go.
Last week, we picked 2 gallons of strawberries from Circle S Farms. The pick-your-own route is the way to go. Only $10 per gallon! We ate quite a few before getting around to jam making but that’s just how it goes.
Last year I also planned ahead and made sure to purchase plenty of raw honey (8 POUNDS, in fact). I knew I would need enough to last us through the winter and still have some left over for spring since our bee lady doesn’t harvest till late June to July-ish.
Also, for me, the whole point of making homemade items is to know exactly what is going into the food. Most recipes call for sure-jell (powdered pectin). No thanks. I use natural pectin (apples) so here’s the recipe I came up with. Note: This will not be as thick as traditional jams.
- 12 cups (or 3 lbs) of strawberries, headed and hulled
- 1-1/2 Tablespoon of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Granny Smith Apple, cored and grated (include peel)
- 2 cups raw honey
Add strawberries, lemon juice and apple to a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until desired thickness has been reached. Stir in honey. Pour into jars, seal and store. This will make six 8-ounce jars.
Now, for my tips and tricks.
- Cooking: I skim off the foam as I go.
- Sweetening: I add the honey at the last minute to maintain the good, raw properties. I don’t want them to cook out.
- Consistency: We like smooth jam so I run everything through the blender before canning. Remember, this is thinner than traditional jam anyway. Mine turns out more like a thin fruit spread. If you want a thicker jam, you may choose to skip the blender.
- Canning: I put my jars in the dishwasher and run them on the rinse-only and heat dry setting to warm them up. At the same time, I put the lids in a separate pot and let them boil for 5-10 minutes. I grab two jars out at a time and fill them and put the lids on. Between the hot liquid mixture and the hot jars/lids, I have found that my jars seal just fine with no water bath required. I love the sound of that pop, pop, pop! 😉 Note: If you are going to can like this you really need to be meticulous about cleanliness since you are skipping the water bath, which also kills bacteria.
