Easy Strawberry Jam- No Refined Sugar or Packaged Pectin

Fresh strawberry jam is easy, so very delicious, and can be made without refined sugar or packaged pectin. Best of all my recipe doesn’t require any special canning tools or skills!

I have been getting a lot of requests for the recipes I used to make strawberry jam this year. Homemade strawberry jam has been a summer tradition in our house for the last 6 or 7 years, ever since my very good friend turned me on to the wonderful world of freezer jam.

When I was a kid, my mom used to do a ton of canning in the late summer/early fall. I wanted no part of that evil–too complicated and too much equipment! Freezer jam was quick and easy and something my family LOVES (honestly, who DOESN’T like homemade jam?). However, in making the jam every year, there is a certain amount of guilt that goes into pouring cups and cups of sugar on top of these beautiful fresh berries. I thought there has to be a better way.  

Fresh Strawberry Jam No Sugar No Packaged Pectin

Since we are trying to eat healthier (raw, organic, real–which is for another post), I started searching the Internet for alternative jam recipes that did not include refined sugar or packaged pectin–yep that’s right. No pectin either.  The recipe also had to be easy like my old freezer jam recipe and the results had to receive the approval of the critical taste buds of my family. Sounds impossible, right?   Well I am happy to report that IT IS POSSIBLE!  I made three different recipes, all without refined sugar and packaged pectin, and all were a success. We had a little “tasting” party last Friday night and  the kids, my husband, and father-in-law all had the opportunity to taste each one and vote for their favorite. It was a tough vote, as they all were good, so which recipe you use, might just depend on your personal preference to method or sweetener. 

                       Fresh Strawberry Jam-No-Cook Method

Click here for a printable recipe

• 1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
• 1 tablespoon water 
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• liquid sweetener to taste – honey or 100% pure maple syrup 

Instructions:

1. Place berries in food processor or blender and mash until desired constancy.
2. Combine water, chia seeds, and sweetener in a separate bowl. Mix well.
3. Add mixture to mashed berries in the food processor or blender. Blend to combine. I just pulsed it a bit in the food processor so the berries did not get over mashed. If you over process/blend your end result will be more like jelly than jam.
4. Pour into clean jars. I like the glass canning jars but you can use plastic  ones if you like. 
5. Allow jam to set in refrigerator for at least one hour before eating–that gives the chia seeds time to do their thing. You can store the jam in your fridge for up to two weeks and up to a year in the freezer.                                     

                                  Fresh Strawberry Jam (crock-pot method)

• 12-15 cups of strawberries-washed, tops removed and cut in half
• 1-2 cups of honey
• 1/4 cups of chia seeds
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

Instructions:

• Place berries, honey and about a half inch of water (to prevent sticking) into crock pot. cook on HIGH for ONE hour and then LOW  for 2-3 hours. When cooking on low, be sure to leave to crock pot lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape.
• Once berries are cooked, give them a taste and add additional honey if needed. Here, I took a potato masher and smashed the berries up a bit.
• Stir in lemon juice (if using) and chia seeds. 
• Ladle into clean jars. 
• Allow jam to set in refrigerator for at least one hour before eating–that gives the chia seeds time to do their thing. You can store the jam in your fridge for up to two weeks and up to a year in the freezer.

I think my preference would be the first, no-cook recipe. Cooking always destroys some of the nutrients in foods so if you are looking for the healthiest recipe, I would go with the first one. A note about the chia seeds– you can find them at most grocery stores. I bought them at Whole Foods ™ but I’m sure you can find at most of the larger grocery stores. The chia seeds, when they are put in a liquid, expand and then turn the liquid into a gel-like substance. I thought we would notice them in the jam since you can really see them when you mix them in. However once the jam “set” for an hour in the fridge, you could hardly see them and no one noticed them in the jam (and if my kids did, I most certainly would’ve heard about it!)

So there you have it. I hope your family will like these recipes as much as my family did and you will feel good knowing you are giving them jam that is not only tasty but doesn’t contain anything artificial or a pound of sugar per serving.

If you try either of these recipes, I’d love to know what you think! Feel free to share this post with others who are looking for a healthier alternative to traditional freezer jam 🙂