Ariel Patton, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer

I often kick-off my summer by preserving strawberry jam, as the bright, ruby-red fruit overflows tiny green baskets throughout markets in the late spring and early summer. In California, strawberries are abundantly available and easy to clean. Best of all, they make a knockout jam that can take any peanut butter and jelly sandwich or yogurt to the next level. 

Below is a tried-and-true recipe using only strawberries and sugar. Finding a couple hours to preserve can be difficult, so I often make my batch of jam across two days: one evening for washing, chopping, and mixing the fruit and sugar, letting it macerate covered in the refrigerator overnight. The next day is for cooking the fruit-sugar mixture down and canning it. The recipe is from the “So Easy to Preserve” publication of the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. If you do make this recipe, please let us know how it goes via the following link: Newsletter Feedback

Image credit: Ariel Patton, 2025. 

Strawberry Jam

Yield: about 8 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

2 quarts crushed strawberries

6 cups sugar

Instructions: 

Sterilize canning jars (Boil jars, completely submerged, for 10 minutes for elevations below 1000 feet. Add one minute for every 1000 feet increase in elevation above 1000 feet). 

Combine berries and sugar. 

Bring slowly to boiling, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly until thick, about 40 minutes. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Boil until the temperature is 220°F or 8°F above the boiling point of water at your elevation.  For a firmer product, boil longer, for a softer product, boil less. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can use the refrigerator/freezer test.

Pour hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. 

Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. 

Process for 5 minutes in a Boiling Water Bath or Atmospheric Steam Canner. 

If you’re looking for more ways to use strawberries this summer, the UC Master Food Preserver Online Program will be hosting a couple of online strawberry classes that you can find on our Events Page.