Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam (1st Prize Winning)

This Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam (1st prize winning) is super quick & delicious and requires no added pectin or special equipment. If you’re from across the pond a punnet is the plastic container you get strawberries in!

If you’re looking for a soft set, homemade strawberry jam recipe that is super quick and easy and requires no jam sugar or added pectin then you’ve come to the right place!

Back in July 2014 my Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam won 1st Prize in the Byfleet Parish Day Show! It was to be my 2nd year running winning 1st prize as the previous year my Peach & Apricot Jam had won!

So as the photography was really poor and this is such a popular jam I remade it this week and took some fresh shots to give it the justice it deserves. I also updated the recipe a little with more precise information about the quantity it yields.

I am a sticker for detail and I think that is why my jam recipes are so popular or at least that’s the feedback I get from you the lovely reader!

I originally made this no pectin Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam to put in my Victoria Sandwich.

Inspired by watching the contestants of Great British Bake Off I decided to knock up a small batch of jam using the remainder of a large box of strawberries I had in the fridge.

Not having planned my jam I didn’t have any spare jam jars to hand so just grabbed a short glass (the type you buy that famous chocolate hazelnut spread in) from my dishwasher and put it in a warm oven for 20 minutes.

The beauty of this jam is that you don’t need to own a huge preserving pan as your largest saucepan should be fine. I used half my jam in my Victoria Sandwich and the other half was enjoyed with scones and clotted cream.

My first attempt had far too much lemon juice in it so I reduced it to 1 tsp for my second attempt which was perfect; I don’t like stiff jam that you can stand a spoon up in! My husband didn’t notice anything wrong with my first batch and I overheard him raving about it and the Victoria Sandwich to his mother!

So the funny thing was that my Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam was never intended to be entered into the Parish Show.

As my Peach & Apricot Jam had won the previous year (much to my disbelief as I’d only just started making jam) I thought I’d need to enter something along those lines again.

Hence I decided to create a Cherry & Apple Jam but my lack of experience meant that I didn’t factor in the high pectin level from the apples and I boiled the jam for far too long and ended up with jam akin to concrete.

So, with no time to start afresh I just grabbed a recently made jar of my Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam and entered that instead, expecting it to go nowhere as it was just plain old strawberry jam and nothing fancy.

There was no-one more surprised than me when it won!

You can scale my Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam recipe up to whatever size punnet of strawberries you have. Just use equal prepared strawberry to sugar weight and then scale the lemon juice up as necessary, a little extra boiling may also be needed to reach setting point.

However smaller batches work far better so try to keep to one punnet!

If you’ve never made jam before I hope that this small batch strawberry jam recipe will inspire you to take the plunge – you can have delicious jam potted up within 20 minutes (the actual jam only takes about 10 minutes to make on the hob)!

More Strawberry Jam Recipes:

• Rhubarb & Strawberry Jam
• Strawberry & Peach Jam
• Strawberry & Elderflower Jam
• Strawberry, Raspberry & Redcurrant Jam
• Summer Fruits Jam
• Tutti Frutti Jam
• Whole Strawberry & Vanilla Preserve
• Speedy Summer Berry Jam

Here’s a picture of my  Strawberry Jam with it’s 1st Prize Winning certificate from my original post!

So if you’ve never made jam before or just need a delicious small batch of strawberry jam to fill a cake or use in an afternoon tea I can’t recommend this recipe enough. 

Pin for later!

NB: Originally posted 14 May 2014.

4.94 from 33 votes

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Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam

Super quick & delicious strawberry jam made from a small punnet of strawberries! No special equipment needed!

Course Snack, teatime

Cuisine British

Keyword lemon juice, no pectin, strawberry

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Sterilising time 20 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 1 small jar (210 ml)

Author Camilla Hawkins

Ingredients

• 230 g Hulled strawberries washed & dryed (1 punnet)
• 230 g Granulated sugar equal to prepared strawberry weight
• 1 tsp Lemon juice freshly squeezed
• A knob of unsalted butter optional

Instructions

1. Put the strawberries in a large saucepan and crush with a potato masher (leave some texture).

2. Add the sugar and lemon juice.
3. Heat gently, stirring with a wooden spoon until all the sugar has dissolved.

4. Increase heat and bring to a rolling boil  then time for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

5. Test a drop of jam on a chilled plate and place in the fridge for 30 seconds.

6. Run your finger through the drop and if it forms a crinkle and is tacky it’s ready.

7. If not boil for another minute and retest until ready.

8. Skim any scum off the top with a spoon and add a small knob of butter to disperse any remaining scum if you wish.

9. Ladle into a small sterilised jar (yield 210 ml) (see notes below) and seal with lid immediately. You can alternatively use a sterilised glass with a wax paper disc, leave to cool and then put cellophane on with a rubber band.

Recipe Notes

Before you start:
Put 2 saucers in the freezer.
Sterilise jars by washing in hot soapy water (or take straight from dishwasher), fill with boiling water, empty and then place in oven for 20 minutes at 140°C where you leave them until the jam is ready. Washed lids should be sterilised with boiling water and then left to drain.