Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam
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 so bad and this is such a popular jam I remade it this week and took some fresh shots to give it the justice it deserves and 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I originally made this no pectin Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam to put in my Victoria Sandwich.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. So 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. Hence 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. 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)!
For more strawberry jam inspiration you might like:
Strawberry, Raspberry & Redcurrant Jam
Whole Strawberry & Vanilla Preserve
Here’s a picture of my One Punnet 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. Here’s an image for you to pin!
NB: Originally posted 14 May 2014.
Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam
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
- Put the strawberries in a large saucepan and crush with a masher.
- Add the sugar and lemon juice.
- Heat gently, stirring with a wooden spoon until all the sugar has dissolved.
Increase heat and bring to a rolling boil then time for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Test a drop of jam on a chilled plate and place in the fridge for 30 seconds.
Run your finger through the drop and if it forms a crinkle and is tacky it’s ready.
- If not boil for another minute and retest until ready.
Skim any scum off the top with a spoon and add a small knob of butter to disperse any remaining scum if you wish.
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.
I’ve got a kilo of strawberries can I use granulated sugar
Hi Sue, it says “granulated sugar” in the recipe. I wouldn’t do the whole 1 kg of strawberries in one pan as it will take much longer to get to setting point and I hear this said often when people try to up my recipes too much. So I would split this between 2 pans to be sure of a good and timely set.
Me and my son made ours today after getting 5kg of strawberry’s from our allotment. It is so delicious.
Ooh, I bet it tasted fab, home grown strawberries always taste better!
How lomg does this last in the fridge? First time jam maker!! Also do you literally spoon it in hot to the jar and refrigerate straight away?
Hi Kerry, this jam and all my jams will keep in a cool dark place for a few years but once opened should be kept in the fridge and consumed within about 3 months (but can last longer) just make sure you always serve it with a clean spoon. The jam should be allowed to cool before storing and as I said can be stored in a cupboard. I store mine in a cupboard in the garage as nice and cool out there.
I’ve seen you mention this recipe Camilla and I think it’s such a good jam introduction for people who haven’t made jam before. If I have any strawberries that don’t make it into my mouth I really want to give this a try.
Thanks, yes this really is a great jam recipe to get the jam making ball rolling:-)