Scottish Strawberry Jam is a sweet and delicious preserve. It’s the nation’s favourite jam and is made with only 3 ingredients and without any added pectin. Once you’ve tasted this traditional Scottish recipe you’ll find it hard to go back to commerically produced jam.
Why make your own strawberry jam?
Strawberry jam is everyone’s favourite jam for a very good reason, it’s delicious! But homemade strawberry jam is a very different thing to commercially produced jam. Not only does it taste much fresher and with a true strawberry flavour, but it is isn’t set firm but has a soft texture filled with preserved strawberry pieces.
What’s the difference between jam and jelly?
Jam and jelly are both preserves made with fruit and sugar. In the UK jam is a preserve with whole pieces of fruit in it like this recipe for Mixed Red Berry Cherry Jam.
To make jelly you need to cook the fruit then strain the juice through a jelly bag. Once you have the juice you add sugar and boil to make a smooth jelly. For example, my Blackberry & Apple Jelly is a smooth jelly. In the US all fruit preserves are generally called jelly whether they contain pieces of whole fruit in them or not.
What ingredients do I need to make Scottish Strawberry Jam?
You only need 3 ingredients to make this delicious jam. Here is what you need:
- strawberries
- sugar
- lemon juice
Scroll to the end of this article to find the full recipe and all quantities of ingredients, with step-by-step photo instructions.
What kind of strawberries do I need?
Ideally, I recommend Scottish strawberries for Scottish Strawberry Jam. However, I realise that they may not be available to everyone. You can use any strawberries to make this jam, although smaller strawberries are actually best for jam. This is because they hold less water and have a more intense flavour.
What is pectin, and how can I make jam without it?
Pectin is the ingredient that makes jam set or gel. All fruit has some pectin, but some fruits are high in pectin and others have hardly any.
Strawberries are low in pectin. However, I add lemon juice to the recipe which helps the pectin strands to form and set the jam. Lemon juice is highly acidic and also helps to reduce the growth of bacteria.
What kind of sugar should I use?
I use ordinary granulated sugar from the supermarket. You can buy preserving sugar which has larger crystals that dissolve more slowly and create less froth on top of the jam. Be careful when buying preserving sugar that you don’t buy Jam Sugar which is different and has added pectin and gelling agents.
There seems like a lot of sugar in this recipe, can I use less?
This is a traditional jam recipe and uses equal quantities of sugar to fruit in order to preserve it. The high sugar level means that the jam will keep for longer. However, if you would like to make a lower sugar jam then I have the following lower sugar recipes:
- Low Sugar Peach and Strawberry Jam
- Low Sugar Blueberry and Raspberry Jam
- Low Sugar Blackberry and Apple Jam
- Low Sugar Plum Jam
How should I store Scottish Strawberry Jam?
Store the sealed sterilised jam jars in a cool larder or cupboard. A lot depends on where you live in the world and how warm or humid your climate is. However, once the jam is opened I tend to keep it in the fridge unless it is going to be used quickly.
How long can I keep Strawberry Jam?
You can keep sealed jars of Strawberry Jam for up to a year without any deterioration in quality. You can keep the jam longer than that and it will still be edible but you may lose some colour and sometimes it shrinks inside the jar. However, as this is a small batch recipe it’s unlikely that you will manage to keep it longer than a couple of weeks.
How do I sterilise jam jars?
There are many different ways to sterilise jam jars including putting them in a hot wash in the dishwasher. This is how I sterilise my jam jars:
- Wash and rinse the glass jars and metal lids
- Put the wet glass jars on a baking tray upside down.
- Place in the oven at 150C (330 F) before you start to make the jam. The water creates steam which helps to sterilise the jars.
- Pour boiling water from the kettle over the lids then drain and leave to dry on kitchen paper.
- Take the jars out of the oven and fill them with the hot jam, then put on the lids.
- When the jars have cooled check that the lids are tight and tighten further if needed.
You can also sterilise your jars on a hot wash in your dishwasher or use your Air Fryer to sterilise a small batch of jars.
How do I know when the jam is ready?
I use the wrinkle test to check if the Scottish Strawberry Jam is ready. Here is how to test for set.
Before you start to make the jam place 2 saucers or small plates in the fridge.
• After the jam has been at a rolling boil for 15 minutes, take it off the heat.
• Put a teaspoon of the jam onto one of the saucers from the fridge.
• Return it to the fridge for 5 minutes.
• Take the saucer out of the fridge and push your finger across the jam. If it is ready the jam should wrinkle where you pushed your finger (see photo above).
• If it is not ready, bring the jam back to a boil for 5 minutes then repeat the saucer test. Be careful not to burn the jam on the base of the pan.
• Skim off any froth on top of the jam in the pan with a metal spoon, then pour or ladle your jelly into sterilised jars and seal.
Can I make a larger quanitity of Strawberry Jam?
You can double or treble this recipe to make more jam. I don’t recommend a larger batch than that though as the jam will take much longer to come to setting point and the strawberries are likely to disintegrate with all the boiling.
Do I need to water bath this jam?
No, it is not necessary to water bath Scottish Strawberry Jam. I have been making jam for over 40 years and I have never water bathed jam or jelly. The high sugar content in this jam recipe and properly sterilsed jars means that the unopened jam jars will be safe to store out of the fridge. Once you open the jam it is safer to store it in the fridge.
Can I freeze Scottish Strawberry Jam?
You can freeze jam but it really isn’t necessary. If you prefer to freeze the jam, then store it in small clean containers with lids. Try to use a container that has very little air between the jam and the lid. Once defrosted the jam should be kept in the fridge and used within a week which is why I advise that you use small containers.
Can I make jam with frozen strawberries?
You can use frozen strawberries and if you do, then don’t defrost them. Cook them from frozen then follow the recipe as before. You may lose a bit of colour in jam made with frozen stawberries but the jam should still taste good.
Vegetarian
This jam contains no animal products and it is suitable for vegetarians.
Gluten Free
There are no wheat products in this jam and it is suitable for people following a GF diet.
For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How should I serve Scottish Strawberry Jam?
The classic way to serve Scottish Strawberry Jam is with scones and cream with afternoon tea or for dessert. Strawberry jam is also delicious for breakfast with bread, toast and croissants.
Because this jam is soft you can also serve it with your breakfast pancakes, or add a spoonful to your Greek yogurt and granola.
More summer preserve recipes
Scottish Strawberry Jam (No Pectin)
Equipment
- 1 Large saucepan
- 1 weighing scales
- 1 chopping board
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Measuring spoons
- 2 saucers
- 1 ladle or jug
- 1 jam funnel optional
- 1 glass jam jar with lid 380 ml (1lb)
Ingredients
- 350 grams (2½ cups) strawberries after removing hulls (stalks)
- 350 grams (1¾ cups) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Prepare the strawberries by removing the stalks and cutting larger berries in half or quarters so you have even sized pieces. You need 350 g (2½ cups) weighed strawberries.
- Place the strawberries into a large pan.
- Add 2 tbsp lemon juice and heat gently on the stove until the juice starts to run from the strawberries.
- Add 350 g (1¾ cups) sugar to the strawberries.
- Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and there are no gritty bits remaining.
- Bring the strawberry and sugar mixture to a boil and keep the jam at a rolling boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and place a teaspoon of jam on a saucer that has been in the fridge. Return the saucer to the fridge for 5 minutes. Test if the jam is ready to set by pushing your finger across the jam. If it wrinkles then it is ready. If not then return it to the pan an boil for a further 5 minutes and test again.
- Skim the froth off the top of the jam with a spoon. This is perfectly good to eat but spoils the look of the jam in the jar.
- Use a ladle and/or a funnel to pour the jam into a 380 ml (1lb) sterilised glass jam jar.
- Seal the jar with a sterilised lid and screw on tightly.
- Serve Scottish Strawberry Jam with bread, toast, croissants or scones.
Sisley says
I love strawberry jam. I can’t get enough! This recipe was so easy to follow and the results have already been devoured.
Janice Pattie says
Thanks, so good to hear that you enjoyed the jam.
Penelope says
Such clear instructions which were needed for my first time making jam. So happy with the results, thank you.
Janice Pattie says
I hope you’ll make much more jam, Penelope.
Chloe says
perfect, i much prefer my jam like this with it’s full complement of sugar!
Janice Pattie says
Ah yes, there’s a place for lower sugar jam but sometimes the traditional methods are best.
Karen says
I love strawberry jam and found your instructions really easy to follow. Lovely jars of homemade jam now sitting in my cupboard.
Janice Pattie says
Thanks, Karen. Homemade jam is the best.