Strawberry Honey Jam Recipe - No White Sugar, No Pectin (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken jam without pectin or sugar? ›

If you really want to thicken it to a more spreadable consistency, the easiest way is to heat it up with some thickeners such as cornstarch. Arrowroot flour is more delicate and taste-neutral, but most cooks won't have it. Unflavored gelatin may also be used. Bring the syrupy “jam” to boil in a pot.

Jams and Jellies with Honey

If a recipe calls for 4 cups sugar, use 2 cups honey. Cook the jam or jelly slightly longer than time stated in recipe using sugar. When substituting honey, use a commercial liquid or powdered pectin. The consistency of the jam or jelly will be somewhat softer.

No extra pectin– You may wonder if strawberry jam is better with or without pectin. Strawberries are naturally low in pectin, so some people prefer to add additional pectin to jams and jellies. However, I actually prefer homemade jam without extra pectin. They are a bit softer in texture, making it more versatile.

For all fruits and vegetables lacking of pectin, like strawberries, apricots, peaches, pears, pineapple and more - always use jam sugar. Those fruits make gorgeous jams, but the lack of pectin make those fruits less likely to set when cooked to make your favourite sweet spreads.

Lemon is crucial to balancing those sweet flavors, but it also helps the pectin to firm up the jam. It can be added at the start of the cooking process or towards the end, but what must be taken into account is that adding liquids to the jam mixture will inevitably require the jam to cook for longer.

When it comes to canning jam, some people think that sugar must be added in order to preserve the fruit, to achieve a proper gel, or to retain the fruit's color. However, these are all myths. Many fruits can be safely canned without sweeteners at all, although I do prefer to sweeten my jams with local honey.

One of the main reasons people choose to sub honey in is because they think it's a healthier choice than sugar. In truth, honey does have some benefits, like being less processed and having more micronutrients. But we have to be careful. Honey is sweeter and higher in calories than sugar.

Jams don't need sugar.

The fruit used in preserves and marmalades has all the sweetness you need! Therefore, you can make homemade sugar-free jams that are healthier and cheaper than store-bought ones.

Less sugar may allow for greater bacterial growth. As a result, process times may be longer for these low-sugar or no-sugar jams and jellies. Some pectin products include preservatives to reduce bacterial growth, as well as to preserve color.

Lemon juice plays two parts in a strawberry jam recipe. First, it prohibits bacteria growth, so your jam lasts longer. Second, it is a natural pectin booster. Fresh berries have pectin that's released when we heat the jam.

Why are people anti-pectin? ›

Pectin can reduce the body's ability to absorb beta-carotene, an important nutrient. And pectin can also interfere with the body's ability to absorb certain drugs, including: Digoxin (a heart medicine) Lovastatin (a cholesterol-lowering drug)

Strawberry jam with added pectin can be cooked in as little as ten minutes, preserving that fresh berry flavor and quality. Strawberry jam without added pectin needs to be cooked up to four times longer to reach the gel stage, resulting in a much sweeter, less fresh-tasting jam.

Here's a simple rule of thumb: When using powdered pectin for cooked jam, add it to the strained juice or chopped fruit BEFORE heating. Next, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that cannot be stirred down). THEN add the sugar. Bring to a boil again and boil for 1 minute.

5. Do Not Stir Once Mixture Is Boiling. Once your jam/marmalade it has reached a rapid rolling boil do not stir it. Stirring it will alter the temperature of the jam/marmalade meaning it will take longer to reach the setting point.

Over-ripe or damaged fruit is not ideal - the jam will not set well and is likely to deteriorate rapidly. The amount of sugar you need to make jam depends on the amount of pectin in your chosen fruit, but generally the fruit-to-sugar ratio for traditional jams is 1:1 (ie. 450g/1lb sugar to 450g/1lb fruit).

If, after waiting, you find the jam is still too loose for your liking, empty the jars back into a wide pot and cook again. Wash and sterilize the jars and try again. While you can simply reduce the jam to your liking, you can also add commercial pectin or chia seeds to the reducing jam to guarantee thickening.

If, on the other hand, the jam is rock solid, that means you've gone too far and cooked it too long. You can try adding a little water to thin it out, but bear in mind that after overcooking a jam, you can't really get those fresh fruit flavors back.

The first option is to unseal your jars and re-cook the jelly. Add more sugar, add some pectin, and you'll get your gel. Resterilize your jars, top with new lids, and process again.

You can boil it down on the stove to thicken it up a bit... maybe add in some gelatin too. Also, to make it easier on you, you can spread the jam filling thin on a baking sheet and freeze it and then put it on the cake while it's frozen so it'll go on as one sheet.