Hurrah for strawberry jam season!

If you have a polytunnel or greenhouse, you might already have tasted the first sweeter than sweet strawberry from your own crop. If not, you could still be waiting for the strawberries in your garden to ripen, but with plenty of sunshine on the way, you won’t have very long to wait! And if you don’t have any strawberries growing at home, there are plenty of delicious British strawberries available in the shops right now, just waiting to be enjoyed with ice-cream or made into sensational homemade strawberry jam. That’s the focus of today’s blog post, and we’re going to show you how to make foolproof strawberry jam to please the entire family!

Stock up on jam jars

With restrictions still in place in various parts of the UK, and people reducing the number of times they visit a supermarket each week, fruit farmers and pick-your-own sites are having to adapt in order to get their fruit to customers as quickly as possible. Inevitably, this means that there are some real bargains to be had if you check out your local independent greengrocers, for example.

If you buy in bulk, you should get some real savings, enabling you to make a big batch of strawberry jam. That means you’re going to need plenty of jam jars - so do check out our range in plenty of time. We stock jam jars in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from individual breakfast-sized jars to regular 1lb jars and larger. We also stock a variety of shaped jars to add a touch of elegance and sophistication.

Foolproof strawberry jam

The first thing to say about making strawberry jam is that strawberries don’t contain high levels of pectin, so in order to get a good set on your jam, you’ll need to make sure you add another reliable source of pectin. This might mean that you use jam sugar instead of regular sugar, you add powdered pectin or you add another fruit that is higher in pectin. The choice is yours and it’s worth experimenting with small batches to get just the right level of jam consistency in accordance with your preferences. Once you’ve got the set and the texture that you like, you can scale up to make a bigger batch.

Our go-to recipe for strawberry jam

Our preferred method for making the very best strawberry jam involves using jam sugar rather than powdered pectin, so that’s the recipe we’re going to share with you today. You'll need:

1kg jam sugar
1 lemon
1kg fresh British strawberries

Start by washing and hulling your strawberries, and then pat them dry with kitchen roll. Chop any particularly large strawberries in half and then add all of them to your maslin pan, along with the juice from the lemon. Heat for 4-5 minutes to allow the strawberries to soften slightly and then add the sugar. We also like to add a couple of teaspoons of vanilla essence at this stage too, to complement the juicy deliciousness of the strawberries.

Stir continuously, until all of the sugar is completely dissolved. At this point, the liquid in the pan should become clear - that means it’s time to boil the liquid for 5-7 minutes. Test for the setting point, using a jam thermometer or the chilled plate method. If you use a jam thermometer, the temperature needs to reach 105°C. If you use the chilled plate method, then a spoonful of the jam should be placed on a chilled pate - tilt the plate and if the jam runs down very slowly, it has reached setting point.

Remember, if you take your jam off heat before it has reached setting point, you can always pour it back into the maslin pan the next day and have another go...but if you leave it too long, you run the risk of burning it or making it too thick!

Once setting point has been reached, remove from the heat and carefully pour into clean, sterilised jam jars. Be careful not to overfill each jam jar, and wipe away any drips or spills. If you wish, add a wax disc and then seal the jars. Leave to cool on the counter, and then label each jam jar, including the date you made this particular batch.

That really is all there is to it...the secrets are to use jam sugar or powdered pectin, not to boil for too long and to add a little hint of vanilla essence. Once set, enjoy your strawberry jam spread thickly on hot, buttered toast (preferably using homemade bread!), on scones with clotted cream, or stirred into Greek yoghurt or spooned onto vanilla ice-cream.

Jam puffs are another easy-to-make treat that can be rustled up in no time using ready-made puff pastry. And for a nostalgic trip down memory lane, why not make a traditional steamed jam pudding - what could be more delicious than a light and fluffy pud, with gorgeous sticky jam oozing down its sides?