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Make Your Own Strawberry Jam (No Sugar Necessary)

July 1, 2013   26 Comments

See those jars of jam up there? I made them.

Strawberry Jam Without Sugar

Some of you may think that I am trying to be Martha Stewart with a feature on canning. Nothing could be farther from the truth - she is way too perfect for me (except for that stint in the pokie).

No, I found time to make jam because I was able to produce strawberry jam with almost no sugar added. My entire half pint jar of jam is a whopping 78 calories and it includes 150% of your daily value of vitamin C.

How did I do it?

Ball sent me something called a “Canning Discovery Kit” and they included something called “Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin”. Pectin is a compound found in the cell walls of plants and is a jelling ingredient.

Most recipes for jam include a lot of sugar, so this no-sugar needed pectin is amazing stuff.

To make my jam, I simply crushed fresh strawberries, added pectin, a wee bit of sugar, and water, boiled and stirred for a minute and (here comes the hard part) jarred my product.

If you don’t want to jar your jam, just put in a container and store it in the fridge. It should stay good for a week.

For those of you who want to give it a try, there is a clear explanation here: It’s Easy To Can. You have to use a stockpot to heat your jars to boiling hot, then you fill your up to ¼ inch from the top of the jars with hot jam, then heat up the jars in boiling water again for 10 minutes until the lids seal.

It isn’t that difficult, but it does take attention and time to complete it. I used a tool called a "Jar Lifter" to help me handle the hot jars.

My jam came out tasting of fresh strawberries, and I am finding that my sugary Bonne Maman jam no longer tastes good to me. Also, my jam costs about ½ as much as a jar of premium supermarket jam.

The jars will stay good for a whole year and I found that it makes your neighbor's smile when you hand them your preserves.

This product was received for review consideration. No other compensation was provided.

Low or No Added Sugar Strawberry Jam Recipe

1.8 from 27 reviews

(makes 5 half-pints)

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Ingredients

2 pounds strawberries
2 tablespoons Ball Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin
½ cup water
2 tablespoons sugar (if needed)

Instructions

Wash, stem, and crush strawberries. Taste the strawberries for sweetness and add sugar if needed. Combine strawberries, water, and pectin in a large saucepan, stirring to dissolve pectin. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. If gel starts to from before 1 minute boil is complete, remove from heat.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch space below lid. Remove air bubbles by stirring with a metal spatula. Put on lids and process 10 minutes in boiling water.

Nutrition Facts

For one jar with sugar added = 78 calories, 0.5 g fat, 19.0 g carbohydrates, 13.9 g sugar, 1.2 g protein, 3.6 g fiber, 0 mg sodium, 2 Points+

Points values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only. See all Snack Girl Recipes

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First 20 Comments: ( See all 26 )

Strawberry Jam is my favorite and like you I don't add any sugar! I hate recipes that tells you to add a cup up to 5 cups of sugar for jam! It's crazy! Nice recipe!

I use the no/low sugar version for 5 years now and it works great. By October I always have like 7 different flavours of jam. I use them to make my own individual flavoured yogurts. Because this jam is a bit more runny then the regular one this works very well. After you tried this you will never buy flavoured yogurt again. There are only a few jams that I make with the regular amount of sugar and they are meant as a treat or as a gift. It's carrot cake and christmas jam. It's so much fun and it will give you pleasure the whole year.

I make "4 ingredient refrigerator jam"...easy & vegan to boot!

Berries
Chia seeds (they act as a thickener)
Maple syrup
Vanilla

Heat everything up except for the vanilla...mash-up the berries a bit...cook a few minutes...take it off the heat & add vanilla...put in the fridge overnight. Done :-)

This looks like a wonderful recipe -- really like the small amount of sugar, and you made the canning process sound so easy. I think I'll have to give it a try. Thank you!

funny, only the other day i was wondering how to make good for my diet jam. i make great ones (again, in the micro, which keeps the strawberries whole) with half the amount of sugar, but i will try to make one albeit with other fruit since strawberries season has ended. by the way, no need to add water i think and pactin can be added by simply adding cubes of pears or apples espcially. thanks for the reciep and the idea.

thanx so much ,I was actually making strawberry jam today .. I am going to check and see if I can get this pectin at the store..

I was actually just wondering about a different way to use the cherries that I have in the freezer. Would something like this work for them? In other words, what other kinds of fruits are this easy? :)

Cherries are ok to make this jam. You can use almost every fruit as long as it's nice and ripe. Frozen will also work.

Wow, the low sugar caught my eye. Sounds simple. Which is just the way I like things to be. simple and yummy.

I also canned strawberry jam this year! I used no commercial pectin and no refined sugars - just a small amount of honey. http://www.anorganicwife.com/2013/06/recipe-strawberry-jam.…

This is a great recipe and I am going to buy the no sugar pectin today. We are diabetic but hubby still likes his peanut butter and jelly. This will be great because I can add sugarless sweetener if necessary. I like the idea from Julie to use chia seeds. What a great idea! And, Adi had a great ideas by using apples and pears tast have natural pectin. This recipe blog was a real treat today!

Just a word about sealing the jars... generally the lids seal as the jars cool, so I wouldn't expect them to actually seal while in the water bath but, rather, while they are standing looking lovely on the counter after their hot bath.

Sounds goo will try this and Julie's.

I love no-sugar jams. I store them away and pull them out when I want a taste of summer goodness.

I found the pectin at store and only added 1/2 cup of Splenda to my strawberry jam and it tastes great! Thanx so much for this recipe !!

I use Pomona Pectin but, when I finish it, I'll try this one. I like your tip of heating the powder along with everything else. I'm a little scared of canning but I find that if I make just one jar at a time and keep it in the fridge, I'm good!

I am going to give this jam making business a try. I got little Ball jelly jars and sugar-free pectin today. I am also trying Julie's recipe! Vacation is almost here so afterwards I getting my fruit, wish me luck!

I've tried the 'no sugar' pectin; you still HAVE TO add something to get a set. I'm using asian pears which have plenty of sugar by themselves so, what will make them set? Splenda is blahh! I've made lots of jam; asian pears are plenty juicy and sweet- hard to set

My family has been canning jelly/jams for decades and we never do the hot bath. You can put some water with a little vinegar added if you have hard water into the jars (1/3 full) and microwave them until the water boils. In a pan on the stove, put your lids into water & vinegar and let simmer until you are ready for them. Pour out the water/vinegar right before you add your jelly. After you put the lid on and screw down the band tightly, flip the jar over onto a towel laid flat on the counter. The hot product heats the lid. After about 5 minutes, flip the jar back over and do not disturb it further. As the jelly cools it will create the vacuum and you will hear the telltale "ping". Do not leave the jar upside down for too long or it will stay at the top of the jar when you flip it over.

I don't see how you manage to only use 2 T. of sugar and have it set up. Most pectin recipes say that you must use the minimum amounts of sugar they call for which is generally 3 cups for strawberries.

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