A simple old-fashioned strawberry jam made with ripe berries, sugar and fresh lemon juice. This family recipe is cooked in small batches, allowed to rest overnight and then frozen, preserving the bright flavor and beautiful color of fresh strawberries.
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| Mom’s Strawberry Jam |
Prep Time: About 15 minutes
Cook Time: About 15 minutes, plus overnight standing
Ingredients:
- 4 cups strawberries
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 pea-sized piece powdered alum
- 1 tablespoon butter, to reduce foaming
Instructions:
- Combine the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, alum and butter in a large saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil—a boil that cannot be stirred down.
- Continue boiling for 10 minutes, stirring as needed to prevent scorching.
- Transfer the jam to a large container and let stand overnight, stirring occasionally.
- The following morning, spoon the jam into freezer-safe jars or containers.
- Label the containers and freeze.
Tip: If using more than 5–6 cups of strawberries, make two separate batches rather than doubling the recipe. Keeping the original proportions in smaller batches helps the jam cook and set more consistently.
Note: This is a freezer jam, not a shelf-stable canned jam. Keep it refrigerated or frozen rather than storing the filled jars at room temperature.
Source: Mom’s Recipe
One thing I would consider before putting this on the blog is the powdered alum. That's an older jam-making ingredient and isn't typical in modern strawberry jam recipes. I would preserve it because it's part of your mom's original recipe, but we could add a brief note explaining what it does and whether it's still necessary today.