Simple Strawberry Jam, European style ~ this easy small batch strawberry jam is made the traditional way they’ve been making jam in France for centuries.
Easy strawberry jam, the European way
This recipe and method comes to me from my friend Elisa. Elisa is from the Brie region of France and her family home dates from something crazy like the 1500s. Her summer job, while she was growing up, was making jams and jellies from the fruit in the family orchards. I know. How cool is that. She still goes back every summer season to help out with the huge task. Being a sly food blogger I immediately pumped her for all the information I could get on her authentic French method for making jam.
I spotted these strawberries at Sunday’s farmer’s market and they caught my eye because of their deep red color and small size. I’m going to start off super simple and just make a straightforward strawberry jam using Elisa’s suggestions. This is jam at its simplest.
what you’ll need
Elisa sent me a detailed list of the jam and jelly making tips and secrets she’s learned from her grandmother, the women in her village, and her own experimentation over the years. According to Elisa, for the most basic of all jams you technically need only 4 things:
- fruit,
- sugar
- clean jars
- and a scale. The scale is essential because you need equal amounts, by weight, of the fruit and sugar.
There are lots of variations and subtle changes you can make, including using special sugars with added pectin, and different combinations of fruit and flavorings, but I’m starting out with the easiest.
Notes: I’m pleased to say everything went smoothly. I was especially impressed with how the simple procedure of flipping over the hot jars of jam did indeed create a seal…the tops on my jars were all concave. The jam seemed a little loose at first, but by the next morning it was just perfect.
It puzzled me that this jam was so simple to make, and bypassed all that rigamarole with the boiling jars, sterilized tongs, etc, etc. I wrote to Elisa to ask her about this, and here’s what she said:
I’ve never heard of anyone, either in Belgium or in France, boiling the jars after filling them. Sometimes they do it before filling them – but just as a way of cleaning them well. But most people nowadays just put them in the dishwasher. To make sure, I checked more than a dozen websites on jam making in French, and none of them mentioned boiling the jars. However, they all said to turn the jars upside down when the jam is cooling down. This creates a vacuum that allows for the conservation of the jam and prevents contamination from bacteria or molds. You know, like when you open a jar for the first time, it makes this popping sound when the vacuum is filled with air? … and the extremely high sugar content stops the proliferation of bacteria (this is why historically sugar is used for food preservation – just like salt or vinegar). AND, my biggest argument: people in France and Belgium have been doing it like this forever and we’re perfectly fine 🙂
Is the French method for making jam safe?
According to American standards, this method is not safe for long term storage, although, as Elisa says, they’ve been doing just that in France for generations. I think I’ll be using it for small batches that I intend to keep in the refrigerator and eat relatively soon. For small batch refrigerated jam this method is easy and foolproof.
Don’t forget the scones!
Homemade scones are the perfect foil for strawberry jam. Since my berries were so small, I left them whole, and didn’t mash the fruit too much during the cooking, so I got nice big chunks of strawberry in my jam.
Simple Strawberry Jam, European style
Ingredients
- 3 pints fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed and trimmed
- An equal amount of sugar, by weight
- juice of 1 lemon
- 5 or 6 clean 1/2 pint jars
Instructions
- Cut your berries in half or quarters if they are large, or leave them whole if they are small. Weigh the prepared fruit and put it in a large kettle or soup pot. My three pints of trimmed berries weighed almost 2 pounds.
- Weigh out an equal amount of regular sugar and pour over the berries. Stir the sugar and strawberries together, mashing some of the berries to release the juice. Cover and set aside for several hours to allow the juices to start flowing. Refrigerate in very warm weather.
- Add the lemon juice and bring the pot to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for about 20 minutes, and then test the jam by spooning a small amount onto a very cold plate. If the jam gels it is ready, if it remains liquid, keep boiling, up to about 30 minutes. Mine took the full 30 minutes. If you are in doubt, keep boiling.
- Ladle the hot jam (be very careful, it's super hot) into the jars, filling them almost full. Put the lids on and immediately turn the jars upside down.
- When the jam has cooled, turn the jars upright and store in the refrigerator. Note: US health standards dictate that jam bottled this way should be refrigerated and eaten within a few weeks. It is not shelf stable according to American requirements.
Can you substitute something like Monkfruit or Swerve for the sugar? Trying to develop some sugar-free jams.
That shouldn’t be a problem at all. You can use no sugar, as well.
I have many jam books from European authors that use this method of jam-making, but like Sue, I prefer to err on the side of caution and either refrigerate or process in a boiling water bath. A couple of tips to make the process less painful: 1) to keep the clean jars warm while you are cooking the jam, stick them (without lids and bands) on a sheet pan in a 250F oven until you are ready to use them and 2) if you make small-batch recipes and have a ~ 7qt pot, you can put a heat-safe trivet in the bottom for your jars to sit on and process 3-4 half-pint jars at a time in that – no need to drag out the big canner. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the useful tips 🙂
I like the way you process your strawberry jam. But the question I would like to ask6you is weight all fruits in equal amount. Can I use a dietitian weight Scale to get the exact number? Pls. Let me know. Thanks Elisa
Hello, my family (Swiss and British) have been using a similar method to the one described as long as I can remember – as do most people I know here in the UK. We wash our jars well in very hot soapy water, rinse them then dry them in a cool oven until they’re ready to be filled. We use the same technique for tomato sauce and chutneys too and I’ve never had a spoiled jar. If a lid ‘pops’ just put it in the fridge and eat the contents within a week or two. I’ve had jars last for two years using this form of preservation (stored in a pantry or cupboard) but the flavours do change a little after such a long time.
This method is intriguing to me. How long do they keep ?
It depends on who you ask, Lee. In Europe they are comfortable keeping them on the shelf all year long. Here in the States, we recommend refrigeration and consuming within a month.
My mother and I have made jam the European way for many years. However, I am careful to check that they are proberly sealed. Your jam looks wonderful.
Thanks Gerlinde!
I learned this method at cooking school in Ireland twenty five years ago. This was the more “modern” treatment, traditionally, a jelly paper was used, a round cellophane-like top, which also formed a vacuum as it cooled. Works in the cool Irish climate! Since I live in California, I use the turning over technique. ?
I’m glad for your confirmation that the method is indeed traditional, thanks Lulu!
Canning safely and assuring that all botulism spores are killed (which this method simply cannot do) is simple, and not that much work. Use a stovetop steam canner for fruits to avoid boiling a lot of water. Botulism can hospitalize you for months, paralyze, kill, or cause chronic disability. You can’t taste or smell it. You may be lucky and never get it. But if you do, it’s BAD.
Please consult reputable food safety sources (like this one http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html) and use tested recipes to ensure your family’s and guests’ safety.
DrS-
YES!!!
Yes, this is why I recommend refrigerating and consuming within a month.
Botulism is only an issue when canning low-acid fruits and vegetables, such as green beans, corn, peas or asparagus in salted water, or when canning seafood, meat, poultry, soups or stews. Those foods do not contain enough acid, either naturally or from a pickling brine, to create an environment that is inhospitable to botulism spores. Those foods must be processed in a pressure canner to 240 degrees to kill the spores.
Can this method be used for other fresh fruit? I am not a fan of Strawberry Jam. If so, would the measurements of sugar and fruit choice be the same? Also, can you supply more information about the scale used in this recipe?
This recipe is specifically for strawberries but you could use other types of fruit and berries. I would add sugar to taste. The scale is one I no longer own, but similar scales can be found on Amazon, or any kitchen supply store.
I tried this jam yesterday and the recipe did not work for me, I am wondering what I did wrong. I ended up with a hard candy, I would say it’s like a sucker, I might loose my jars trying to get it out. The instructions said to bring to a boil and continue to boil. So I left it at a hard boil the whole time, should I have reduced the heat so it was at a simmer? I also added my lemon juice at the beginning instead of the end and wondered if that was part of the problem? I would like to try this again as it seems so much easier than other jams. Thank you.
Hi Janis, it sounds like you boiled it too long. Every batch will be different, but once it thickens it is ready. You can test it by dropping a small bit on a very cold plate, and if the jam ‘gels’ as it cools, it’s ready. I boil my jam the whole time, but I wouldn’t characterize it as a ‘hard boil’. Hope this helps!
Thanks Sue, I only boiled it for the min. 20 minutes so I will assume my heat was too high. Will try it again.
I realize this is almost a year later but I did retry this recipe and it worked perfectly the second time by reducing the heat to a simmer. I also stored the jars in the pantry (not the fridge or freezer) and they kept just fine. Looking forward to making this again in a couple of weeks when the berries are ready.
That’s great to hear — I haven’t made a batch this year, I better get to it!