Nothing beats a great strawberry jam! My easy, no-cook rendition includes honey and balsamic which really makes the strawberry flavor pop!
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Strawberry Jam is 100% my jam of choice and I’m also 100% partial to freezer jam. All growing up my mom made strawberry freezer jam from the berries we picked that summer. When I began making it for myself I experimented with different flavor combinations and cutting down the sugar until I landed on this winner, Strawberry Honey Balsamic Freezer Jam! And wow, it’s seriously good!!
Where to Get the Best Strawberries
I still go to a local farm each year to pick the berries myself. I highly recommend picking your own strawberries locally if that’s an option for you. Hand selecting your strawberries means you can control the ripeness and therefore the overall flavor you’ll be able to achieve in your jam.
How to Make Strawberry Honey Balsamic Freezer Jam
After you have your berries, step one is to wash, dry, hull and mash them! My method of choice is a potato masher. Step two is to combine your ingredients over medium-low heat, not to cook but to warm them. I really find this step to help both the honey to mix easily and the pectin to dissolve into the jam. I use raw local honey (from the same farm I pick strawberries from) in my jam and am also picky about my balsamic vinegar. Like anything, if you wouldn’t eat the flavor on it’s own, don’t use it as an ingredient. So pick out a nice tasting aged dark balsamic vinegar for this Strawberry Honey Balsamic Freezer Jam.
Always, taste and adjust once everything has had a chance to marry together in the pot. This is where you may want to add a bit more honey or a bit more freshly cracked black pepper. Then depending on the texture you prefer you can either leave the jam as is or blend. I always blend with an immersion blender that results in a velvety smooth jam but the choice is yours! Do you prefer chunky or smooth jam??
The next step is to portion out into jars. I prefer using half pint glass freezer-safe jars. When filling each jar be sure to leave a 1/2 inch at the top of each jar to accommodate expansion when freezing. Once all the jam is portioned out, allow the jars to fully cool on the counter before adding the lids. I then recommend transferring the jars from the counter to the refrigerator overnight (or at least a few hours) before placing them in your freezer. This allows the glass an easier transition, doing this I’ve never experienced breakage in all my years making jam. Leave a jar in your frig if you want to enjoy this jam right away. It will last up to 3 weeks and frozen jars will last for 1 year. (Whoop whoop!) You’re now set with Strawberry Freezer Jam for the whole year! How good do you feel about it!? Tell me in the comments below!
Eat and Enjoy,
Nicole
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Nothing beats a great strawberry jam! My easy, no-cook rendition includes honey and balsamic which really makes the strawberry flavor pop!
Ingredients
- 4 cups of fresh strawberries, measure after washing, drying, hulling and cutting into 1 inch pieces
- 3/4 cup of raw honey (this was enjoy honey for my batch of strawberries and taste, start with this and add more if needed)
- 1/4 cup dark balsamic vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons Ball low or no-sugar Pectin (or 5 Tbsp Ball Real Fruit Instant Pectin)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (again start with this amount and taste after everything has been incorporated, I used 1/2 teaspoon in my batch for just the right mild “kick”.)
Instructions
- Using a large glass mixing bowl and potato masher, mash the prepared strawberries and then transfer them to a medium sauce pot.
- To the sauce pot of strawberries, add the honey, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir over the heat until all is incorporated.
- Then mix as you sprinkle the pectin overtop the warm sauce pot. Continue mixing until there aren’t any clumps and your jam has begun to thicken slightly. This should take about 5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust as desired. Now is the time to add more honey or black pepper if you choose.
- Once you are happy with the taste you are done if you like the semi-chunky consistency. You can also blend with an immersion blender for an ultra-smooth jam like I have pictured in this recipe.
- Then portion out into the jars of your choice, leaving 1/2 inch of head space at the top of each jar. I recommend these jars.
- Allow your jars to sit uncovered on the counter overnight before transferring them to the refrigerator (8-12 hours up to overnight). Then finally transferring the jars to the freezer for storage up to 1 year.
- *Leave a jar in your frig for use right away and enjoy!
Notes
*Jam placed in the frig should be used within 3 weeks.
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