Last year, my attempt at making pectin-free strawberry jam was a complete failure. It never set up. Luckily, my husband still thought it was delicious and used it as an ice cream topping! So when we picked our strawberries this year, I was instructed to make some more ice cream topping on top of my attempt at another jam recipe. Both came out DELICIOUS, so I thought I'd share my recipes with you.
I don't remember where I found this recipe last year, but it was supposedly for jam and you didn't need pectin. Two years in a row, it's made a fabulous strawberry ice cream topping instead!
Strawberry Ice Cream Topping
4 cups mashed strawberries4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Mix strawberries, sugar and lemon juice together. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Turn heat to high and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until mixture reaches 220 degrees.
Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch head space. Boil jars 10 minutes to process.
This year, I decided to just go ahead and use pectin, but I wanted a low sugar recipe because so many recipes out there have so much sugar in them! I picked up some of Ball's Real Fruit Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin or pretty much used the measurements under the label, with a little tweaking. (These quantities made about 10 1/2 jars.)
Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam
7 cups mashed strawberries
1 2/3 cups water
7 1/2 tablespoons Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin
2 1/2 cups sugar
Combine mashed strawberries and water. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar and return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch head space. Boil jars 10 minutes to process.
It's thick and delicious and not overly sweet! Perfection!
