Alpine strawberry jam is packed with rich strawberry flavor, and it’s easy to make at home with just a few ingredients. (No added pectin required.)
Alpine strawberries are a bit different than regular strawberries. Their flavor is much more intense, almost like it took all the flavor from a full-sized strawberry and packed it in a smaller package. They’re also firmer and less juicy…making them perfect little flavor bombs.
Since they have more flavor and less juice, they’re perfect for making a quick alpine strawberry jam.
It tastes like the most intense strawberry jam you’ve ever had, and comes together on the stove in just a few minutes.
We grow alpine strawberries in our garden, and they’re the small elongated European type. You can find those growing wild all over Europe. This recipe works well with the wild strawberries you can find just about everywhere in the US during the summer months.
Both have incredible flavor and make wonderful jam, be it alpine strawberry jam or wild strawberry jam.
Ingredients for Alpine Strawberry Jam
You only need three ingredients to make alpine strawberry jam or wild strawberry jam. Just the fresh fruit, sugar and lemon juice.
To make two jars (8 oz each) of Alpine Strawberry Jam, you will need:
4 cups whole fruit, or about 360 grams
2 cups sugar, 400 grams
2 Tablespoons lemon juice, 30 ml
The end result is quite sweet, like an old-school European jam.
The lemon juice helps to balance the sweetness, and also adds in extra pectin to help the jam set. You’re welcome to add in extra lemon juice, but if you decrease it the jam may not set as nicely (and it’ll be cloyingly sweet).
There is a lot of sugar in this recipe, and it’s required to set the jam without added pectin. If you’d like to make a low sugar alpine strawberry jam, you will need to use a low-sugar pectin to help it set. I’d suggest using Sure Jel Low Sugar, and following their recipe for strawberry jam.
(For reference, 1 cup of whole alpine strawberries weights about 90 grams.)
How to Make Alpine Strawberry Jam
Actually making alpine strawberry jam is very simple. All you do is add all the ingredients into a jam pot or saucepan, mash gently with the back of a spoon and then cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes until the jam “sets.”
You can test for “set” on a plate that’s been chilled in the freezer, but I find it’s more dependable to use an instant-read thermometer.
Generally, old-fashioned jams like this one set when they reach 220 F (105 C) at sea level. That temperature drops by 1 degree for every 500 feet as you go up in elevation, and at 1,000 feet in elevation, it should finish at 218 F.
Cook the jam until it reaches the proper temperature, frequently stirring to prevent scorching.
Once it’s ready, ladle it into prepared jars.
Alpine Strawberry Jam Variations
We grow several varieties of alpine strawberry jam, and some are white/yellow when they’re ripe. They don’t have quite the same taste, as they’re more tropical, almost like pineapple.
They’ll also make a lovely jam following this recipe. Literally a jam of a different color, and with its own flavor.
You can also add other flavors, like vanilla, to the end of the cooking process for a truly one-of-a-kind jam.
Canning Alpine Strawberry Jam
Alpine strawberries are naturally acidic, just like regular strawberries. They’re perfectly fine for canning, especially since you’ve also added lemon juice if following this recipe.
To can alpine strawberry jam, process the jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes above 6,000 feet in elevation).
If you’re not familiar with water bath canning, I’d suggest reading this beginner’s guide to water bath canning before getting started.
Alpine Strawberry Jam
Alpine strawberry jam is jam-packed with rich strawberry flavor.
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole fruit, or about 360 grams
- 2 cups sugar, 400 grams
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, 30 ml
Instructions
If canning, prepare a water bath canner before beginning.
- Place all ingredients in a deep saucepan or jam pot. Mash with the back of a spoon to get some of the berries to break up and release their juices.
- Bring the mixture to a boil on the stove over medium-high heat. Boil hard, stirring frequently, for about 8 to 10 minutes until the jam reaches gel stage. (See notes)
- Once the jam has set, remove it from the heat and ladle into prepared jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
- If canning, process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes (or 15 minutes if above 6,000 feet in elevation).
- If not canning, store in the refrigerator and use within the next few weeks.
Notes
You can test for this jam's set on a plate that's been chilled in the freezer. Or, you can use an instant-read thermometer, which is more dependable.
Gel stage is when the sugar concentrates enough to raise the temperature to 220 degrees on an instant-read thermometer (at sea level). For every 500 feet above sea level, that drops by 1 degree as the boiling point of water lowers with elevation.
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