Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam with Honey & Vanilla

Save this recipe for the sweetest of summer strawberries, this low-sugar strawberry jam is sweetened with honey and flavoured with a touch of vanilla. Not too sweet, slightly sophisticated, it won't last long.

For more water-bath canned preserves try this Strawberry Rhubard Maralade or my Strawberry Banana Jam.

For the love of summer berries.

I feel I have been out of my kitchen for so, so long. Not for real of course, there are people to feed. But cooking has been very utilitarian lately.

So let's make something just for the pleasure of making something

This honey strawberry jam is the perfect thing. It is sweet, but not too sweet, slightly spiked with vanilla. Vanilla adds the nicest richness. You don't have to add the vanilla, but I encourage you to give it a try.

What is low-sugar jam?

There is sugar is low-sugar jam. But less....

Personally, I prefer the flavour using a low or no sugar pectin. You can actually taste the fruit. The jam is less sweet and actually you can control the sweetness to your own preferences. In this recipe start with a ½ cup of sugar and add a bit more if your berries need it.

To make a low-sugar jam start with a low-sugar pectin. Traditional pectin requires a lot of sugar to get the jam to set properly. Often times a recipe made for traditional pectin will call for as much or even more sugar to fruit. The point -- you cannot use a traditional pectin and follow this recipe <--- IMPORTANT!

You must use a no or low-sugar pectin in this recipe. I used Bernardin No Sugar Needed Pectin. This is the brand that is most readily available in my area. If you are using another brand, read instructions carefully, not all formulations work the same.

How to make Honey Strawberry Jam

A few notes about prepping for jam making.

Get your jars ready. This recipe will make about 4 ½ pints. I always wash and sterilize an extra jar or two just in case.

Get your canner ready. You must water bath process the finished jars. It's important, will extend the shelf life and unsure a safe product. Just do it.

If you are new to water-bath canning or just want to see my workflow see this post for step-by-step instructions and information about the gear you need.

Wash and dry the fruit. Trim the stems.

Crush the berries. Don't slice or chop with a food processor. The jam will have better texture when the berries are crushed. Add the berries to your jam cooking pot, just enough to cover the bottom of the pot, crush with a potato masher. Then repeat for another layer of berries.

Boil the jam: In a large saucepan, add fruit, lemon juice and pectin (mixed with ¼ cup of the measured sugar) and boil over high heat. Once boiling add remaining sugar and return to a hard boil. A hard boil means the fruit is bubbling and spitting all over the place and boil hard for exactly 1 minute.

Skim off the foam: Remove from heat, and stir and skim for 5 mins.  Skim off any foam that collects on top.  It is important to stir and skim for the full 5 mins, this helps create clear jam and ensures the fruit does not float to the top as it sets.

Key ingredients for Honey Strawberry Jam

Lemon juice. Lemon juice brigthens the flavours to the jam but also increases the acidity, which is required for a proper jell.

Honey. Honey adds complexity to the sweetness of the jam.

Vanilla. I had a batch of vanilla sugar that I used to make this jam. If you don't have vanilla sugar kicking around... use white granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla paste or the seeds from a vanilla bean.

More of our favourite jams and preserves

📖 Recipe