Old Fashioned Strawberry Jam Without Pectin {Vintage Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

How did pioneers make jam without pectin? ›

those who preceded us across this vast frontier created jams and jellies by mixing fruits. A small amount of high pectin fruit was added to fruits that were low in pectin to aid the geling process. I gather a lot of wild fruits as they ripen throughout the year.

Lemons - Juice of one lemon and zest. Sugar - To help thicken and sweeten. I don't recommend substituting for a sugar alternative. Cornstarch - Optional, but works well as a thickener in place of pectin.

Jam made without pectin is a little softer and looser than jam made with pectin, but learning this technique means that you can make jam at almost any time with ingredients you probably have on hand.

No extra pectin– You may wonder if strawberry jam is better with or without pectin. Strawberries are naturally low in pectin, so some people prefer to add additional pectin to jams and jellies. However, I actually prefer homemade jam without extra pectin. They are a bit softer in texture, making it more versatile.

The first European sugar preserves made use of that seemingly magical substance, honey. The earliest fruit preserves would be made by mixing fruit pulp with honey and allowing it to dry in the sun, creating a texture more like that of a jellied sweet.

To remake cooked jam or jelly without added pectin, for each 1 L (4 cups) jam or jelly add 25 mL (2 tbsp) bottled lemon juice. Heat to boiling and boil jam or jelly hard 3 to 4 minutes, then test for signs of gelling.

I do occasionally add a satchel of lemon wedges to a jam when I know there is likely to be lower amounts of pectin, like with strawberries. This helps add extra pectin that the berries don't have, but in lower amounts than if I were adding commercial pectin.

Remove pot from heat and divide jam into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch of space at the top. Seal and transfer jars into a boiling water bath. Make sure jars are covered with at least 1 inch of water; let sit for 5 minutes. Lift jars and let them cool in a draft-free place without touching, 8 hours to overnight.

Strawberry jam with added pectin can be cooked in as little as ten minutes, preserving that fresh berry flavor and quality. Strawberry jam without added pectin needs to be cooked up to four times longer to reach the gel stage, resulting in a much sweeter, less fresh-tasting jam.

Early settlers in New England used other ways of making jam, using molasses, honey and maple sugar to give it the sweet taste. They used pectin obtained from boiling apple peel to use as the thickening agent. In the early 1800s in the United States, the country was experiencing a surge westward.

Why people avoid pectin? ›

Pectin is high in fiber. Fiber can stick to some medications in the stomach and intestines. Taking pectin at the same time as medications that you take by mouth might decrease how much medication your body absorbs. This can decrease how well these drugs work.

In the United States, early New England settlers preserved fruits with honey, molasses or maple sugar. In those days, pectin (the substance that puts the “jell” in jelly) was made from apple parings.

Do not vary the sequence in which the ingredients are added. For example, powdered pectin does not dissolve in a sugared solution, so if you add the sugar and then the dry pectin, the jam will not be firm. Be sure you use a kettle large enough to accommodate the preserves when they are brought to a full rolling boil.

Cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. 3. Turn heat up to high and bring mixture to a boil. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes, until mixture thickens and darkens in colour, or until mixture reaches 220°F (105°C) on a candy thermometer.

1. Apples: Apples contain natural pectin and can be used to help thicken jams and jellies. Simply peel and core the apples, chop them into small pieces, and add them to the fruit mixture.

These preserves used honey as their sweetener, though sugar quickly surpassed honey in popularity for making jams. From that point onwards, you can essentially follow the spread of sugar around the world on a map. If a place had sugar and fruit, people would likely combine the two to make a preserve.