Homemade strawberry jam is yummy. But what do you do if it is runny. Read on for a recipe to fix failed strawberry jam.
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It is summer. Strawberry season is winding down. Raspberries and blueberries are just around the corner. Berries are just wonderful; about anyway you can eat them.
I enjoy them fresh in a bowl, on my cereal or ice cream, in a frosty smoothie or in a pie. Come fall and winter, there is nothing like homemade strawberry jam on your favorite toast or on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
There are many good recipes for jam. I used a standard boxed pectin recipe with fresh picked strawberries from a local farm. My mouth was watering for homemade strawberry jam. I have not ever had a failure in my jam making, but this year I did. It was runny. It would make a great ice cream Sunday topper.
Most cooking mistakes can be fixed, so I researched my options. I called the 800 number on the pectin box. The help line operator had no information on how to fix runny jam.
Related Articles: Traditional Strawberry Jam Recipe
Next I called the local Cooperative Extension. Over the years, I have found them to be a great source of information. This year, they came to the rescue, again.
Here is the recipe to fix failed strawberry jam. You can use this recipe to fix up to 8 cups of runny jam. These portions are per cup of jam.
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered pectin
Mix pectin and water; bring them to a boil while you are stirring constantly. Add runny strawberry jam and sugar and stir constantly. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat. Boil for ½ minute.
Then remove the pot from heat. Skim the top of an foam that may have formed. Put jam in hot jars and use new lids. Process the jam in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Let the jars sit over night.
There is nothing like homemade strawberry jam. I invite you to try your hand at making a batch. If you have ever made jam and it didn’t set up, don’t be discouraged.
Tuck this recipe away with your jam recipe for future reference and “just in case.” It does work. I tried it this year! Yum. You can visit me at https://healthworks-lifeworks.com/strawberry-jam-failure-how-to-fix-it/
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Thanks so much for your wisdom, I always make my strawberry jam with crystal pectin but I was in a hurry and could not find the crystals and instead bought the liquid pectin which did not set. I googled my problem and found you. This recipe worked perfect which was very important because the jam is a take home gift for my daughters wedding. Whew! Thanks again I have copied the formula down and will keep it with my jam paraphernalia.
I am a little confused. You say it fixes 8 cups, then say the recipe is for one cup of jam.
I have 13 half pints to fix.
Would it be easier to just make more and use what I have for other things?
You helped save my 8 cups worth of Strawberry Jam made with Ontario berries just picked. I had a panic then found your page and I can see it is working great. They have been cooling for 8 hours already. Dunno what went wrong to have them running but you saved them..you have a new follower..thank you.
Hi! That’s a great question. The instructions for jelly are slightly different. Here is my post on how to fix your jelly if it doesn’t set.
Does this fixing up runny jam work for all jams AND jellies ? I had grape jelly and chokecherry jelly go runny on me this year . Does this recipe fix those too , or just strawberry jam ?