How to Make Strawberry Jam in a Bread Machine

It seems to happen every summer. Whether you visit a berry farm or farmers market – or just have generous neighbors, you inevitably find yourself with a surplus of strawberries. Everyone enjoys strawberries fresh, but they only last for so long. Sooner or later, you have to use them or lose them, and no one wants to waste an in-season strawberry.

Read more about How to Clean and Store Berries

One of the best ways to preserve the succulent flavor of summer strawberries is to make jam. Stored in the fridge, you can enjoy strawberry jam for weeks, and in the freezer, up to a year. It’s a welcome a treat in the dead of winter, when you’ve been eating beef stew for days on end. So do yourself a favor, and preserve this slice of summer while you can.

Strawberry jam, or strawberry preserves, can easily be made in a bread machine. Just add fresh strawberries, some sugar, pectin and lemon juice to a bread maker and start the machine on the jam cycle. After the automated cycle has completed, allow the jam to cool and transfer it to storage containers.

For fridge storage you can use glass jelly jars like the ones we used here, but don’t use them if you’re storing in the freezer. Frozen jam can expand and break glass jars, so look for plastic “freezer jars” or use plastic bags. When you’re ready to enjoy your frozen jam, just transfer it to the fridge and allow it to defrost overnight. Our recipe makes about six cups, so you’ll be stocked up for months to come.

Bread Machine Strawberry Jam

Yield: 6
Author: Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen

Ingredients

6 cups strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 package (about 3 to 4 tablespoons) low or no-sugar needed pectin
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Pour into bread machine pan.
Using Cycle 9 Jam, start bread maker.
After cycle has finished, allow jam to cool about 1 hour before transferring to storage containers.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to a year.

Notes

This recipe uses a Hamilton Beach® bread machine and makes approximately 6 cups of jam.

Whatever your taste preferences or dietary needs, you can satisfy them with Hamilton Beach® Bread Machines. Developed with nutrition in mind, they feature settings such as gluten-free and whole-grain so you can bake wholesome breads using a variety of flours.