Let’s make some Small-Batch Strawberry Jelly with those strawberries you didn’t use this week! This is an easy, Laura Ingalls Wilder-style recipe. It’s simple and delicious. No apples or pectin are needed.
Small-Batch Strawberry Jelly
- 1 pound strawberries, rinsed, hulled, & stemmed
- 1 2/3 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Place a small plate in the freezer for testing the doneness of your jelly.
Place the prepared strawberries into a food processor. Process them as much as you like. If you prefer pieces of strawberry in your jelly, Process using the pulse button and stop after a few presses of the button. This step is optional. You can also just mash them with a potato masher as you cook them.
Place the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a large, heavy-duty saucepan. Turn the burner on high heat but keep a close eye on it as your jam cooks. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium to medium-high.
Continue to stir the jelly as it cooks so it doesn’t burn. Use a candy thermometer to measure the temperature. When the jelly reaches 220°F, it should be done. It won’t look ready because as it cools it will become more jelled; but, do not fret, we can test it to be sure it’s ready. Pull the saucepan off the burner while you test it so it doesn’t keep cooking.
To test your jelly, place a teaspoon of jelly on the plate that you placed in the freezer. Put it back in the freezer for 2 minutes with the jelly on it. Pull the plate out of the freezer and slide your finger into the jelly. There are two signs it’s ready.
How to Tell if Your Jelly is Set
- The jelly will wrinkle a bit as you push your finger into it.
- Where you pressed your finger into the jelly, there will be a clear trail in the jelly. If the trail stays clear, that means your jelly is ready.
If you don’t see wrinkles or if the trail starts to cave in with runny jelly, place the plate back in the freezer and place the saucepan back on the burner for a few more minutes and then test it again.
This recipe can also be used as a filling for cakes, donuts, cookies, and pastries!
If you don’t use jelly up very quickly, store some of it in an airtight container in the freezer.
If canning, be sure to use bottled lemon juice, skim the foam off the top before canning, and leave about 1/4 inch of space at the top of the jar so the jelly has room to expand during the canning process. Be sure to use all the food safety procedures when canning.