If you love strawberry jam as much as we do and are just getting into learning how to make homemade jam, this unique fresh summer fruit jam recipe is for you! This isn’t just any strawberry preserves recipe, it also includes nectarines and fresh apricots to give it an almost fruit punch flavor! It’s a low-sugar jam recipe that uses half the amount of sugar that Ball strawberry jam calls for. Because you really don’t need all that sugar to make the best homemade jam (that’s still perfectly sweet)!
This is a quick no-pectin mixed fruit jam that highlights the best of what’s in season right now. Plus, I share my “secret” ingredient (all-natural of course) to help bring out the flavor of each of these fruits in the final preserves and you can even watch the ‘how to make homemade jam’ video below.
Watch My Quick ‘How to Make Strawberry-Apricot-Nectarine Jam’ Video
If you love apricot jam, nectarine jam, or strawberry jam and you like weird jams, then you may love the combinations of this delicious fruit punch-flavored jam — I know we do!
Why We LOVE This Easy Strawberry-Apricot-Nectarine Preserves
- It’s ready in 30 minutes flat
- It’s a low-sugar fruit jam recipe (using half the sugar called for in most preserves recipes)
- It tastes a little like an all-natural fruit punch preserves
- You can use fresh or frozen fruit to make it
- You don’t have to peel the fruit
- A kid-friendly jam recipe they can easily help make
- This is a no-pectin jam recipe
- No hot water bath needed
- You can freeze this strawberry and stone fruit jam
- Use it for all your favorite strawberry recipes, slathered on toast, for making Italian crostata, or strawberry jam cookies
- My secret flavor enhancer (blood orange juice or regular orange juice) brings out the fruitiness of each fruit in this jam
Quick Strawberry-Apricot-Nectarine Jam Ingredients (Summer Fruit Freezer Jam)
All you need to make this easy jam recipe is fresh or frozen strawberries, apricots, nectarines, sugar, fresh lemon juice, and my secret ingredient — a little blood orange juice (or regular orange juice). When you taste the final jam with the addition of the orange juice, you’ll understand why I use it. In fact, I’ve been using this little trick for a couple of decades in all of my homemade strawberry sauce and strawberry jam recipes because it brings out the flavor of strawberries in a way that lemon and lime just can’t match and orange juice is naturally high in pectin.
- fresh or frozen strawberries
- fresh or frozen apricots
- fresh or frozen nectarines
- granulated sugar
- freshly squeezed blood orange juice (or regular orange juice)
- freshly squeezed lemon juice
A few things to remember: First understand how naturally sweet or tart the fruit is before you add any sugar. You may need to add just a bit more (or less sugar) to balance the sweetness or tartness of the fruit. Just be sure to use one tablespoon of lemon juice which is necessary to help the jam jell (because the acidity lowers the pH in the mixture).
How To Make Jam Without Pectin (and Without a Ton of Uneccessary Sugar)
If you’re looking for low-sugar jam recipes and jam or fruit preserve recipes without pectin, you can have both using this recipe. Pectin is a water-soluble fiber found in most fruits with the highest concentration found in the skins and peels. You can also buy commercial pectin, but not everyone knows how or wants to use it in their jam.
For any jam or jelly recipe to set or gel properly, you need pectin, acid, sugar, and heat. There are a few ways to go about making jam without adding commercial pectin and still keep the sugar content lower than classic jam recipes call for even when you’re working with low-pectin fruit like strawberries. Here are a few tips to ensure your jams, preserves, and marmalades gel and set properly!
- Make jam using fruit that contains naturally high amounts of pectin (like and add fresh lemon (or lime) juice to lower the pH (and also has naturally high amounts of pectin) which helps jams and jellies gel properly, and adding sugar which also helps jams and preserves reach the proper gel point. This is what
- Add freshly squeezed orange juice (as I’ve done in this recipe) when making jams from low-pectin fruits like strawberries, blueberries, peaches, etc. Along with the lemon juice, the orange juice helps aid gelling without making the jam too sour or tart.
- Make jam using a combination of low-pectin and high-pectin fruits together which helps with natural gelling.
- You may add the peels and/or juice of underripe green apples to low-pectin and/or low-sugar and no-sugar jams to give it a natural pectin boost to help it set. Underripe green apples have a lot of natural pectin and is what I use when making no-added-sugar jams.
How to Make Quick Strawberry-Apricot-Nectarine Jam — Measure, Cook, Set & Serve.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make homemade jam, this quick and easy freezer jam is the best recipe to start with. Mostly because there’s no need to sterilize the jars, or use a water bath to process and seal them as is the case with traditional canned jams and preserves. Follow these simple instructions to make a foolproof homemade jam.
- Measure the ingredients. In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, add the strawberries, apricots, nectarines, sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice and stir well to combine.
- Make the strawberry jam. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and cook stirring frequently to avoid scorching for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the fruit is mostly broken down and the mixture coats the back of a spoon (see photos and video). Remove from the heat and ladle the jam into a heatproof glass canning jar (Mason/Ball/Kerr/Weck/Quattro Stagione) and allow it to cool to room temperature. Use right away, or refrigerate which will further set the homemade jam. Store for 2 to 4 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 1 year in the freezer. Enjoy!
Quick Apricot-Strawberry-Nectarine Jam recipe step-by-step photos
(Below) How a Finished Strawberry-Apricot-Nectarine Jam Should Coat the Back of a Spoon
How Can You Tell When Homemade Jam Has Reached the Proper Gel Point?
When homemade jam has reached its gel point, it should coat the back of a spoon and when you swipe a finger through it, the swiped area should remain clean without any sauce dripping down into the “clean” just-swiped area (see the photo example above). For this jam recipe, you’ll see the mixture go from 1 thin drip from the spoon in the early stages of cooking, but after several more minutes, you’ll start to see 2 drips coming off of the spoon. These two drips will soon converge into a single larger drip or sheeting off jam the spoon. At this point, the jam or preserves is properly gelled. See the video for how to identify when this jam is set.
If you have a candy/deep fry thermometer, you’ll know when you’ve reached the gel point when the mixture reaches 220°F/104.4C.
How to Freeze Homemade Jam in Glass Jars
I prefer to store food in glass and stainless steel containers vs plastic including freezer jams, homemade ramen broth, soups, etc. For this, I use a mix of tempered glass canning jars (Mason, Ball, Kerr, Weck, Quattro Stagioni). But as mentioned in my strawberry jam post, you need to make sure to leave at least an inch or more of headspace (unfilled area at the top) so that as the jam or other ingredient freezes and expands, the jar doesn’t break.
How Long Does Homemade Jam Last (in the Refrigerator and Freezer)?
When stored properly in an airtight container, homemade jam lasts in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks and you can freeze it for up to 1 year.
Can You Use Frozen Berries or Other Frozen Fruit to Make Homemade Jam?
For my entire no-pectin freezer jam recipe series, you can absolutely use frozen (or fresh) fruit. In fact, in this recipe, I’ve used fresh strawberries I had in the fridge plus about one cup of frozen strawberries I needed to use up from the freezer. While the apricots and nectarines were fresh. You may choose to freeze your own fresh fruit to make jam throughout the year or buy frozen fruit from the store. No matter what, when using frozen fruit to make jam, be sure it has zero added sugar.
Can You Use Bottled Lemon Juice to Make Homemade Jam?
While many jam recipes (including Ball canning recipes) for homemade jam oddly call for using bottled lemon juice, I highly advise against it! The bright fresh flavor of freshly squeezed lemons cannot be replicated or found in a bottle. Plus, bottled lemon juice typically contains unwanted preservatives and additives like Sodium Metabisulphite (E223) or Potassium Metabisulphite (E224). I don’t want these in my jam (or my body) if I have a way better-tasting and healthier choice like real lemons.
Ways to Use This Homemade Nectarine-Apricot-Strawberry Jam Recipe
If you love strawberry recipes or need a few ways to use this homemade jam, here are a few easy recipes you may want to try.
- Easy 30-Minute No-Pectin Strawberry Jam (With Video)
- Strawberry Shortcake Scones w/Clotted Cream
- Best Ever Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes with Wild Berries & Pecans
- Super fluffy Classic Pancakes For Two (or a Crowd)
- Best Fluffy Pumpkin Spice Pancakes for Two (or a Crowd)
- Easy Classic French Crêpes (French Best Friend-Approved)
- Easy Strawberry jam Tart (Crostata di Marmellata di Fragole)
- Best Ever All-Natural Strawberry Cheesecake Crostata
Let’s get started!
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Quick Strawberry-Apricot-Nectarine Jam (No Pectin)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 1/2 ounces (360g) of Jam 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This isn’t just any no-pectin strawberry preserves recipe, it also includes nectarines and fresh apricots to give it a delicious fruit punch flavor! It’s a low-sugar jam recipe that uses half the amount of sugar that Ball strawberry jam calls for. Because you don’t need all that sugar to make the best homemade jam that’s still perfectly sweet!
If you’re new to making homemade jam, you can watch my short ‘how to make homemade strawberry-apricot-nectarine jam’ video below.
Ingredients
- 10 1/2 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) fresh or frozen strawberries, diced (300g)
- 4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) fresh or frozen nectarines, diced (115g)
- 3 ounces (about 1/3 cup) fresh or frozen apricots, diced (85g)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, or more to taste (150g)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed blood orange juice (30g) (sub regular navel, clementine, or mandarine orange juice)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (15g)
*I’ve used 500g (17.5 ounces) of total fruit which is just over 1 pound of fruit for this recipe. You may use different quantities of each fruit depending on what you have on hand, just be sure to use the same total weight/amount of fruit to equal 17.5 ounces (500g).
Instructions
- Measure the ingredients. In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, add the strawberries, apricots, nectarines, sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice and stir well to combine.
- Make the strawberry-apricot-nectarine jam. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and cook stirring frequently to avoid scorching for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the fruit is mostly broken down and the mixture coats the back of a spoon (see photos and video). Remove from the heat and ladle the jam into a heatproof glass canning jar (Mason/Ball/Kerr/Weck/Quattro Stagione) and allow it to cool to room temperature. Use right away, or refrigerate which will further set the homemade jam. Store for 2 to 4 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 1 year in the freezer. Enjoy!
Notes
- FYI, I measure my ingredients in grams using a scale because it’s more consistent and precise. But I’ve included the approximate amount of fruit in cups that you’ll need if you don’t have a scale. This is a very forgiving recipe, so don’t worry too much if your measurements are slightly off. I used 2 small nectarines, 3 small apricots, and about 1 1/3 cups diced strawberries.
- If you want a completely smooth jam, after the jam has reached the gel point, use an immersion blender to macerate any bits of fruit that didn’t disintegrate as the jam cooked. Just be careful because the jam will be hot!
- A few things to remember: Before adding sugar, first understand how naturally sweet or tart your fruit is. You may need to add just a bit more (or less sugar) to balance sweetness and tartness. Just be sure to use at least one tablespoon of lemon juice which is necessary to help the jam gel (because the acidity lowers the pH in the mixture and lemon juice has lots of natural pectin).
- For an even lower-sugar strawberry and stone fruit jam Use 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons (130g). It’s still plenty sweet and lets the fruit shine. You may also add freshly juiced (sweet) apple juice which can add natural sweetness without compromising the flavor of the fruit (although you may need to cook the mixture slightly longer to give it time to gel).
- I don’t skim the strawberry jam as it cooks because I don’t mind the foam (and it settles and all but disappears after setting up anyway). To me, that’s just more jam we could be adding to a piece of toast. But feel free to skim the foam off the jam as it cooks.
- If you want to double this recipe, use a pot that is twice as wide as the pot I’ve used. This will help you cook the fruit mixture quickly because the surface area will be large enough to accommodate the larger amount of ingredients. If you doubled the batch and used the same medium-sized pot, the fruit would have to cook for so much longer in order to reduce (or cook off the water) and thicken properly. This would result in an inferior-tasting homemade jam. A stainless steel sauté pan is perfect to use when doubling this recipe.
- If you want to peel the nectarines and apricots, remember that most of the natural pectin is found in the skins and peels which means you’ll be losing some of the pectin. Therefore, you may have to cook the jam just a few minutes longer.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Condiments + Sauces + Dips
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
