30-Minute Strawberry-Apricot-Nectarine Jam (Without Pectin)

Watch This Quick 'How to Make Strawberry-Apricot-Nectarine Jam' Video

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).

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

Note: 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.

And be sure to use at least one tablespoon of lemon juice at a minimum, which is necessary to help the jam jell (because the acidity lowers the pH in the mixture).

How To Make Jam Without Pectin (and Lower- 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.

Here are a few tips to ensure your jams, preserves, and marmalades gel and set properly:

1. Make jam using fruit that contains naturally high amounts of pectin (like apples 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 add sugar, which also helps jams and preserves reach the proper gel point. This is what
2. 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.
3. Make jam using a combination of low-pectin and high-pectin fruits together, which helps with natural gelling.
4. 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 them a natural pectin boost to help them set. Underripe green apples have a lot of natural pectin and are what I use when making no-added-sugar jams.

How to Make Strawberry-Apricot-Nectarine Jam Step-by-Step

If you've ever wondered how to make homemade jam, this quick and easy freezer jam is the best recipe to start with.

Step 1. 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.

Step 2. Cook 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).

Step3. Add the jam to the jars. 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!

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).

Learn more about this in my Ultimate Guide to Making Homemade Jam post over here.

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.