Make Grandma-Style Jam in Just 10 Minutes with This Quick Recipe!

Like she does every year, your neighbor has embarked on a strawberry jam-making marathon. Last year, she cooked up a huge batch and supplied the entire neighborhood. Meanwhile, at your place, you’re running a different kind of marathon: juggling work, sports, and kids, you hardly find time to even shop for groceries… You wonder how she manages to find the time for all her activities. From hulling the strawberries to letting them macerate to release their juice, and finally cooking, your grandmother used to spend days making her jam. “My recipe only takes about 10 minutes,” your neighbor reveals. To save time, she uses a professional chef’s technique. It’s much simpler and the outcome is impressive: it’s as delicious as any traditional jam!

The recipe comes from Chef Mélanie Marchand. She whips up her strawberry jam in just 10 minutes without even needing to hull the berries. Her secret? She keeps fresh strawberries for eating and uses the frozen kind for cooking. This not only saves time but also doesn’t compromise on taste. Plus, freezing helps retain much of the nutrients!

To make her quick jam, she pours a 600 g bag of frozen strawberries into a large pot. She adds 300 g of white sugar and 2 to 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice, then brings everything to a boil. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, she skims off any foam, reduces the heat, and lets it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes, until it reaches the desired consistency. She then pours the hot jam into sterilized jars and lets it cool completely before refrigerating.

Since this recipe is less sweet and much less cooked than traditional jams, it has a shorter shelf life: it keeps for about 2 to 3 weeks in the fridge. That is, if it lasts that long—its rich strawberry flavor makes it likely to be finished off well before then!