An easy to make strawberry refrigerator jam recipe with vanilla bean and balsamic vinegar tastes like the essence of fruit. The jam keeps in fridge for a up to two weeks.

Homemade chunky strawberry jam in a Weck jar, with a spoon and buttered toast.

When strawberry season comes around, it absolutely makes sense to buy more pounds of the beautiful, ripe beauties than you know what to do with.

Or maybe it’s more appropriate to say that when life gives you strawberries, make strawberry refrigerator jam.

This simple and intensely flavorful jam was inspired by an old standby recipe from Cooking Light  — and like the best refrigerator jams, no canning or sterilizing is required. That jam is made in a Dutch oven on the stovetop.

Roasting fruit for jam

But why stand watching over a pot of simmering strawberries for the better part of an hour when you can pop them in the oven and walk away?

Let the oven do the work! It’s a technique I employ a lot in my cooking.

Roasted, mashed strawberries and a white metal spoon resting in a baking dish.

Roasting the strawberries releases their juices and concentrates the fruit until they taste like the very essence of strawberry. Plus, allowing yourself the freedom to become hands-free is a great thing in the kitchen.

And because strawberry refrigerator jam only gets better with a little balsamic vinegar and brandy, there’s a little of both in there too.

5 from 4 ratings

Roasted Strawberry Refrigerator Jam

Karen Tedesco
A super-easy, and incredibly flavorful homemade strawberry jam you can make in the oven. No preserving equipment or added pectin needed!  
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Yield: 15 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients
 

  • 2 pounds (900 g) strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
  • 1 cup (200 g) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) clear fruit brandy, raspberry, strawberry, cherry or vodka
  • 1 vanilla bean pod, split, plus scraped seeds
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
 

Yield: 2 cups jam

  1. Toss the strawberries in a bowl with the sugar, brandy, vanilla pod and scraped seeds. Let stand 10 minutes. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet or small roasting pan.
  2. Roast in a 250 (120 C) degree oven for about 2 hours, until the berries are very soft and shriveled. Mix around once or twice as they cook.
  3. Let the syrupy berries cool. Remove the vanilla pod. Transfer the berries and all the pan juices to a bowl and mash with a potato masher to a chunky consistency, or pulse a few times in a food processor, making sure to keep some chunks of strawberry. Stir in the vinegar, lemon juice and salt.
  4. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator up to 10 days.

Notes

  • The jam will become thicker as it cools, as the natural pectin in the strawberries sets.
  • Keep the jam in a covered glass container in the refrigerator up to 10 days.

Nutrition per serving

Serving: 1g Calories: 77kcal Carbohydrates: 18g Protein: 1g Fat: 1g Sodium: 78mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 16g

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

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