This 3-Ingredient Strawberry Jam Is So Simple You Don't Even Need Pectin

Perfect pie crusts, croissants, macarons — some of our favorite foods feel completely intimidating to cook at home. Jam, especially, brings to mind visions of boiling jam jars, jammy explosions, and Paul Hollywood's blue-eyed glare when your jam hasn't set properly. Luckily, it actually couldn't be simpler to make jam at home. You don't even need to figure out what pectin is, where to buy it, or how to use it.

By making a small batch that you don't need to shelf stabilize, you can make a reasonable amount of jam in a very reasonable amount of time (we're talking less than 30 minutes), and with only three ingredients. All you need is a pint of strawberries, a cup and a half of sugar, and two tablespoons of lemon juice.

Start by washing, hulling, beheading, and chopping up your strawberries (the riper the berries, the sweeter the jam). Place them in a pan over medium-to-low heat along with the sugar. Once your berries start to boil, add your lemon juice and continue cooking for about 15 minutes. Stir frequently and don't let any bits stick to the bottom of your pan. After your timer beeps or your jam sets (whichever comes first), place the mixture in your preferred vessel and refrigerate until ready to eat. The idea here is to make a small batch that you'll eat through quickly, so don't leave your jam in refrigerator purgatory for more than three weeks.

Pectin acts kind of like gelatin, it's a fiber found in many fruits and vegetables and an exceptional gelling agent. Some fruits, like apples and citrus, are rife with pectin, so orange marmalade is actually easier to make than you'd think. Pectin is also commercially available in powder or liquid forms at the grocery store, which is helpful if you're looking to make a larger volume of jam or jelly, a fruit tart glaze, or chewy candy at home.

If you're ready to level up the volume of your jam production, pectin can help cut down your cooking time. Liquid pectin works faster than powdered pectin and is added after you've boiled together your sugar and fruit. Be sure to follow your recipe or the pectin's package instructions to get the ratio right. Too much pectin will make your jam thick and rubbery and too little will leave you with a liquid mess.

Now that we've taken the fear factor out of at-home jam production, make a batch today for breakfast tomorrow.