Spiced Christmas Strawberry Cranberry Jam

This spiced strawberry cranberry jam takes frozen strawberries and fresh cranberries, cooks them with cinnamon and allspice, and sets them with fruit pectin. The result is bright red, a little tart and warm with spice, made for holiday toast or for tucking into gift baskets. If you have never canned before, this is a friendly first batch: seven ingredients and a one minute hard boil.

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More Christmas jams

• Spiced Christmas Jam with Strawberries, Cranberries and Orange
• Raspberry Cranberry Christmas Jam
• Spiced Christmas Strawberry Raspberry Jam
• Cherry Cranberry Holiday Jam
• All our jams and jellies

What goes into strawberry cranberry jam

• 1 lb frozen strawberries, crushed
• 12 oz fresh cranberries, chopped
• 1 cup water
• 6 cups sugar
• 1 box (1.75 oz) fruit pectin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice

Measure the sugar into its own bowl before you turn on the stove. Six cups is a lot to scoop while a pot of fruit is boiling, and the recipe needs it to go in all at once.

Two things to sort out before the pot goes on

Crush and chop the fruit properly

Whole cranberries are tough little things. They have a waxy skin that keeps them firm until they pop, and big pieces float to the top of the jar instead of staying suspended. Chopping them first means the 10 minute simmer in water actually softens them all the way through. A few pulses in a food processor or a sharp knife on a board both work; try to keep the chop even so all the pieces soften at the same rate.

The strawberries go in crushed. A potato masher in a wide bowl does the job and leaves some texture, which is nice against the softer cranberries. Keep any juice that collects in the bowl and add it with the fruit.

Get your jars ready first

The jam moves fast at the end. Once the sugar boils hard for 1 minute, it needs to go straight into hot sterilized jars. Have them hot, lids ready and a ladle and funnel close by before you start cooking. The recipe makes about 3 half pints, so set your jars out in a row next to the stove where you can fill them one after another without hunting for anything.

How to make it

• Put the chopped cranberries and the water in a large pot and simmer for 10 minutes, until the berries soften.
• Stir in the crushed strawberries, the pectin, the cinnamon and the allspice. Bring the pot to a full boil.
• Add the sugar all at once, stirring so it dissolves. Bring it back to a full rolling boil, then boil hard for 1 minute, stirring the whole time.
• Take the pot off the heat. Ladle the jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, or let the jars cool and refrigerate them for up to 3 weeks.

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Looking for a party appetizer that uses cranberry too? Our cranberry brie crostini pair warm brie with cranberry sauce on crisp baguette.

If you like this one, try our Raspberry Cranberry Christmas Jam too.

If you like this one, try our Gingerbread Christmas Jam too.

If you like this one, try our Spiced Christmas Strawberry Pomegranate Jam too.

If you like this one, try our Spiced Christmas Strawberry Raspberry Jam too.

Another spiced jar for the pantry is our pear vanilla cinnamon jam , set with real vanilla and a teaspoon of cinnamon.

If you like this one, our Christmas jam with orange and vanilla uses the same strawberry and cranberry base with a whole vanilla bean added.

Why the order of the steps matters

It can look fussy to add pectin before sugar, but this is how boxed fruit pectin is meant to work. The pectin needs to dissolve in the hot fruit first. If the sugar goes in at the same time, the pectin can clump and never spread through the pot, and you end up with syrup.

The phrase “full rolling boil” also has a specific meaning. It is a boil you cannot stir down: big bubbles keep breaking across the whole surface even while the spoon is moving. A gentle simmer at the edges does not count. Once you reach that point after the sugar goes in, start your 1 minute timer. Too short and the jam may stay runny; much longer and the pectin can start to break down. Keep the timer within reach before the sugar goes in so you are not searching for it at the key moment.

Stir steadily during that minute. With 6 cups of sugar in the pot, the bottom can scorch quickly, and a scorched batch tastes bitter. If foam builds on top after you pull the pot off the heat, skim it off with a metal spoon so the jars look clear.

Serving it and keeping it

The jam is at its best on warm buttered toast, English muffins or biscuits on a slow holiday morning. The cranberries keep it from tasting flat and sugary, and the cinnamon and allspice make it smell like the season the moment you open the jar.

For storage, you have two choices from the recipe. Jars processed in the boiling water bath for 10 minutes go on the pantry shelf. If you skip the water bath, keep the jars in the fridge and use them within 3 weeks.

To give it as a gift, set a square of checked cloth over each lid and tie it with ribbon. It turns a plain half pint jar into something you can hand over at the door.

If you like this one, try our spiced Christmas jam with orange or the deeper spiced Christmas cherry jam . For a milder cranberry jar there is cranberry pear jam , and any of them can go on a Christmas jam baked brie .

Strawberry cranberry jam FAQs

Do I have to can the jars in a water bath?

No. The water bath is for shelf storage. If you would rather skip it, let the filled jars cool and keep them refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

Why does the jam look loose right after cooking?

Pectin jams are thin while hot and set as they cool. Judge the texture once the jars are fully cooled, not straight from the pot.

Can I cut down the sugar?

The recipe is written for 6 cups of sugar together with one box (1.75 oz) of regular fruit pectin, and the steps and the 1 minute hard boil are built around those amounts. A lower sugar batch falls outside what this recipe covers, so make it as written.

Why leave 1/4 inch of space at the top of the jar?

That headspace gives the lid room to seal during processing. Too little and jam can bubble out under the lid; too much and the seal may not form well.

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Written and edited by The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team

The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team writes and edits the recipes on Foodie Yummy: classic American potluck salads, holiday sides and easy comfort food, with a few low-carb options. Every recipe lists exact quantities, numbered steps and a printable recipe card, plus notes on swaps, storage and make-ahead timing. Spot a problem with a recipe? Tell us through the contact page and we will correct it. About us