Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam (with video)

Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam is an herbal and strawberry fruit jam, just sweet enough to make it versatile for a variety of sweet or savory uses.

Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam
Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam

Strawberries

Who doesn’t love the sweet juicy taste of freshly picked strawberries!

Thankfully we are able to obtain strawberries throughout much of the year. 

Winter blues, here in Maryland, is a very real thing.

Five long months with naked trees, freezing temps and no sign of life coming from the ground. 

Winter strawberry fields
Winter Strawberry Fields

Until… March, when suddenly the first strawberry leaves emerge from the ground to let us know that spring is on its way!

Luckily for me, I grow strawberries and every year. w

When I see them return, I am absolutely amazed that they live throughout the cold of winter and pop up once again to say hello!

My strawberry patch
My Strawberry Patch

A Strawberry Patch In Early Spring

Once I see a few strawberry leaves in my own yard, I hop in my car and drive to the large strawberry farm nearby to see how it’s looking over there!

nearby strawberry patch
Nearby Strawberry Patch

By April, we are ready to pick strawberries and make them into a gazillion recipes; that is, if we don’t eat them all when freshly picked!

Even though I grow a few strawberry plants, when strawberry picking season begins, I want to experience the excitement with others!

I grab my basket and head to the strawberry farm for lots more than I could hope to grow.

Freshly picked strawberries
Freshly Picked Strawberries

Quick Homemade Strawberry Jam

Fresh, sweet, juicy strawberries can be bought nearly year round, so why not make a quick jam out of them. 

Certainly there are many folks that can jams throughout the summer months and this requires a canning technique, honestly, I don’t have time for.

For this reason, I created a Quick Strawberry Jam technique that is, well… quick.

Simply simmer the fresh fruit, along with a little sugar, sour drizzle of lemon and the trick is to add a spoonful of potato starch or cornstarch.

The strawberry mixture bubbles away on top the stove for a bit, thickens and is ready to cool and store in the fridge.

It will last for about a week in the fridge and several months in the freezer.

Strawberry jam is delicious as a spread on tea sandwiches, drizzled down a scoop of vanilla ice cream for sure, but let’s stretch your appetite for something totally whimsical: Button Cups! 

Button Cups with Homemade Strawberry Jam and Homemade Almond Butter.
Button Cups with Homemade Strawberry Jam and Homemade Almond Butter

Button Cups With Thyme Strawberry Jam and Almond Butter

Button cups are something whimsical I made for a television cooking show, The Great American Recipe on PBS.

I was thrilled to be chosen to film in this first-class production.

I knew something absolutely spectacular had to be made for such an occasion. 

These button cups, which are shortbread cookies, filled with strawberry jam and almond butter, which I made all of the elements on set in 60-minutes.

Having created these button cups for my daughter’s third birthday, they are loved just as much now that she is thirty!

Tea party with my children.
Tea Party with My Children

What Inspired Button Cups With Homemade Strawberry Jam?

It was a whimsical attempt, with the help of my daughter’s older brother, to help me create something different for a little girl’s tea party. 

We read Beatrix Potter critter stories and it was the little Tailor and Cutter mouse that caught my daughters fantasy. 

I used a large wooden button to shape the cookie that would go on top of a tart shell.

We filled the tarts with nut butter and jam. It was a hit then, and still is to this day. 

Fast forward to a few years ago, when I was visiting the Cotswolds in England, and came across the enchanting World of Beatrix Potter shop! 

Beatrix Potter World In The Cotswolds England
Beatrix Potter World In The Cotswolds England

It took me back many years to the memories of reading these stories to my children. I knew I had to take one of the critters home with me. 

Beatrix Potter World
Beatrix Potter World

Aleppo In Strawberry Jam?

Robin, have you lost your mind? Oh… Not at all!!

Sweet things, for me, open the door to so many other layers of flavors besides sugary sweet. 

Aleppo pepper is a smoked, slightly sweet, yet a little bit hot, pepper flake.

When added to the simmering time of this strawberry jam, it wakes the mouth up and brings out the natural sweetness of the strawberries. 

Aleppo pepper in strawberry jam.
Aleppo Pepper In Strawberry Jam

Thyme The Versatile Herb

Thyme is a tiny, yet very aromatic leaf.

It was never a flower, and only when they have fully grown, and ready to produce seeds for another harvest does a flower form on the tops. 

The flowers on the tops of thyme are not often what we cook with, though we can.

The thyme leaves remain a very earthy and aromatic herbal essence. 

Dirt To Dish Cookbook

The combination of sweet floral essence and earthy aromatic essence makes for a beautiful umami flavor.

Add to that a pinch of heat and you’ve got a jam worth making a cookie or homemade bread, to spread it over!

Thyme garden
Thyme Garden

More Jams You’re Sure To Love

Depending on the season, I love to make a fresh fruit jam to incorporate into lots of recipes.

My Jam Collection
My Jam Collection

Ingredients Needed

  • Strawberries
  • Sugar
  • Aleppo pepper
  • Fresh Thyme
  • Lemon juice
  • Potato starch or corn starch
  • Salt
Strawberry and Thyme Jam Ingredients
Strawberry and Thyme Jam Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Sauce pan
  • Cutting board
  • Small knife
  • Food processor
  • 12 oz. Mason jar with lid
  • Whisk
  • Stovetop or burner
Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam
Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam
Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam

Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam

An adult sweet strawberry jam with a little Aleppo heat and an underlining of thyme’s herbal essence!
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keyword: Thyme Strawberry Jam
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12 ounces

Equipment

  • Saucepan with lid
  • Glass jar with lid
  • Cutting board and knife

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Fresh Strawberries
  • 1/3 cup Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper see notes
  • 2 sprigs Fresh Thyme
  • 1 tsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp Potato starch or cornstarch
  • Salt pinch to taste

Instructions

  • Cut off the tops of the washed strawberries. Roughly chop the strawberries.
  • In a food processor or blender, place the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice and puree.
  • Transfer the strawberry mixture to a saucepan, along with the Aleppo pepper, potato starch (or cornstarch) and salt. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Lower and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the strawberry mixture thickens. Cool.
  • Transfer to a closed container and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Video

Notes

  • Aleppo is a smoked pepper but can be substituted with 1 finely chopped chili pepper and 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika. 
Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam
Homemade Thyme Strawberry Jam
Robin
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)
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