Small Batch Refrigerator Jam (2024)

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By Joanie Zisk

on Jun 09, 2019, Updated Apr 22, 2024

4.90 from 28 votes

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Want fresh, homemade jam without complicated ingredients or techniques? This small batch refrigerator jam is your answer! It uses just fruit and sugar, and since it’s pectin-free, it comes together in a flash. Perfect for topping toast, yogurt, or desserts!

this Recipe

Enjoy this delightful small batch jam with various treats. It pairs wonderfully with a slice of freshly-baked French bread, fluffy Butter Swim Biscuits, light and airy Pancakes, or crisp Waffles. Alternatively, you can mix it into creamy yogurt with crunchy Butter Pecan Granola, use it as a sweet drizzle over a moist White Cake, or as a flavorful addition to buttery Thumbprint Cookies.

Why You’ll Love This Jam Recipe
What Is Refrigerator Jam?
Ingredients And Yield
Recipe Variations
How To Make Refrigerator Jam
Expert Tips For Making Perfect Small Batch Jam
Frequently Asked Questions
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
Easy Small Batch Refrigerator Jam Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Jam Recipe

Ease: Made with just sugar and fruit, the ingredients list couldn’t be simpler.
Versatility: This jam can be used in a variety of ways, such as on toast, pancakes, waffles, and yogurt.
Small Batch: Ideal for single servings, minimizing food waste.
No Special Equipment: No canning or pectin required.
Taste: A naturally sweet and fruit-forward flavor you won’t get from store-bought jams.

RELATED: 20 Breakfast Recipes For One

What Is Refrigerator Jam?

Refrigerator jam is a simplified jam that doesn’t require any canning. It’s designed to be stored in the fridge and consumed within a short period, making it ideal for small households or those new to jam-making.

Ingredients And Yield

If you have any ingredients leftover from this small batch jam recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.

Blueberries or Strawberries
Sugar

Before you start, it’s crucial to taste your selected fruit—be it blueberries or strawberries—to gauge their natural sweetness. Fruits can differ significantly in their sugar content, and a tart batch may require a touch more sugar than indicated in the recipe.

This small batch recipe produces approximately 3/4 cup of either blueberry or strawberry jam, filling one small jar perfectly.

Recipe Variations

Your small batch refrigerator jam is already a hit, but if you’re feeling a little experimental, here are some fun variations to try out. Each one brings something new to the table!

Mixed Berry Jam: Use a combination of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries for a multi-berry experience.
Spiced Jam: Add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves for a seasonal flair that’s perfect for autumn or winter.
Tropical Twist: Incorporate mango or pineapple chunks for a tropical flavor profile.
Citrus Zing: Add a teaspoon of lemon or orange zest to give your jam a refreshing citrus kick.

How To Make Refrigerator Jam

These step-by-step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make a small batch of refrigerator jam. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.

Place the blueberries and sugar in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a simmer. Mash the berries slightly with a potato masher or the bottom of a fork.

Begin to stir the berries and sugar together as soon as the berries begin to boil.

Continue to cook and stir occasionally until the jam begins to thicken. The jam cooks quickly and as it cooks, it thickens naturally. You can see exactly what I mean our recipe video below.

When the mixture reaches a gel consistency, remove the pan from the heat. When the jam has cooled, pour it into a clean glass jar.

Expert Tips For Making Perfect Small Batch Jam

Stick to Berries Rich in Pectin: While you can use a variety of fruits, berries like blueberries and strawberries that are naturally rich in pectin yield the best results.
Cook Slowly for Thickness: The combination of fruit and sugar needs a solid 20 to 30 minutes of cooking time to thicken properly. Slow cooking helps evaporate the moisture, aiding in the thickening process.
Monitor Thickness According to Fruit: Different fruits have varying water content, affecting the time needed to reach the desired thickness. Start assessing your jam’s consistency around the 20-minute mark.
Uniform Fruit Size Matters: To ensure even cooking, make sure your fruit pieces are of similar size. Chop the fruit into halves or quarters before cooking.
Soft Texture, Big Flavor: Although jam made without pectin tends to be softer than its store-bought counterpart, its fresh and vibrant flavor more than compensates.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What types of fruits are best for making refrigerator jam?

You can make refrigerator jams with just about any kind of fruit so feel free to use what you have available and whichever fruits are in season. You might also consider adding a hefty pinch of fresh herbs like rosemary or mint or grating fresh ginger and adding it to the fruit as it cooks on the stove.

How long does refrigerator jam last?

Homemade refrigerator jam lasts about 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients

If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:

Blueberry Muffin For One

Small Batch Strawberry White Chocolate Scones

Mini Blueberry Pie

Strawberry Shortcake For One

If you would like additional information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit ourFAQ page. For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit ourStore page.

If you’ve tried this easy small batch jam recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.

Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see!

Your Cooking For One Source

Because you’re worth it

Easy Small Batch Refrigerator Jam

4.90 from 28 votes

By: Joanie Zisk

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Cooling time: 20 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr

Servings: 6 servings

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Watch How To Make This

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups blueberries (1 pint) or 2 cups chopped strawberries
▢ ¼ cup sugar

Instructions

Combine the blueberries (or strawberries) and the sugar in a medium saucepan. Mash berries slightly with a potato masher or the bottom of a fork. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
As soon as the berries begin to boil, begin to stir.
Continue to cook and stir occasionally until jam begins to thicken. During the last few minutes of cook time, stir vigorously so that the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
When the mixture reaches a gel consistency, remove pan from the heat.
Pour into a clean glass jar.

Notes

Expert Tips

Stick to Berries Rich in Pectin:While you can use a variety of fruits, berries like blueberries and strawberries that are naturally rich in pectin yield the best results.
Cook Slowly for Thickness:The combination of fruit and sugar needs a solid 20 to 30 minutes of cooking time to thicken properly. Slow cooking helps evaporate the moisture, aiding in the thickening process.
Monitor Thickness According to Fruit:Different fruits have varying water content, affecting the time needed to reach the desired thickness. Start assessing your jam’s consistency around the 20-minute mark.
Uniform Fruit Size Matters:To ensure even cooking, make sure your fruit pieces are of similar size. Chop the fruit into halves or quarters before cooking.
Soft Texture, Big Flavor:Although jam made without pectin tends to be softer than its store-bought counterpart, its fresh and vibrant flavor more than compensates.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoon, Calories: 40kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Potassium: 37mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 25IU, Vitamin C: 4.8mg, Calcium: 3mg, Iron: 0.1mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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4.90 from 28 votes (10 ratings without comment)

60 Comments

I’ve made this type of jam dozens of times, with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, apricots (my fave!), well, basically, with whatever the fruit guy on the corner has on sale that’s in good shape.
I appreciate that you use such a small amount of sugar. I do too.
I differ with you in small ways:
When I prepare the fruit, I mash it up slightly with the sugar and leave it to macerate (soak) in the refrigerator for a few hours. This draws out the sugar.
Stone fruits, such as apricots or peaches, get chopped up a bit before it all goes into the fridge. Otherwise, all the fruit gets treated the same.
Before I put the fruit on the stove, I put in a wedge of citrus: lemon, orange, or lime. The point of the citrus is that the pith (the white part) has pectin, which is a thickening agent. You don’t want to use too much because too much will impart bitterness.
I cook over a lower flame than you do, but more than a simmer. I set my timer for 5 minutes, and every 5 minutes, I give the mixture a stir to the bottom of the pot, so that the sugar doesn’t sink and burn and the mixture doesn’t spatter (spattering is dangerous-sugar burns are among the worst burns you can get in the kitchen. Think napalm: fire that sticks.) Watch for spillovers. If the mixture of foams up too much, lower the flame a bit. This process requires some attention, but not constant attention.
As the fruit cooks, it collapses, and the juices get syrupy.
There are many ways to tell when it’s done. I start checking after about 15 minutes (the third time I stir). My test is that I lift the spoon out of the cooking liquid, and when the liquid stops dripping off the spoon and starts dribbling, it is done. Keep cooking until you start seeing the dribble. You will know what I’m talking about when you see it. It will tighten up further as it cools.
Taste for sweetness after it cools. Be cautious with sugar initially. You can add sugar if it isn’t sweet enough, but you can’t remove it if it’s too sweet.
Reply
1. Thank you so much for your detailed feedback and tips! I’m thrilled you enjoy the recipe and love hearing about the variations you’ve tried. Your maceration method and use of citrus for pectin are great ideas. Thanks for sharing your process!
  Reply
  1. I just tried this with melon. Wow!
    If I do this again, I will take a SUPER ripe melon, and dice the fruit (a much finer chop), as melon does not seem to break down the way other fruits do.
    Oh! Where do I mascerate? In the 2 quart heavy bottom pot which I use to make the jam.
    I LOVE your postings!
  2. Thank you so much, Steve! I’ve never made jam with melon, but it sounds amazing. I can’t wait to give it a try! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Could this be done in a slow cooker?
I have a 2 1/2 quart cooker.
Reply
1. While I haven’t tried this refrigerator jam recipe in a slow cooker, I suspect the consistency would be different. Traditional jam-making on the stovetop relies on rapid evaporation to thicken the fruit and sugar mixture. A slow cooker’s lower, gentler heat might not achieve the same results.
  Reply
Diabetic so I will try this with monk fruit instead of sugar. It’s a 1:1 exchange so should be easy. I will let you know how it goes.
Reply
Made this with wild raspberries, absolutely delicious
Reply
What size jars do I need for this yummy recipe?
I have the really small canning jars and small ones and regular size Mason canning jars.
I would love to use them. Since I don’t can stuff. (arthritis in my hands)
Reply
1. Use a jar that holds roughly half to three-quarters of a cup.
  Reply
  1. Thank you!
Ideally, I’d like to make this recipe with no sugar, but not sure how that would turn out. I was thinking of at least using half the amount of sugar recommended for this recipe. Do you think that would work? Thank you! ❤️
Reply
1. Hi Susanna, you need sugar to make the jam thicken. You can try using less sugar but the jam will not be as thick.
  Reply
Great recipe Joanie! I made the jam with strawberries and in the last few minutes I’d cooking down I added some lemon zest. Nice twist of flavor. Can’t wait to try blueberries next!
Reply