Strawberry Passionfruit Jam

Boring strawberry jam? No way! This jammy mashup of strawberry and passionfruit has a bright, tangy, and strawberry-forward flavor and a gorgeous ruby red color.

This recipe is written for water-bath canning methods for shelf-stable storage, however it can also be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months!

Another year, another strawberry season, another day dragging my husband outside to pick berries. He’s a good sport about it though, and, despite the fact the actual picking is not his favorite activity, he certainly appreciates the fruits of our labors (literally).

This year’s strawberry jam (in addition to making a batch of my favorite classic strawberry jam for year-round PB&Js) brings together two fruits that I love individually—strawberry and passionfruit—and love even more together. Case in point: last year’s strawberry passionfruit lemonade which was what inspired this lively flavor combination to begin with.

Unique combo fruit jams are… well, my jam. From mango raspberry to strawberry guava, I say why use one fruit when two would be better (or hey, what about three! Or four! In fact, there’s a fabulous triple berry jam, and a ridiculously named FROG jam—fig, raspberry, orange, and ginger—in my book, and they are definitely some of my favorites).

When it comes to kinds of fruit, the more the merrier I say!

This bright ruby red jam is as bold as it is flavorful, strawberry forward, with a hint of passionfruit where normally there’d be a little lemon for acid and brightness.

It’s definitely a strawberry jam with some passionfruit, rather than a passionfruit jam with a little strawberry in it; the primary named ingredient being the dominant flavor.

So even though you might think it’s a normal, unassuming strawberry jam at first bite, you’ll soon recognize that there is something extra happening there. That’s the passionfruit’s doing, and what makes this jam so delightfully different.

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This recipe was written using Ball Classic Pectin, which, during last year’s comparison testing of different brands of pectin, turned out to be our favorite batch, with a balanced sweetness, bright fruit flavor, higher yield and surprisingly fast cook time (pectin-added jams require less than 15 minutes of cook time compared to 45 or more for old-fashioned jams).

I’ve been finding myself leaning towards jams with more sugar lately, mainly because of the lovely jammy mouthfeel, gorgeous crystalline appearance, as well as the increased longevity (low-sugar jams tend to lose their color after only a few months; while they’re still fine to eat for up to a year they’re just not as appetizing to me).

Not a canner? Not a problem! This jam can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 2 weeks, or even frozen for up to 6 months (keep refrigerated and use within 2 weeks of thawing).

This batch uses the “lower” quantity of sugar required for the jam to set (the pectin insert specifies two different quantities), but it could be increased to the higher proprotion if you want an even jammier texture and a higher yield. Just don’t decrease the sugar quantity or you’re setting yourself up for failure (well, not complete failure, just a lovely strawberry passionfruit sauce rather than a jam).

If you’re using SureJell original pectin (or another brand of classic pectin), you’ll need to use a much larger quantity of sugar (usually a 1:1 ratio of sugar to fruit by weight) to get it to set properly (unfortunately this brand of pectin is not as flexible as the Ball stuff, don’t say I didn’t warn you). Use the proportions as listed in the recipe that comes with your pectin to ensure a proper set.

To adapt this recipe using Pomona’s low-sugar pectin, follow the low-sugar strawberry jam recipe here, replacing the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the mashed strawberry with passionfruit pulp instead.

While you could technically make an old-fashioned jam using similar instructions (replacing lemon juice with passionfruit pulp instead) I think the heavier, candied fruit flavor that old-fashioned jams have would overpower the delicate brightness of the passionfruit.

Find your passion(fruit).

Since fresh passion fruits are hard to come by in my neck of the woods, I buy packs of frozen passion fruit pulp, which I then strain to remove the seeds. I love that it is 100% fresh passionfruit, with no preservatives or sweeteners added, so it’s just as good as fresh fruit.

If you are using fresh passionfruit (I’m envious you can find it where you are!) you’ll need about 8 juicy fruits to yield the 6 tablespoons called for here.

Passionfruit pulp can sometimes ‘cling’ to the seeds making it hard to strain. Briefly pulse it in a food processor or blender on low (don’t pulverize the seeds!) to help release the pulp from the seeds and maximize the yield.

If you can only find passionfruit juice or nectar, it will work in a pinch, however if it has added sugar it will make for a sweeter and less acidic final product. If you are using sweetened passionfruit juice, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to ensure proper acidity for canning (not a concern if you’re just refrigerating or freezing it).

Monster mash.

For best results, strawberries should be coarsely chopped and then mashed. You should obviously use the best berries you can find; I like to use about 75% perfectly ripe berries and 25% slightly less than ripe berries; the latter of which has a bit more natural pectin and will make for a slightly firmer set. Using all underripe berries would result in a much firmer, and less flavorful final product.

Sometimes I’ll cheat and pulse the fruit a few times in a food processor instead of chopping, and while the results are fine, you’ll likely end up with fruit float in your canned jars (where the solid chunks of fruit float to the top). This is why mashing is the ideal way to prepare fruit for jam, reducing the likelihood of fruit float.

If you prefer a smoother texture, you can also run the fruit through a food mill (the medium or coarse screens). You don’t want to liquify the fruit in a blender or food processor, but a food mill will give you a saucier, smoother texture that’s not as chunky as chopped and mashed fruit. If you do this, just know the jam will be a little looser as a result.

Since raspberries have similar levels of pectin and acidity, you can subsitute all or some of the strawberries in this recipe with raspberries instead (and I think raspberry passionfruit would be a lovely combo, as I’ve already proved with this raspberry passionfruit semifreddo recipe from last year).

Free Printable Labels

As always, the labels you see in this post are free to download and print yourself to make your jars gift-ready and extra-special.

The free PDF download includes two pages of labels, one with 2″ square labels (for smooth-sided jars), and one with 2″ round labels for standard-sized mason jar lids. Print onto full sheet sticker paper or precut round labels; you can also print onto cardstock, cut out and punch a hole to tie onto the jar lids like a gift tag.

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