I’m new to this blog, But I love all the tips and enthusiasm. It’s so inspiring. I may have an answer, or at least a possible solution to the not quite jelled jam. I also don’t care for the taste of cooked strawberries, however I do “cooked” jarred jam every year without pectin. Cooking your jam further will thicken it not so much by furthering the reaction of the pectin (in fact pectin can begin to break down,) but rather by evaporation. If you spread your jam out in large baking dishes and leave it in the oven at 150 – 175 degrees, overnight (about 10 hours)you can achieve the same evaporation and jelling without the cooked taste.

Also, If you want to do a cooked version, You can macerate the berries overnight, then drain them and just cook the juice. When it’s jelled, add the strawberries back in, and proceed with canning. This is a good way to get preserves, which is jam with whole fruit.

Hope that helps. Happy jamming!

Faye