It’s that time of year again. Strawberries are ripe on the vine. Time to review one of my favorite activities: how to make strawberry freezer jam.
Until a few years ago, I had never made strawberry freezer jam. Quite frankly, I was a little intimidated by the whole process. But when a friend told me how to make strawberry freezer jam, and just how easy it is, I decided to give it a try.
For extra-fresh goodness all year long, make jam the same day you pick the berries.
Everything you need to make freezer jam. Just add crushed berries, stir, and freeze.
After spending the morning at our local U-Pick strawberry patch, I headed straight to the grocery store for my half-pint canning jars and instant pectin. One successful batch later, and I was hooked. The kids love the taste, and I love the fact that we can grab a new jar from the freezer whenever we need more jam.
Crush berries according to preference. Some like berries crushed to a fine pulp. Others leave a few larger pieces to enjoy with the jam.
Of course, the first step in how to make strawberry freezer jam is picking the berries. Fully ripe and fresh-picked berries make the best jam, so be sure to avoid any berries with yellow tips.
After giving the berries a good clean, remove the tops (and any bad spots) and crush them with a potato masher. Add pectin and sugar according to the directions on the pectin box and stir for three minutes. Note: Pectin comes in individual packages, or you can buy it in a jar like this one. Since I make a lot of jam, I always buy the jar. I prefer the Ball brand, since it calls for significantly less sugar than other brands.
Final step: pour jam into clean jars. A funnel, while not absolutely necessary, certainly cuts down on the mess. Let jam sit out for 30 minutes, then freeze.
My friend was right. It really is that simple!
BTW, make sure you buy Instant Pectin, not Classic Pectin, if you want to make freezer jam. If you buy the Classic Pectin, you’ll be stuck boiling the jam and processing it with a water bath canner. (This is fairly easy to do, but if you’ve planned on super simple, quick and easy freezer jam, you will definitely be spending more time and cleaning up more mess than you bargained for!) On the plus side, you can store the jam processed with the water bath canner on a shelf in your pantry, saving all kinds of freezer space.
I did not realize you could freeze glass jars in the freezer. How long are these able to stay??
Glass works well for freezing as long as you follow a few guidelines: http://nchfp.uga.edu/questions/FAQ_freezing.html#21
Not sure on the guidelines for length of time in the freezer, but ours has lasted for a year in the freezer, and I can’t tell a difference between the jar we just pulled out of the freezer and the first jar we used a year ago. (You’re actually lucky if it lasts that long!) 🙂