But come winter, it was such a treat to be able to run down to the basement for a jar and pop open the lid. Instead, I focus on one or two canning projects each summer, and I make a few batches of freezer jam. And imagine how wonderful some fresh berry jam would taste in the middle of winter, spread on toast or swirled into yogurt!
My family especially likes to add a dollop of jam to a steaming hot waffle, along with some freshly whipped and sweetened cream. I was so very happy with our strawberry garden this year.
We had enough sweet red berries from our very own garden. I was giddy! Freezer jam is so easy to make that I can literally hand over the recipe to our daughters to make on their own. To start the strawberry recipe, fresh berries are crushed in a large bowl. I like to use a potato masher or a rigid pastry blender, crushing the berries until they are in small chunks. Our daughters usually take turns, as neither one wants to miss out on the fun.
Then sugar is added to the fruit and left to sit for 10 minutes. Then a box of pectin is added to a bit of water and quickly heated on the stovetop. The pectin mixture is added to the strawberries, and the thickening of the jam begins. The jam is then ladled into jars.
The project is less messy if you have a canning funnel to place over the jar rims, but this piece of equipment is definitely not a necessity. See that metal funnel in the photo above?
I wonder how many jars of jam she made in her lifetime. Freezer jam generally has a looser consistency than jam made the traditional way. With freezer jam, the fruit is not cooked, giving it a brighter, fresh-from-summer color and flavor.
Traditional jams are made by cooking the fruit, placing the jam in hot jars, and then boiling the jars in a big pot of hot water—a much lengthier process that heats up the kitchen real fast. Store jam in refrigerator. Use within days of opening. Jessica Ellingsworth is the editor and curator of Mayvn. Mayvn serves as a lifestyle spot for stylish, yet simple homemaking.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. You might look into Stevia, though. Have you ever had a batch that came out really liquidy?
I made one with my grandma like that yesterday any suggestions on how to fix it? Does anyone have any suggestions for Krystal? If I want to make freezer jam for Christmas gifts, and I take them out of the freezer on Christmas Eve to give, does the jam need to be refrigerated right away, or can it be left out of the refrigerator until the person gets home with it? I made strawberry freezer jam by the SureJell directions. I left the 6 jars out on the counter for 24 hours and then placed them in the freezer.
The next day I looked in the freezer and all 6 jars had a white blob all around showing through the jar. I took one jar out of the freezer to thaw in the frig and it thawed and the white blob is no longer visible.
The white blob was not there either before I placed the jars in the freezer to begin with. Have you ever heard of this and what would cause a white blob to show up only in the freezer? Were your jars completely cooled when you put them in the freezer?
Do you think it was just the moisture in it that had frozen around the sides? I have made freezer jam several times in the past few years but it never occurred to me to mix flavors!! Great suggestion! My daughter made the jam and set it on the cabinet for the jars to seal. None of them sealed and they sat out for 24 hours. Does she need to throw it out or can she go ahead and freeze it? I was wondering can the jam go in the fridge for a few weeks and then go in the freezer by chance?
Sealing the lids up tight and refrigerating without using for a few weeks should be fine if you eventually move them to the freezer for long-term keeping. If you are going to use one right away, just keep it in the fridge—there is no initial freezing required. Store-bought pectin comes in two forms: powder and liquid. Most recipes call for powdered pectin, but these are not interchangeable — use whichever form your recipe calls for.
This formula can vary a little depending on the brand of pectin, so follow the instructions on the package. Before you begin making freezer jam, have all your containers cleaned and ready. Use either sturdy plastic containers with tight-fitting lids, or short, wide-mouthed glass jars made especially for the freezer. It's best to choose containers that are no bigger than pint-size; the jam will not set up as well in larger containers.
Wash them thoroughly as you would any other dishes; there's no need to boil them. As the name implies, freezer jam is meant to be stored in the freezer. In fact, it will keep beautifully in the freezer for up to a year. You can also keep freezer jam in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Just remember never to keep freezer jam at room temperature, or it will spoil. See how to make super-simple strawberry freezer jam from scratch. All you need are fresh berries, sugar, dry pectin, and a little water.
So easy!
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