Strawberry Freezer Jam
It's strawberry season and the local fields are ripe for the picking! I've been to the patch twice now and have gotten almost 15lbs of strawberries! The first time I went... all the berries we picked ended up in the belly of my family. And I'm pretty certain that most of those ended up in...
It's strawberry season and the local fields are ripe for the picking! I've been to the patch twice now and have gotten almost 15lbs of strawberries!
The first time I went... all the berries we picked ended up in the belly of my family.
And I'm pretty certain that most of those ended up in Matty's tummy!
Although, he was a big helper at the strawberry field and many of the berries he picked made it into the box!
Not gonna lie - I've never made jam before. Ever. I know, I know. The amount that I use fruit in my baking, you'd think that I would have 100 recipes in my back pocket.
Nope.
Zero jam recipes.
*sigh*
I was really scared to try canning for the first time because I didn't want anything to go wrong. It's a lot of work to sterilize jars, cook the food and then keep everything hot. But in the end, it was worth it and I'm glad I made freezer jam.
It's kinda fool-proof. Which is exactly what I need.
I started with a box of Sure Jell Pectin and read the instruction. Hmmmmm, it didn't seem too difficult. I mean how hard could it be to mess up mashed up berries and a little pectin? I can do this! Into the basement I went, found all the empty jars I could find and began the process.
I started with 6 ½ lbs (2.55 kilograms) of fresh picked strawberries which after cleaned made about 12 cups of sliced berries. All of that made about 15 cups of strawberry freezer jam. Not too bad for $10 spent at the strawberry field!
The recipe I have posted here makes A LOT of strawberry freezer jam. But, if you want to make a smaller batch, follow the instructions on the inside of the pectin box.
I whipped up a batch of scones to eat the jam on today too... you can find that recipe HERE.
I also found some cute red and white checkered napkins, red ribbon and wooden ladybugs to package the jars up for gifts. Cost less than $3 for all the supplies to turn them into adorable treats that will make anyone happy!
Enjoy!
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Ingredients
- 12 cups cleaned and halved (or quartered if they are big) fresh strawberries (I started witih about 6 ½lbs before they were cleaned and sliced)
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 16 cups of granulated sugar
- 3 cups water
- 4 boxes of Sure Jell Pectin
Instructions
- Place your cleaned and sliced strawberries in a VERY LARGE bowl.
- Using a potato masher, mash the strawberries until no more large pieces of strawberries are left. This should take about 10 minutes of mashing.
- Fold in the zest and juice of two lemons. Set aside.
- Sterilize your jars. I used the technique in this video tutorial to sterilize my jars. Submerge the jars in water and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 minutes. Remove and set upside down on a clean, dry towel.
- While the jars are boiling, measure out exactly 8 cups of strawberry mash and place it in another very large bowl. Put any leftovers in a container with a lid and refrigerate. Use this on ice cream or as a filling for cake... or whatever else you want. Just don't waste it!
- Add 16 cups of granulated sugar to the 8 cups of strawberries and mix combine. Let set at least 15 minutes or until the jars are ready.
- Once the jars are dry, prepare the pectin. In a medium pot, combine the water and pectin and bring to a boil. Stir constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Stir constantly.
- Pour hot pectin over the strawberries and sugar and mix together for 4-5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour into jars leaving ½ inch at the top. The jam will expand during freezing. Place lids on the jars.
- Let the jam set out at room temperature for 24 hours.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks or in the freezer for up to a year.
Last summer I put some of my strawberry freezer jam into zip-locked bags in the freezer to save freezer space. I just take some out of the bag and put into jars as I need it. It worked great!
What a great idea!!!