Spring is finally here and summer is around the corner, can you believe it! The sun comes up earlier and sets later. The trees and bushes have fresh buds on them. Warmer air is approaching us, whooo hoo I am so excited! Another thing that is coming up is strawberry season. If you haven’t been strawberry picking yet I highly recommend you give it a try. There’s nothing like picking your own fruits or vegetables and making something out of them. I remember as I kid I used to pick strawberries with my aunt. Come to think of it, I ate way more than I ever picked. My aunt made the best strawberry jelly/jam ever. It was so good that we would have it for dessert sometimes, just bread and jelly. I have always wanted to learn how to make jelly but was super intimidated by the canning process. Thankfully this recipe doesn’t require any of that. This is super simple and doesn’t require much time or ingredients. This is fair warning that once you make it, you will never buy store bought jelly again. I first made this last year and now my kids won’t eat any other jelly. The one thing that I absolutely love is that it tastes so fresh and it spreads smooth. Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 box strawberries (1lb) you will need 2 cups chopped strawberries. Depending on how big or little your strawberries are you may need 2 boxes
1 box Sure Jell Pectin (you can find this in the canning aisle)
4 C sugar
3/4 C water
6 – 7 half pint canning jars (you can use larger jars if you would like)
a blender, food processor, or potato masher
Directions:
Wash your strawberries and cut off the green tops.
*If you’re using a potato masher cut the strawberries in small chunks and place into large bowl. Take your masher and chop your strawberries to desired consistency. Some people like chunks of strawberries in their jam. If you like chunks and not completely smooth, make sure to leave some. * If you’re using a blender or food processor cut the strawberries in half and place them into the mixer. Blend until desired consistency. When finished blending dump into a large bowl.
Stir sugar into the strawberries. Make sure to mix well until most of the sugar is dissolved. Let the strawberry and sugar mixture stand for 10 minutes.
In the mean time while the strawberry and sugar mixture are standing, take the water and the box of pectin and put it in a pot on the stove over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil and stir constantly with a whisk for 1 minute.
After the minute is over, take the pot of pectin and gently pour it into the strawberry sugar mixture. Stir for 3 minutes or until all the sugar is completely dissolved. (I set my timer for 3 minutes).
When you are done stirring the pectin into the strawberries, pour about ¾ c of the strawberry mixture into the canning jars. Make sure you don’t fill it up all the way in case it expands in the freezer. You’ll need to move quickly during this step because the mixture will become thick fast, so make sure you have your canning jars ready to go.
Wipe off the jars in case you spilled some on the sides and put the lids on.
Let the jars of jelly stand on the counter for 24 hours before moving them to the freezer.
Once the 24 hours are up, place the jars into the freezer. Let them freeze. I usually let them freeze overnight. It will not freeze solid. You will be able to take it from the freezer straight to your bread.
And there you have it ladies and gentlemen your very own homemade freezer jam. This makes great jam not to mention great gifts for others. And feel free to change up the fruit! I have made raspberry, peach, raspberry mango, and raspberry peach so far. All were delicious! I’m going to try grape this afternoon. Ill let you know how it turns out! If you try other combinations comment below and let us know what you think of them!
Side Note: Get the fruit while it’s in season. That’s when it tastes the best. You can also freeze the fruit so you can make jam in the winter months and still have the taste of summer.
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