11:50 am - 52 degrees - scattered clouds...
Yesterday I had some extra time
so I decided to make some freezer jam. I
ended up with 9 jars of Blackberry, 9 jars of Raspberry and 9 jars of
Strawberry freezer jam. Yummm!!
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Delicious Freezer Jam.
Setting up for 24 hours before it goes into the freezer. |
Freezer jam is hands-down my
favorite kind of jam. With no-cook
freezer jam you get to preserve the bounty of summer without the fuss, heat,
equipment, and time that canned cooked jams require. Uncooked freezer jam is slightly different
than the cooked jams. It doesn’t have
that thick, cooked-down texture and flavor.
Instead, it looks and tastes like the ripe fruit. If you were to compare a jar of raspberry (or
any other flavor) freezer jam and raspberry traditional cooked jam, I think
you’d be shocked at the difference.
Regular cooked jam becomes quite dull in color as it cooks, where as
freezer jam retains the same pretty color as the fresh berries you started
with.
Freezer jam does have two drawbacks. The first drawback is it’s not shelf-stable. For long-term storage, all freezer jam must go
in the freezer – hence the name. However, if you don’t have a ton of freezer
space, freezer jam can be prepared and poured into quart-size Ziploc bags. Squeeze out the air, seal the bags and stack
them flat in the freezer. When you need
more jam, just thaw a bag, empty the contents of the bag into a jar, put it
into the fridge and enjoy.
The second drawback (well, not
really) is our kids got so used to eating delicious homemade freezer jam that
it didn’t take long before they were sticking their noses up at store-bought
jam, and every other kind of jam or jelly, except for freezer jam. I can’t blame them though because honestly we
all prefer the fresh, delicious taste of freezer jams.
To make freezer jam, all you
need is ripe fruit, sugar, and pectin.
That’s it! Quick and easy and
before you know it, you’ll be proudly scooping up homemade jam for toast,
biscuits, scones, waffles, pancakes, crepes, ice cream, smoothies, cake
filling, etc!
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| Filling up jars of red raspberry freezer jam! |
~Blackberry or Red Raspberry
Freezer Jam~
3 cups crushed fresh
blackberries or red raspberries
5 1/4 cups sugar
1 pkg Sure Jell Premium Fruit
Pectin
3/4 cup water
Mash the berries with a potato
masher or in a food processor until slightly chunky (not pureed). Jam should have bits of fruit. Once the berries are crushed to a size you
want, measure out 3 cups and put into a large bowl.
Stir sugar into the berries, mixing
well. Let stand at room temperature for
10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir 1 box of pectin and 3/4
cup water in a 1-quart saucepan. Bring
to a boil on high heat, stirring constantly.
Boil for 1 minute, while still stirring constantly.
Pour hot pectin mixture over berry
mixture. Stir constantly for 3 minutes
or until sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy; whichever is
longer. (A few sugar crystals may
remain).
Immediately spoon jam into
washed and prepared containers, leaving 1/2 –inch headspace. Wipe rims of containers and seal. Let stand at room temperature for about 24
hours or until set.
Store in the freezer for up to
a year, or store in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks. Thaw frozen jam and stir before serving.
{Note: You must measure carefully, jam making is an
exact process and if you don’t measure correctly, you’ll have unsuccessful
results. Measure the exact amount of
sugar, reducing the sugar or using a sugar substitutes will result in set
failures. If you want to make more than
one batch, do not try to double the recipe, instead make two separate
batches. We usually have several
batches, all in their own bowls, going at the same time.}
For the Strawberry Freezer Jam
recipe {click here}.
--- Enjoy!
