Posted By Kimberly Turner on Jun 17, 2014 in Berries, Condiments, Cooking How-To Videos, Cooking Shows, Cooking with Kimberly, Featured, How To Cook, Sauces, Strawberries | 0 comments

Freezer jam always seems to capture the real essence and taste of the fruit used, especially when it comes to Strawberry Freezer Jam.

We are particularly fond of berry jams, but we try to freeze some of each fruit as it comes into season, so we are able to use fruit fresh from the plant or tree.

Not only do we use this strawberry jam as a condiment for toast, pancakes or crepes, but we also use it in sauces, vinaigrettes, yogurt and ice cream, as well as other desserts, just to name a few. Just check out this recipe:

How to Make Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

This jam is well worth the little time and effort taken to make it.

How to Make Strawberry Freezer Jam:

Tip: As with all fruit, before cooking, eating raw or freezing, be sure to rinse the fruit well a couple of times to be sure all dirt, dust and all other nasty things are removed from the fruit.

Type: Condiment Recipe

Prep Time: 20 – 30 min
Yield: about 5 cups of jam

The ingredients & instructions are listed below the video for measurements & directions. Please enjoy this webisode of Cooking with Kimberly:

Ingredients:

Note: We have doubled the recipe on this video, but the proportions shown below are for a single batch. Every quart of berries yields about 2 cups of mashed strawberries.

2 cups of fresh strawberries – mashed
4 cups of sugar
3/4 cup water
1 pkg of fresh powdered pectin – In this case, we have used Certo Pectin Crystals. I prefer using powdered pectin as opposed to liquid.

Instructions:

Note: Your jars and lids should be well washed and sterilized before filling

Rinse and sort strawberries well, discarding all rotten or damaged berries that don’t look good.
Hull the berries and cut into quarters. * Tip: I like to leave some of the smaller berries whole or partially whole, and set aside so I can pop one or two of these little berries into each jar. I do this just because I like the look of it, and when I open the jar, I want to be the one to get the whole berry.
Place the berries into a large bowl and using a masher, mash the pulp well, but not so much that it gets to be perfectly smooth. A few little chunks are quite tasty in the jam.
In a small pot on the stove mix water with pectin and bring to a boil to dissolve the pectin.
Stir the pectin mixture into the strawberry mash and stir well to combine completely. Stir for at least 3 minutes, making all sugar and pectin are well dissolved.
Fill the jars, using a wide mouth funnel, so you don’t get the fruit mash on the outside of the jars. Pop one or two small whole berries into each jar, if desired. * Note: Leave at least 3/4 – 1 inch space at the top of each jar to allow the mash to expand when it freezes.
Place sealing lids on each jar and tighten slightly. Allow filled jars to sit for 24 hrs at room temperature before placing jars into the freezer.