Strawberry Freezer Jam

 I wanted to try my hand at freezer jam this season and I almost waited too late to get strawberries. Friday I went out to Maggie Valley to get berries. They have some of the sweetest, prettiest berries around. 

Look at those pretty berries. I am going to walk you through what I did to make my jam, starting with how I prepared the berries.

First thing I did was get out two big bowls for washing.

The first one I added some white distilled vinegar in with the water. The vinegar will kill and bacteria that can lead to mold on your berries. In other words it will make them last longer.  With the rain we have had lately you want to really wash the, well.

Fill a second bowl with just plain water.

I put a lot of the berries in the vinegar water and let the sit for a little while. Swirl them around in the water.

Then start adding them to the plain water and bounce the around in the water.

This is what the vinegar water bowl looked like after washing the berries.

They have soaked for a while.

Spread them out on a paper towel lined cookie sheet. Let them dry.

Now I have seen this tip before by never really had the change to try it until now. You want to pop the crown off of it. Take a straw that is thick not flimsy. Start in the middle of the bottom and push up.

Not only does it pop the crown off but takes out that hardish core in the middle in one motion. Discard the crown and core.

That’s what it looks like.

You will want to chop up over 2 cups strawberries. I am making two recipes but doing each in a separate bowl.

Then use something to chop up the strawberries. I used the pastry cutter.  A potato washer would be good too. 

Measure out 2 cups mashed strawberries.

I put them back in a bowl.

Now you are going to use a box of Sure-Jell Fruit Pectin and sugar.

Add 4 cups sugar. Yes you read that right. I looked into finding a recipe that I could use Splenda but did not have success in that.

Now stir the berries and sugar until well mixed. Let sit for 10 minutes.

While the berries are sitting start working on the pectin. Measure out 3/4 cup water.

Add the water and pectin into a small saucepan. Mix well.  Bring it to a boil on high heat. Stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring for 1 minute. Set a timer. 

All mixed.

This is what it looks like when it boils. It gets a little foamy. 

Remove from heat and pour over the fruit. Stir for about 3 minutes or until most of the sugar is dissolved.

Stir stir stir.

Ready for the jars.

I used some glass and some plastic containers. You do not want to fill them all the way to the top. Leave a little bit of room to expand.  I didn’t fill mine above that ridge line.

Use a wet paper towel and wipe off the tops of the jars.

Put the lids on them. Set aside for 24 hours.

I looked at them after a couple of hours and it looks pretty good.

The next morning I had some toast and tried it out. It sure was good. I put that one jar in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.

Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe.

2 cups crushed strawberries

4 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

1 pkg Sure Jell Fruit Pectin