One day a year in the early summer, my mom woke us up at the crack of dawn to drive to a farm and pick strawberries with her. It had to be early morning, before the fields got too crowded and the sun got too hot. She did give us the choice to stay home but I always went because even at 6 years old, the occasional getting up with the sun made me feel good. Everything is quiet and peaceful and golden, especially in the countryside. You feel like you're getting a head start on the day. I still remember the very first time I went. A couple of my mom's friends came too, and she gave me an ice cream pail with a handle and a hole cut in the top to put my strawberries in.
I didn't really like strawberries at first, but I did like to pick them. I used to roll them in sugar before eating them because I found them too sour. I didn't like jam either, though I did love the look of the bright red jam my mom made inside their little glass jars, much brighter colored than the store bought strawberry or grape jam. I was a little sad when she put it in the freezer because it never looked quite as clear and pretty after. I was a peanut butter sandwich girl for a long time. I cried when I received my siblings' peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by mistake. Sometimes I ate them anyway.
As I got a little older and started to eat strawberries without a hefty coating of sugar, one morning I was making peanut butter toast for breakfast and decided to try Mom's strawberry jam on a corner of the toast of my own free will. It converted me, just like that. I couldn't believe it. It was exactly how I
wanted strawberries to taste when I was little. It took me a while to get used to it mixed with peanut butter, but it is to this day my favorite jam in the entire world. I started paying attention to how she made it, and started making my own once I found myself as an adult with an abundance of strawberries. Since then I've graduated to making jam with other freshly picked fruit, especially raspberries (which my parents love!) and sour cherries when I can get them, but strawberries are particularly easy to prepare because you don't need to remove seeds or pits.
I love freezer jam for three major reasons:
- First, you barely cook the fruit, which means it tastes more like the fresh fruit you made it out of. I am grossed out by cooked strawberries in most applications, so this is a very good thing for me. You can also keep the fruit more whole (I like large pieces of fruit in my jam).
- Second, you can make it with less sugar than you'd find in a store bought jam, which I think also helps with making it taste more like the fresh fruit (most store bought jam is too sweet for me).
- Third, it tends to set softer than traditional jam so it is easier to spread and doesn't look as gelatinous. This was a huge sticking point for me as a kid because I don't like the texture of a gelatinous thing that has been vigorously mixed after setting. (Oddly specific, I know.)
Notes:
- This is the recipe from inside the box of reduced sugar pectin and I can confirm this is the one my mother also used.
- Use the freshest, highest quality fruit you can find. I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life, but I generally don't bother with making homemade jam unless I can get freshly picked in-season fruit that I grew myself, picked myself from a farm, or bought directly from the producer at a farm market.
- You can use frozen strawberries that have been thawed. Just make sure they aren't too watery and are not freezer burned.
- This recipe requires pectin specially prepared for use in reduced sugar recipes. It comes in a pink box.
- Accurate measurements are very important for this recipe.
- Make sure your jars are VERY CLEAN before putting the jam inside.
- *As long as the jam doesn't grow mold, it's safe to eat for longer than 3 weeks kept in the fridge (we regularly used to keep the same jar in the fridge for 2-3 months). I've also eaten it after it's been frozen for several years and though the quality degrades a little bit, it's still delicious.
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RECIPE:
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Makes about 7 cups
2 lb or 2 quarts fresh or frozen and thawed strawberries, enough to make 4 cups crushed fruit
1 box (1.75 oz, 49g) Sure Jell Less or No Sugar Recipes Fruit Pectin (pink box)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
Make sure your jars or other containers are clean and dry before beginning.
Prepare fruit: If using fresh: Rinse strawberries in cool water, then drain. Remove stem, leaves, and hull from each berry and cut in half. For fresh or frozen: Place berries in a clean mixing bowl. Mash berries with a potato masher, leaving some large pieces. You should end up with 4 cups; measure with a dry measuring cup to be sure, and if you have any extra, reserve it for another use.
Make jam: Place exactly 3 cups of sugar and entire packet of pectin in a saucepan and stir gently until thoroughly combined. Add 1 cup water. Place on stove over medium-high heat and whisk until thoroughly mixed and sugar is dissolved. Continue to stir constantly while letting it come to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Working quickly, stir in crushed strawberries until thoroughly incorporated. Ladle the jam into clean canning jars, leaving at least 1/2 inch space at the top. Let stand with lids off to cool to room temperature, then put the lids on and let stand at room temperature for another 24 hours. The jam can be eaten immediately, stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks*, or in the freezer for up to 1 year*.
