Berry Patch Fun | Strawberry Freezer Jam

How to Make No-Cook Strawberry Freezer Jam

Recently we enjoyed a family trip to the strawberry farm for a nice afternoon of berry picking. I was happy to go along for some time with my nephews who enjoyed eating as many as they picked. I came home with a gallon of berries and decided to learn how to make some freezer jam. This year I want to try and learn several methods of preserving foods that I grow, or buy fresh, and I thought freezer jam would be an easy one to start with, because no real cooking is involved.

I purchased several packs of Ball 8oz freezer jars, and lucky for me the recipe for strawberry no cook freezer jam was right on the back of the label. If you use glass canning jars they should be boiled to sterilize them before using, but I was apprehensive about boiling the plastic freezer jars, so I just washed them very well in very hot water.

This recipe is so easy, you only need three ingredients: strawberries, sugar, and Instant Pectin. Instant Pectin is designed specifically for no cook freezer jam, so be sure you purchase the correct one.

Specifics
4 cups crushed berries
1 ½ cups sugar (or no calorie sweetener)
5 Tbsp Ball Real Fruit Instant Pectin

Clean and Hull enough berries so that you have enough to end up with 4 Cups of Crushed Berries (for me that was roughly a half gallon of berries)

Use a potato smasher to crush the berries and then measure out four cups and put in another bowl.

In a smaller bowl mix 1 ½ cups sugar with the 5Tbsp Instant Pectin.

Pour the sugar and pectin mix into the bowl of crushed strawberries . Stir the mixture for at least 3 minutes.

Ladle the mixture into the jars up to the fill line, be mindful to leave a ½ inch of headspace at the top of the jar to allow for the expansion of the food during the freezing process. If your using glass jars and you don’t leave enough headspace the jars could break. Using a wide mouth canning funnel makes this process much easier.

Secure the lids on your jars, and label with the date and contents.

Let the jam stand on the counter for at least 30 minutes so that it will have time to firm up. This jam can be kept in the freezer for 1 year but should be eaten within 3 weeks if kept in the refrigerator. I’m sure it will be long gone before the year is up.

I made a second batch and ended up with 12 jars.  So far mine has been quite tasty, it didn’t jell up quite like a store bought jelly, but instead has a wonderful strawberry sauce consistency which has been great in strawberry shortcake!