Freezer Jam Made Easy

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apricots, nectarines, peaches, cherries and plums everywhere! Making jam can be an ambitious undertaking.  Who wants to stand over a boiling water bath for hours on end? For times like this, there's freezer jam ! Canning purists may cry "sacrilege!" at the very mention of freezer jam, but there are good reasons for its growing popularity: it's easy, safe, and, since the jam is never cooked, it tastes like fresh fruit. 

Fruit
Use perfectly ripe fruit for freezer jam. Most fruit contains pectin, a natural jelling agent. Unripe fruit contains a greater quantity of pectin, and the pectin levels diminish, the riper the fruit gets. Jam made with under ripe fruit may jell too much, and jam made with over ripe fruit may not jell enough. 

Pectin
Traditional jam recipes call for cooking. This process thickens the jam. Since you don't cook freezer jam, most recipes call for additional pectin to thicken it, giving the mixture that jelled consistency you expect from your preserves. Store-bought pectin comes in two forms - powder and liquid. These are NOT interchangeable - you should use whichever form your recipe calls for. 

Sugar
Sugar inhibits the growth of bacteria, keeping your jam fresh and fruity and safe to eat. Jam recipes are formulated to call for a certain ratio of pectin to sugar, and they will not jell properly if you don't use the correct amount of sugar. If you'd like to make jam with less sugar, you'll need to buy a special kind of pectin.

Containers
Use either sturdy plastic containers with tight-fitting lids, or short, wide-mouthed glass jars made especially for the freezer. It's best to choose containers that are no bigger than pint-size; the jam will not set up as well in larger containers. Wash them as you would any other dishes; there's no need to boil them like with traditional jam making. 

Making it

Sort and wash fruit. Drain. Remove caps and stems from berries, and crush.

The basic recipe for freezer jam is...

3 cups crushed berries

5 cups sugar

1 package powdered pectin in one cup of water. 

You'll need about one and a half quarts of whole berries to make 3 cups crushed berries. For best results refer to the directions that come in the pectin box. 

To make the jam, measure three cups of prepared fruit into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, mix well, and let stand for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Dissolve powdered pectin in one cup cold water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for one minute. Add pectin solution to the fruit and sugar mixture. Stir vigorously for two minutes.

Pour the jam into clean freezer containers or canning jars, leaving one-half inch head space. Cover the container and let stand for 24 hours, or until the jam has set and is firm. This quantity makes about seven half-pint jars or freezer containers.

Thaw jam from the freezer overnight in the refrigerator. If the jam is too firm, soften it by stirring. If it tends to separate, stirring will blend it again. If freezer jam is too soft, bring the jam to a boil in a saucepan for one minute and it will thicken as it cools. Store in the refrigerator.

Tips

*If you are a bit short on fruit, add a can of crushed pineapple.  It blends perfectly with all fruit.

*Premeasure ingredients before hand. It makes it run much smoother.

*If doing several batches at a time, use a timer or write down start times for each batch.

*Buy containers from the deli department, much less expensive.

* If your fruit is ready for jam, but you just don't have the time.  Freeze it so it doesn't go bad.  You can pit, cut and freeze, or smash or puree with lemon juice, premeasured for a later time.  Works great!

Try different fruit combinations like...  

raspberry peach

strawberry rhubarb

plum grape

apricot pineapple

three different berries