Strawberry Freezer Jam

By á-25087

Nothing better than waking up too homemade strawberry jam on toast in the morning!

Ingredients

• 2 cups crushed fresh strawberries
• 4 cups granulated white sugar
• 1 pouch liquid fruit pectin
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Step 1

Wash and rinse glass or plastic containers and lids in the dishwasher or with hot soapy water. Dry thoroughly.

Measure exactly 4 cups of sugar into a medium size bowl.

Stem and crush strawberries. Don't try to use a blender or food processor for this step as you want some small pieces of strawberry to remain (use a potato masher for this step). Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large microwave-safe bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 20 min., stirring occasionally.

After the 20 minutes, stir mixture for 3 minutes then place in microwave on high for 2 minutes. Mixture will not cook but will become warm enough for sugar to dissolve. Remove from microwave and stir continuously for 2 minutes.

Combine liquid pectin and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add to strawberry mixture; stir 3 minutes.

This is the hard part. take a taste to make sure the sugar is dissolved. If it still tastes a bit grainy stir for another minute or two until almost all sugar is dissolved.

Fill containers immediately (you don't want jam to start to "set" before you get it into the jars) to within *1/2 inch of top*, don't fill any higher as mixture will expand a bit in the freezer. Wipe off top edges of containers and cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator.

Don't worry about putting glass jars in the freezer. Just make sure to leave a half inch of room at the top to allow for expanding in the freezer.*

Making jam is a very exact science. If the proportions of fruit and sugar are not correct, the jam will not set properly. Be sure to use an accurate measuring cup, spoon ingredients into cup, then level off with a straight-edged table knife.*

Grab a magazine and set a timer for the stirring steps. Thorough stirring is essential when making freezer jam to ensure a smooth, ungrainy finished product. Use a plastic spatula and frequently scrape the sides of the bowl during the stirring process.*