Strawberry Freezer Jam

I have never had the desire to make my own jam or jelly or can or preserve anything. Well, maybe I've thought about it, but knowing my lack of patience, I have always known I would never make it through the whole process without ripping my hair out. I have had freezer jam in the past, but never realized it could be made so easily. The fact is that I like freezer jam better than regular jam, and had I realized it was so easy to make I would have been making it all the time. I think it tastes so much fresher and true to the flavor of the fruit you use than cooked jam. This was my first attempt at freezer jam and it went off without a hitch. I will definitely be making this again. I can't wait to try other fruits too!

Strawberry Freezer Jam - adapted from Sure-Jell recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups crushed strawberries (about 2 pints)
• 3 ½ cups sugar
• ¾ cup water
• 1 box of Sure-jell fruit pectin

Directions

1. Wash and rinse 1-2 cup sized plastic containers with tight fitting lids.
2. Crush the strawberries 1 cup at a time using a potato masher. Measure exactly 2 cups of crushed strawberries into a large bowl.
3. Measure sugar and mix into fruit. The Sure-jell box suggests that using less than 4 cups of sugar will result in the jam not setting, but I decided to reduce the recipe to 3 ½ cups of sugar and it set just fine. Let sugar and fruit mixture sit for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally so that sugar dissolves.
4. Stir box of pectin into ¾ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute while continuing to stir. Then remove from heat.
5. Stir pectin mixture into fruit. Stir for about 3 minutes until all sugar is dissolved.
6. Pour into prepared containers leaving ½ inch of space at the top for expansion in the freezer. Put lids on and let the jam stand at room temperature for 24 hours.
7. Put the jam in the refrigerator or freezer. Jam will last in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks and in the freezer for up to one year.