Freezer Jam

Yesterday I was at the grocery store getting used to the layout. Not quite the same as the Smith's in Provo and I spotted some canning jars and realized I am just about out of freezer jam. So headed to the produce and grabbed some strawberries and some peaches and then I found some disposable Tupperware to store the finished product in.

Freezer Jam is really easy especially if you have a good blender, but a potato masher works good too. Normally I use the Sure Jell fruit pectin and the recipe that it comes with. This recipe guide in the Sure Jell Box is great because it actually has several recipes for all sorts of different fruits. Different fruits use different quantities of fruit and sugar. However, Sure Jell pectin calls for a large ratio of sugar to fruit (example: 4 cups sugar, 2 cups strawberries.) I know Sure Jell makes a less sugar pectin. I wanted to try this out because it's slightly healthier and tastes less sugary, although the sugary kind is fabulous too. The Smith's out here didn't have any less sugar Sure Jell but it had Ball instant pectin which used 4 cups of fruit and 1 1/2 cups of sugar. This ratio definitely favored the fruit and another plus is that the instant pectin doesn't need boiled like the regular Sure Jell pectin. So I tried out the Ball pectin and it turned out fabulous even though I didn't have enough strawberries and my peaches were hard and definitely not ripe (made for some trouble with the potato masher.) However I would warn you that it is important to use the amount of fruit and sugar that the package calls for because the pectin might not set correctly if you fudge the amounts like I did with the strawberries. Luckily, mine turned out.

Ball Instant Pectin Strawberry Jam

• 4 cups Strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 package Ball instant pectin

Mix pectin and sugar in a bowl. Mash up strawberries and add to sugar and pectin. Stir 3 minutes. Let sit 30 minutes to set.

Ball Instant Pectin Peach Jam

• 4 cups Peaches
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 package Ball instant pectin

Skin and mash peaches. Mix with sugar and lemon juice. Let stand 10 minutes. Add in pectin gradually to prevent clumping. Stir 3 minutes. Let sit 30 minutes to stand.

Sure Jell Strawberry Freezer Jam

• 2 cups strawberries (about 1 qt)
• 4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 box Sure Jell fruit pectin

Stem and crush strawberries thoroughly, 1 cup at a time. Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.

Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is almost dissolved.

Fill all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or in freezer up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.