Strawberry Fields Don’t Last Forever
I guess even the Beatles can be wrong. Strawberries have a very short season only lasting about 2 weeks as far as good pickin' goes. This year with the cooler weather it was drawn out quite a bit longer! I have never picked strawberries the way that I did a couple days back, they were all ripe and I would stay in one spot and just pick and pick...so we ended up with 20 pounds of berries.
To deal with the bounty I snapped up 8 envelops of instant pectin (or sent The Husband to the store for them actually) and started instantly to wash, de-stem, and mash. The recipe is on the back of the pectin, and I don't use anything other than Instant Fruit Pectin (like in this picture) anymore.
Why do I love freezer jam so much better ? because of the lower sugar and MUCH fresher taste. This recipe calls for 4 cups of fruit and 1+1/2 cups of sugar per package, not the 5 cups of fruit to 4 cups of sugar or whatever the atrocity is of canned jam. No comparison on taste either since these berries aren't cooked and boiled- and it is quicker too- so if you have the freezer space you really don't have any reason not to try it, it is as easy as mixing three ingredients together and then putting them in containers.
I love that color, that bright red is beautiful. There is just something about good strawberries.I just bought an amazing food dehydrator at a second hand store and next year I will certainly pick double the berries next year and dry half of them. Stay posted for some dehydrating adventures.
But for now talk to me! Do you have any memories of jam making? What kind of berries do you like best for jam?
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July 12th, 2010 - 11:00
Wow – that looks wonderful. Thanks for the tip on the instant pectin. I haven’t been able to find any, but I wasn’t sure what brand you used.
July 12th, 2010 - 15:45
Isn’t that RED pretty!?! Every year it surprises me by how pretty it is. Look at Bi-Mart for the pectin, they had it there-unless I bought it all!!! :P
July 12th, 2010 - 15:41
I have great memories of my dad’s freezer jam from my teen years. Where did you go picking? Is it too late for strawberries? I want to do some berry picking with the kids this year but we’ve never done it and I’m not sure what the good places are.
July 12th, 2010 - 15:51
I think out of town is the best, I don’t know about up there- we picked in Philomath and it was the best picking I’ve done in a while. Usually you can check the newspaper online and it will say in the classifieds if a field is open, or you can call. We went to Greengable Gardens http://www.greengable.com/ I am sure you were looking for someplace closer, but if you go to this one let me know and we can meet you there. We are always up for more picking!!
July 13th, 2010 - 07:44
Your family is going to love this
July 13th, 2010 - 12:48
It makes me wish we had the freezer space. I think we might go blueberry picking this weekend (even though we don’t have freezer space). It will mean lots of blueberry desserts and breakfasts for a week or two. We were planning to get a big freezer for our garage (and a treadmill for me) but then my husband broke his arm and there went our fun money for the summer. :) These things happen though, and we’re just thankful we had some fun money saved for the emergency.
July 14th, 2010 - 15:13
I highly recommend craigslist!! You may not have to spend that much money, they have them on there all the time for pretty cheap.
July 14th, 2010 - 15:10
I need a bigger freezer!!! Erg. When we thought we were moving back East I sold our upright one. I must search for one on Craigslist soon. Maybe I will have time to make freezer jam with some other berry… beautiful pictures btw :)
July 14th, 2010 - 15:11
I just saw this one today!!! http://corvallis.craigslist.org/app/1842084077.html better check it out. We have the same exact upright. Right now full of hamburger and strawberry jam :)
July 15th, 2010 - 02:07
That looks yummy and pretty! I have never made Jam myself, but would love to try someday! Oh i love these pics!I can’t believe you had so many berries!
July 22nd, 2010 - 08:41
I could barely believe it myself! My hands were wrinkled and tired by the time I was done cutting off the stems- but SO worth the effort is the final product!! :P
July 15th, 2010 - 19:39
are you giving away a jar?!?!? :) they look delicious all lined up like that. i’m a boring old grape girl, but my hubby is super adventurous and will try ANY kind of jam or jelly.
July 22nd, 2010 - 08:43
I guess strawberry jam is pretty basic to me, nothing exotic like lavender, still I guess we are in berry country over here so I am more exposed. I may try to do a giveaway at some point, I’m not sure how these would ship though.
July 15th, 2010 - 21:34
Good job! I used that exact pectin package & recipe – very happy with it for the same reasons you are! (Also sent out my hubby to get it. :P) Although I was a little disappointed that “dextrose” was an ingredient on the pectin pkg. How did you mash up the berries? I chopped some of the berries, others were already smooshed, and I put them in the kitchen aid to do the work for me. :-P
July 20th, 2010 - 18:26
This brings back such nice memories. Strawberry freezer jam is my favourite-so much tastier and easy to make ( before I was too ill ) than the cooked stuff. And the color is wonderful. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
July 21st, 2010 - 08:06
They are so lovely to look at! I will have to try this some time.
July 22nd, 2010 - 06:53
My husband and I live aboard our (small-ish) sailboat, so this post is making me drool, weep, and envy you with a passion. We have a teeny tiny pressure cooker, but the amount of work that goes into canning anything just doesn’t seem worth the effort when you only get 3 pints. Also, with no freezer, I sadly cannot make the absolutely delicious freezer jam you speak of!
That being said, we have found the space aboard to keep a dehydrator and one of our favorites is dehydrated strawberries. They’re absolutely delicious, and I’m always amazed how long our dehydrated food stays good.
In the meantime, I will stare at the bright red jars you have lined up so perfectly, and ask my mom to send me a jar of her strawberry jam! So delicious.
August 14th, 2010 - 22:29
Okay, so this post is for Jenny aboard the tiny boat, now that I’ve said that aloud, I’m the jealous one. :) I make all my jam using a method now approved by the home extension service. It does not require a canner or water bath. Prepare your jam according to the pectin recipe. I use honey, so I use a pectin that does not require sugar to activate. Using clean jars, bring your jam to a boil, put it hot into the jars, make sure the top of your jar is completely clean, top with lids you’ve just boiled, screw on the ring and lay the jars upside down on a towel to cool. Turn them over after 3 hrs. They seal every time. A plug for honey, it’s one more way to get sugar out of your families diet. I personally think it makes things taste fresh from the vine. This goes so quickly, that I can make 40 pints of jam in just a few hrs. I too use the food processor to slice or mash my fruit.