Strawberry Freezer Jam

One of Chris' favorite things in the world is homemade bread. Unfortunately, I am rather bread-challenged and haven't practiced enough to master it. So the bread was just OK, but the freezer jam Maren and I made to go with it is super. We went with the low-sugar variety, not to say there isn't still PLENTY of sugar in there. The original recipe is 2 cups fruit, 4 cups sugar. Low-sugar calls for 4 cups fruit, 3 cups sugar. Still very tasty and a little more peace of mind when scarfing it down. We started the process at 10 am and were done by 11:05, when I had to go pick up Maya from preschool. I was even on time. I used the tiny ziploc containers this time (1 cup), because there are no preservatives or anything and when you pull it out of the freezer to refrigerate, you must use within a couple of weeks. Our first container lasted a day and a half. YUMMY. I really like freezer jam as opposed to cooked jam because it has a really fresh fruit taste.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

4 pts. strawberries
3 C. sugar
1 pkg. Sure-Jell low-sugar fruit pectin (the pink box- found by the Jell-O)

Wash and rinse plastic containers with tight fitting lids. Wash and de-stem strawberries, then crush, one cup at a time, using a food processor or potato masher. If using a food processor, pulse to chop, don't puree. Measure exact amount of stawberries into a large bowl. Measure exact amount of sugar into large saucepan. Mix Sure-Jell with the sugar. Stir in once cup water. Bring sugar/water/Sure-Jell mix to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat. Quickly stir fruit into hot sugar-pectin mix. Stir for one minute. Pour into prepared containers, leaving 1/2 inch space at top for expansion during freezing; cover. Let stand at room temp 24 hours til set. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks, or freeze for up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator.

Friends: you can do this. If you are intimidated, don't be. The only problem is, once you've tried it, you will never want store-bought jam again. If that is going to be a problem, don't make this.