Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam – Lower Sugar
Fresh strawberries, the most popular of all berries are in season during late spring and early summer. Locally grown berries that are ripe and ready to eat and enjoy are delicious and naturally sweet.
Even better, there is only about 50 calories in a whole cup!
When shopping for berries, choose strawberries with a bright red color. The strawberry size does not play a factor in how sweet, flavorful or ripe the berry is.
Remember, Strawberries do not continue to ripen once they are picked from the plant. In addition, do not wash fresh strawberries or remove the green tops until you’re ready to eat them or use them in a recipe.
To wash strawberries, place them in a large strainer or colander and rinse with cool water. Remove their tops with the point of a paring knife or gently twist and pull them off.
To help determine the amount of fresh strawberries to buy for a recipe use the following as a gauge:
- # 1 pint strawberries = 2 cups whole berries
- # 1 pint strawberries = 2-1/4 cups sliced berries
- # 1 pint strawberries = 1-3/4 cups pureed berries
- # 1 pint strawberries contains about 16 to 20 medium size berries or 12 to 14 large berries.
- # 1-1/2 to 2 quarts of fresh strawberries are needed for a 9″ pie
- # 1 cup of strawberries weighs about 4 to 5 ounces
- # 1 quart of strawberries weighs about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds
- # 1 flat of strawberries contains 8 quarts and weighs about 12 pounds
- # To use fresh strawberries in a recipe that calls for frozen strawberries – Substitute 2 cups of sliced fresh strawberries for one 20 oz. package of frozen strawberries.
Ingredients:
- * 1 Quart washed and chunky smashed fresh strawberries
- * 4 cups sugar
- * 1 (1.75 ounce) package dry pectin
- * 3/4 cup water
Directions:
1. Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.
2. Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours. Place into freezer, and store frozen until ready to use.
Note* – The recipe on the Pectin insert uses 2 cups of strawberries and 4 cups of sugar. I double the strawberries and leave the sugar the same and my jam turns out just as yummy and lower in the sugar content.
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The Ready Store
I have a ton of blackberry bushes here on the mountain–would this recipe work with them also? I appreciate your patience with all my questions.
Oh yes, Blackberry would be wonderful – use the same proportions to the recipe. How yummy, I wish I had some blackberries on the mountainside. Where we used to live on the river we had a blackberry patch at the corner of our property and our neighbors. We never knew whose bushes they were… especially since they grew wild. It was always a race to see who picked them first. Generally if I went outside and saw Jenny out there I had to grab a bowl and head for the bushes… and vice versa. It was always a pleasant picking as we talked but I must saw we really rushed to get the berries four our family.