How to Get Strawberry Freezer Jam to Set

Strawberry freezer jam has many benefits over traditional strawberry jam. It's faster and easier to make, and it retains the fresh taste of your strawberries far better because it requires no cooking. However, it also sets up differently than traditional strawberry jam. If completely uncooked, it is naturally slightly runnier than traditional jam. Whether completely uncooked or slightly cooked, it is necessary to use the proper mix of ingredients in order to get strawberry freezer jam to set properly.

Things You'll Need

• 4 cups strawberries, washed and trimmed
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• Pectin (consult manufacturer's instructions for correct amount)
• Ladle or large spoon, sterilized
• Freezer-safe jars or containers, sterilized

Instructions

1. Read the directions included with your pectin. Some major brands are Ball, Certo and Sure-Jell. Each has different directions for the order in which you should combine your ingredients. This is where most difficulties in home canning happen: always follow your pectin's instructions. Ball makes a pectin specifically for freezer jam applications that you may want to consider using.

2. Combine the ingredients above according to your pectin's instructions.

3. Stir ingredients together, and then spoon into your waiting sterilized freezer-safe jars or containers.

4. Cover your containers with their lids and place them in your freezer. Since you will not be heat processing these jars or containers, they cannot stay at room temperature and should be frozen or refrigerated immediately after they are canned.

Tips & Warnings

• Use wide-mouthed jars or containers if possible, and make sure to allow plenty of head room (the space between the jam and the lid of the container) when packing freezer jam. As things freeze, they expand. If you are new to freezing soft items such as jams, they require more head room than jams canned in the traditional manner.

• Freezer jam does not set up as thickly as traditionally canned jam. If you would prefer a thicker set, you can create a compromise between the two by bringing your freezer jam to a boil for 1 minute on your stove top before canning. If you do this, check with your pectin's instructions to see whether or not you need to add any extra pectin. Also, make sure to allow your jam to cool completely to room temperature before placing it in your freezer for good food safety practices.

• If you are not cooking your freezer jam at all, you can most likely double your recipe with good results. This would not be advisable if you were doing a traditional jam on the stove top, nor if you choose to boil your freezer jam for 1 minute to obtain a thicker spread. Pectin breaks down and fails to gel if it is heated for a long time, and multiplying batches of jam necessitates a longer cook time on home stoves.

References

• Freezer Jam: A Baby Step to Canning