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Strawberry Freezer Jam

Strawberry jam spread on a slice of bread.

Last summer I sang the praises of freezer jam and I also shared a recipe for blueberry jam. (if you’re wondering what freezer jam is, go read that post!)

It’s not quite blueberry season yet here in the Mid-Atlantic region, though, so I thought a strawberry jam recipe might be more in order. This is the strawberry jam my mom always made when I was growing up.

It’s super easy and super delicious. If you can operate a spoon, you can make this jam.

First, you’ll need to crush enough fresh strawberries to make 2 cups. I pulse the berries in my food processor until they’re chopped (make sure you don’t puree them by accident!)

Crushed strawberries in a measuring cup.

Next, mix the strawberries with 4 cups of sugar.

If you just had a heart attack when you heard how much sugar goes into the jam, you should go read this post and then come back.

<Kristen waits>

Ready to proceed?

Let the combined berries and sugar sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Strawberry jam mixture in a glass bowl.

After 20 minutes, combine a package of Sure-Jell pectin and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan (I like to use a whisk to make sure it’s thoroughly combined). Bring it to a boil, and boil and stir for 1 minute.

Add the pectin mixture into the berry mixture, and stir for 3 minutes. The jam will start to thicken up a little bit even while you stir it.

Ladle the jam into freezer-safe containers. You can use glass containers if you leave enough space for the jam to expand upward as it freezes or of course you can use plastic.

I try to use glass food containers whenever possible, so I mostly put my jam into Mason jars.

A Mason jar filled with strawberry jam.

Yum.

The jam will become thick at room temperature, but you shouldn’t store it at room temperature (you can only do that with jams that are processed at high heat). You can keep it in the fridge for a month and for longer storage, you should put it in the freezer. When you’re ready to use a jar, just put it in the fridge to thaw.

As an aside, I also made some strawberry jam this season using a no-cook freezer pectin, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend going that route. It’s not that hard to boil a package of pectin, and the jam I made with the no-cook stuff turned out kind of runny.

It’s a gorgeous red color and it tastes really, really good, but it’s just not as thick as jam should be.

Strawberry jam spread on a slice of bread.

If you do decide to use no-cook pectin, don’t follow this recipe…use the one on the no-cook pectin package.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

makes about 3.5 pints

2 cups crushed strawberries
4 cups sugar
1 package freezer pectin (I use Sure-Jell or Ball)
1 cup water

Combine crushed berries and sugar in a large bowl. Let stand 20 minutes.

Whisk pectin and water together in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil and stir for one minute.

Stir pectin into the strawberry/sugar mixture and stir for 3 minutes. Pour or ladle into freezer-safe containers. Store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks or in the freezer for a year (I haven’t tried storing mine longer than that because we always eat it!)

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sarah

Friday 17th of July 2020

Hi i was wondering if you habe any ideas about why my freezer jam seperated and expanded? I've never had this happen before. This happened over night before I froze it? Same strawberries same recipe it was my third batch.

Tha ks

Kristen

Friday 17th of July 2020

I've never had this happen either. Hopefully someone else has an idea for you!

Maridean Bennett

Sunday 12th of August 2018

I made freezer blackberry jam and forgot to put it in the freezer after 24 hours. I went out of town so the jam sat on the counter for three days after it was made Will it be okay to eat?

CharlesEi

Monday 3rd of August 2015

Freezer jams are hands down, by far my most favorite, and that rhubarb with orange and cardamom has my name written all over it!

Kelly kogut

Sunday 2nd of August 2015

Hi Kristen....last year I made the no cook freezer jam with fresh raspberries and I think I must have used certo because I put the sugar in the fruit and let it sit for 10 minutes and then put the pectin in.

This time I used sure jell and it says to cook the sugar with the pectin and the water and let it sit for one minute after stirring into the fruit. Then put in the jars and keep the jars out for 24 hours at room temperature.

Can it take 24 hours for it to thicken? It seems runnier this time and I made 32 jars! I will be so disappointed if it doesn't thicken. It's only been 12 hours since I made it. I just wondered if it will thicken up with time or when it's frozen. Some sites said to take the jam and re boil it ???? Seems strange since this recipe for jam is the non-cook method.

Any advice would be appreciated. I don't want to waste all this jam.

Kristen

Sunday 2nd of August 2015

Hmm. That sounds different than the directions I've had before. Mine usually say to cook the pectin and water separately, and combine the fruit and sugar.

I've made grape jelly before and added the sugar to the pectin, and the jelly didn't set, so I'm thinking maybe this is the problem.

Ok, I've just done a little googling, and I've read that some Sure-Jell had faulty directions. I wonder if you got one of those boxes! http://www.jsonline.com/features/food/jam-expert-gives-advice-after-sure-jell-directions-mix-up-b99301652z1-265379841.html

Here's what they say to do to remake it: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/remake-directions-for-surejell-freezer-jam-jelly-108040.aspx

Megan Williams

Monday 8th of June 2015

Hello! My near by farmers market has there strawberries for one more week. I want to go ahead and get them but I don't have time to make the freezer jam. Is it okay to freeze them till I'm ready? Wasn't sure if it would hurt the strawberries or change the taste to freeze them twice? Thanks!

Kristen

Tuesday 9th of June 2015

I've never done it myself, but I know people sometimes make jam from previously frozen fruit. So, I'm thinking it should be ok.

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