Freezer jam! Ever had it? Ever heard of it? I have rarely come across so I thought some folks might find a new item to consider making. I have only seen it in one grocery store in Utah and one neighbor there made it for us.
So I started making my own, and my lord is it good. They key is that you do not cook the fruit, so it retains its fresh flavor and beautiful color. Its easy peasy too, as I am not one to fuss too much with complicated recipes: squish some fruit, add some sugar, boil pectin for a minute, stir it all up and voila, you have it (recipes online or from pectin maker). And it is just fantastic, with great color and great fresh fruit flavor, way way better than the standard cooked jam.
I have usually found raspberry to be the best, as those berries are pretty consistent no matter the source. The few times I had seen a strawberry version, it was pretty washed out and weak. But last week I got some wonderful early summer farmers market strawberries to use, and my is it tasty! That is a picture of my strawberry freezer jam above. So, it is critical (no surprise) to start with the best fruit you can get your hands on. Those big but tasteless chain store berries aren’t going to produce a good outcome.