There have been a couple of people asking this month about freezer jam and jelly, or easy in general jam and jelly recipes. So I thought this link would be a good share with the entire ThriftyFun Family for easy reference.
Download PDF File from Purdue University: Uncooked Jams
By Deeli from Richland, WA
I looove freezer jam. Especially Raspberry. The taste is so much fresher and the color is so vibrant compared to cooked jam or store bought jam. Very quick and easy to make. And it doesn't heat up the house making it on a hot summer day. I use the recipe that comes in the 'Sure Jell' pectin box.
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Freezer jam is fast and easy to make. You don't cook anything, so the fruit tastes fresh and wonderful. It requires much less sugar, which is a big plus. It's very delicious and very pretty.
My husband and I went to a farm not far from where we live and picked blackberries for about an hour. As youngsters we both remember picking wild berries with our family on the side of the road.
Recipe for Strawberry Freezer Jam. Strawberries are coming into season and they are at a very affordable price. Here is a great recipe I love for strawberries. Freezer jam is so easy and you don't even have to cook it. . .
Let stand until sugar dissolves. Boil over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1-3oz. box of strawberry Jello. Stir until Jello dissolves...
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I tried making peach freezer jam and followed the instructions to a T. It is almost finished sitting out for 24 hours and it looks like it may not be quite thick enough. It looks a bit watery. Any ideas as to why?
By Sandi from IL
Sorry I don't know the answer to your question but this link below has a lot of info re: jams & jellies and the science behind them. There is also a recipe near the bottom on re-making freezer jam from a failed batch. I didnt know you could do that.
We always make raspberry freezer jam and once I had it turn out not quite as gelled but gelled enough. It of course will be firmer in the fridge and even firmer in the freezer. We always keep ours in the freezer and often I forget to take it out a few minutes early and actually like it on sandwiches when it is frozen.
Or you could use it on pancakes or Dutch Babies in place of syrup.
Thanks Kaelle for that site info. I went there and I may try to remake the jam if it doesn't seem to get gelled enough after putting it in the fridge.
I am now wondering if the peaches I used were too juicy?
I want to make a strawberry/raspberry freezer jam. You have a recipe I could use, but it uses powdered pectin. Can I substitute a pouch of Certo pectin?
Dinah: Thanks. I read the info in the website you gave me. It talked about using dry and liquid pectins only if you are cooking the jams.
My question is about substituting in a freezer jam recipe.
Sorry! Missed the freezer part. However, I just searched online for "use liquid pectin in freezer jam" and found this recipe:
www.freshpreserving.com/
When I made my peach freezer jam it stayed whitish and frothy looking instead of nice and orangey. Should the peaches have been cut in the food processor or left to set longer before adding pectin? Any ideas?
By Paula A.
It sounds as if you didn't skim the froth and scum off the top of your jam while it was boiling. Also if you add a knob of butter while the jam is boiling it will prevent any scum forming.
My black raspberry freezer jam came out gritty. I used Certo. Any fix you can recommend?
By Linda Lea from Troy, OH
Did you remove the seeds (all or part of them) before you made your jam? Raspberry seeds are very hard, and would make the jam seem "Gritty". I usually run at least part of my berries through a sieve to remove the seeds before I measure my fruit to make Jam.
Often when I make freezer jam it turns out too soft even though I follow the recipe exactly. How can I fix this?
Carla from Aran
Are you being very careful of your measurements of the fruit? Also the weather can cause a problem. Don't make the jam on a rainy day or when the humidity is high.
We have freezer strawberry jam that we are traveling with - 206 four ounce jars. They are currently frozen. We are leaving Tuesday and we are giving them away on Saturday. Can we just keep them in a cooler until we give them out or do we need to keep them cool?
They'll be fine if you fill in the cooler with as much ice as will fit. However, you'll need to keep the ice level constant, which means draining off excess water (some coolers have a spigot at the bottom for this) and adding more ice as needed. Given the time of year, you'll probably have to do this every other day.
if you put newspaper between them and pack well with it you will have frozen jam when you arrive
I used the low-sugar Sur-Jel to make raspberry freezer jam. I followed the directions as in the box and it did not set after 24 hours. I then attempted to use the "remake" directions to remake the jam and it still has not set. All of the "fix-it" recipes out there call for cooked and canned jams or jellies.
Any suggestions on how to salvage the 6 pints of jam I have sitting in my fridge? I can re-purpose them if need be, but I would like to try and fix the jam first. I have made freezer jam for the last 4 or so years and haven't had this issue before. Thanks!Apparently, what happened is that the directions that the company put out were not appropriate: "If you tried making strawberry freezer jam recently and couldn't get it to set, the blame may lie with a bad recipe mistakenly inserted into boxes of Sure-Jell regular pectin, as reported Sunday in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel."
the article follows up with a way to salvage the problem archive.jsonline.com/
if that doesn't work, an idea would be to make pancakes or French Toast for a bunch of people and use it as a topping.
I am making raspberry freezer jam. I used organic sugar, but after 45 minutes of stirring it is still not disolved, what to do?
It may not dissolve as I think it has more fiber in it (stalk). I assume you did have it heated?
My strawberry freezer jam jelled on the bottom, but my fruit came to the top and is not very thick, how can I fix this?
Freezer jam is not cooked. Therefore, it is possible to remake your jam. I would suggest making a trial batch first. You can either use liquid pectin or powdered pectin to fix your problem. On the Missouri Families Food and Safety website, there are excellent directions to follow. Please use the link below and follow these simple steps:
missourifamilies.org/
I have a bunch of jarred Del Monte fruit and was thinking about making some of it into freezer jam with my daycare kids. Would I simply follow the directions for freezer jam or change it some? Has anyone made this before using jarred fruit? Thank you!
By mindy from Terrebonne, OR
I make sugar free freezer jam: 2 cups blackberries, 1 cup cold water, and a 3-oz package sugar free Jello. It tastes great, but is too thin. Can I add "no cook freezer jam fruit pectin" to thicken?
By Wanda M.
