Strawberry Freezer Jam

We finally got Bountiful Baskets (if you have not heard of it, go to the link & see if it's going on in your area...lots of fresh fruits and veggies & extras for an awesome price!) going here in my wonderful little town!  It's bright & early on Saturday mornings (7:00 a.m. pick up time!!), but I'm so glad it's here!

They had strawberries to order this last week and so I got 2 cases. (8, 1 lb. packages for $11...pretty great price!)

So guess what I'm making today?  Yep, strawberry freezer jam!  This is my families favorite jam & we go through it like crazy!  It is more affordable than buying jam AND it's tastes so much better!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

(Cost per bottle=$2.18, approximately)

PRINT RECIPE

4 cups mashed strawberries (about 2 1/2 pounds whole strawberries)

8 cups sugar

2 boxes of pectin

1 1/2 cups water

Wash & remove stems from strawberries and mash them. You can mash them with a potato masher or I just like to blend them in my blender, but if you do that just don't blend them to death! In a large bowl measure the EXACT amount of sugar...I know that's a lot of sugar, but it needs to be that much or else the jam will not set. You can try the recipes on the less-sugar pectin boxes if that much sugar scares you to death!:) Pour the strawberries over the sugar and stir until mixture is combined really well. Let sit for 10 minutes.

When there is about 3-4 minutes left of the strawberry/sugar mixture start making the pectin. Measure water into a medium sized sauce pan (you don't want it too small because when it starts to boil it boils up...I've had many a spill overs over the years!) and add the pectin. It may be a little lumpy but will dissolve during this process so don't worry. Bring the water/pectin to a boil stirring constantly. When it reaches a boil, stir & boil for 1 minute. Pour over the strawberries and mix for 3 minutes to ensure it's incorporated throughout. Pour into freezer safe jars. Let sit at room temperature for 24 hours and then put in the freezer for up to a year (we've used some past the year mark and it was still good) or store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Makes about 5 pint size jars.