Strawberry Freezer Jam

Sometime around two weeks ago I found a recipe for strawberry jam.  I thought it sounded simple enough so I tried it.  It turned out perfect.  It was good but best of all it was easy.  I've made it a couple more times after that in small batches.  

Well last night at the grocery store I was surprised to see they are still carrying strawberries.  I picked some up thinking I'd make more jam.  But my plans were almost ruined when I saw the empty shelves where the canning jars were supposed to be.  There were no canning jars except for one or two cases of the quart size jars.  But I did spot these cute little cups for freezer jam.  I thought, how much different could it be?  

Well, it turns out it is a little different.  Mainly freezer jam is sooo much simpler than cooked processed jam.  It's also quicker too.  Basically you need 2 cups of washed, hulled, and mashed strawberries.  One store bought container was exactly 2 cups for me.  Mix in 4 cups of sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Let this set for 20 minutes.

In a separate pan heat 1 cup of water and mix in 1 package of pectin.  Bring to a boil and let boil 1 minute.  

Add pectin mixture to the strawberries and stir for about 3 minutes.  It will thicken as you stir.  After about 3 minutes you're ready to ladle the jam into your containers. 

Leave your jars on the counter for a couple of hours to let them cool and set before you pop them in the freezer.  You may take this time to stand back and admire your pretty jars and your effort.  

 This is the freezer jam and the cooked jam i made a couple of weeks ago.  The cooked jam is still sitting on the counter waiting to be put away.  My excuse is I need to make space for it in the pantry but really I've left it out because I like looking at it every time I walk through the kitchen.  They jars just look so pretty sitting there filled with deep red goodness.  How could I possibly put them away?  Having both freezer jam and cooked jam side by side you can see a difference in color.  Freezer jam is a brighter red and cooked jam is a deeper jewel tone color.  Both taste good and I know we will enjoy eating this all through the year.

Linking to: Home Sweet Home, Frugal Friday, Flaunt it Friday, Frugalicious Friday, Potpourri Friday,