Thursday, June 25, 2015

Local Strawberry Season

Local Strawberry Season!
The month of June brings Strawberries!  Oh, I'm not talking about the packaged fruit from grocery stores' produce departments that have been shipped from another location to the northern states.  I'm talking  juicy fresh local Strawberries!  What a great treat!

Freezing the yummy strawberries (after removing the tops & rinsing in cold water/ draining/ packaging is a yearly tradition with me.  It began decades ago by helping my mom freeze our fam's supply for the upcoming months.  In those days it would always be hot & homes did not have any AC.  My sister & I were reminded in order to enjoy Strawberry Shortcake during the snowy cold winter months, we needed to get busy.  We also enjoyed eating them as we worked!     

We made our Jams back in the days, too.  Homemade Strawberry Jam is just the best.  Stirring the Strawberry/ Sugar mixture while working over a stove always made the day a lot warmer, but we knew how delicious it was!  Fast forward:  I totally read all the directions included inside the Certo box the first year that I was married.  There, I found a non cook method of preparing Jam.  I prepared 1 batch, froze it & 2  days later defrosted a container for my DH & I.  Ah, it was so good, so I made another batch of Strawberry Freezer Jam!  A few weeks later when the local Blueberries were ripe I also made 2 batches of Blueberry Freezer Jam.  From that year on my fave method is Freezer Jam.  

It is easy to prepare & it tastes so yummy!  One batch requires 1 quart of the ripe berries.

Strawberry Freezer Jam is the non cook method that requires:
  • Following directions exactly
  • 8 ounce containers that have been washed/ dried
  • 1 Quart ripe Strawberries
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Lemon Juice
  • I use Certo liquid fruit pectin
  • Did I mention follow directions exactly?  Prepare 1 batch at a time!
  • My Helpful Hints - I also read these before I begin. (Click on link to read, too.)
My family's tradition continued.  When freezing the yummy juicy red strawberries, I always set aside 4 quarts.  1 quart for our "munchies" & 3 quarts for the Freezer Jam that is always prepared the next day.
  
On Monday, the quick trip to Meadowbrook Farm in East Longmeadow, MA was made.  In the afternoon there was a Strawberry process going on in my kitchen.  The bags of fruit are now on the top shelf in our large freezer.  Tuesday right on schedule, 3 batches of Strawberry Freezer Jam was prepared.  After labeling, the containers sat on our Dining Room table undisturbed for 24 hours.  Each batch of the containers of delicious jam was placed in our large freezer at the specified times, 24 hours later.

Do you prepare Freezer Jam?  

Enjoy!
Yummy!
           

3 comments:

Stacey said...

Yummy! I don't make jam but I sure do freeze those wonderful berries. :)

JG said...

Stacey- Strawberries are so good during the winter months, too- especially as a Belgian Waffle topping! :)
~Judy

Pam said...

It looks great, Judy! I've made more than my share of strawberry jam over the years. My mom had strawberry "everything" when I was growing up. I used to keep a gallon jar in the refrigerator, filled with homemade jam; it kept great and was an easy way to do it. Happy 4th!