Lucious, brightly flavoured homemade jam can be yours without cooking, canning, or excessive amounts of sugar, courtesy of easy to make freezer jam. Bursting with the fresh, intense flavours of seasonal fruit, this no-cook jam requires only three ingredients and is a quick and easy way to preserve the delicious sweetness of summer.
I love the idea of traditional canning as a preservation method, but am admittedly somewhat intimidated by the learning curve required for successful and safe canning. I have done traditional canning once or twice before, and I know intellectually that it is not that hard, I just don’t have the confidence to take on large canning projects, yet.
Luckily, one summer when I was up at a cottage in Northern Ontario, and found myself with far too many strawberries after a visit to a local farm, I stumbled across freezer jam pectin in a local hardware store. The instructions on the package seemed easy enough, and once I started, in about 30 minutes, I had 4 jars of bright scarlet strawberry jam ready for the fridge and freezer. It was so easy, the jam was bursting with fresh fruit flavour, and was frankly, more delicious than standard strawberry jam. I was hooked. Now, making this easy homemade jam is something I look forward to every summer.
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What is freezer jam?
Freezer jam is one of those preparations that has a bit of an air about it of times gone by, which I think is a shame, as it is a wonderful and accessible option for seasonal preservation. As a lesser known alternative to traditional jam canning processes, freezer jam is an excellent way to preserve fresh, in season fruit for enjoyment later on in the year.
Unlike traditional canning, which requires a certain amount of know-how and is a lengthier process to complete, freezer jam can be made in minutes without expert knowledge. Also unlike traditional canning, the fruit in freezer jam is uncooked, and the amount of sugar used is close to half that of traditional cooked jam. All of that extra sugar won't be missed; freezer jams are still more than sweet enough, allowing the original, delectable flavour of the fresh fruit to shine through.
Local, in season fruit specific to where you live is the best choice for homemade no-cook jam; use what you love and is available to you!
What do you need to make freezer jam?
To make freezer jam, the essential ingredient is the right kind of pectin. Look for packets labeled either “freezer [jam] pectin” or “no cook freezer jam gelling powder” which feature pectin, or alternate gelling agents, to set the jam. While you can make freezer jam with standard jam pectin, these recipes require the jam mixture to be cooked for a short period of time, and generally use as much sugar as standard jam, which for me defeats the purpose of freezer jam with its easy no-cook and lower sugar characteristics.
The only other ingredients needed are approximately four cups of fresh fruit and one and a half cups of sugar, making a modestly sized batch of about four 250 ml jars. I always use organic cane sugar, and most often opt to make strawberry or peach jam as those are my favourites, however the options for fruit are almost limitless. Freezer jam could be made out of any stone fruit, from apricots to plums, and from any berry, from raspberries to blackberries, and from most other fruits in between; the choice is yours!
Fruit, freezer jam pectin or gelling powder, sugar, and jars are all that you need to make a batch of freezer jam.
How do you make freezer jam?
Freezer jam is truly easy to make. The most involved step, and it isn't that involved, is at the beginning, preparing the fruit. Berries such as blueberries, blackberries and raspberries only need to be washed, and that's it. Larger berries such as strawberries need to be hulled, and larger stone fruits need to be peeled and cut into segments.
While you can certainly blanch peaches or any other skinned fruit in boiling water to help remove the skins, I sometime prefer the satisfying work of using a good knife to peel and remove fruit skins. Do what works for you and suits the type of fruit you are using.
While each brand of freezer pectin has slightly different steps as detailed on the packaging, the essential process is to gently crush the freshly washed and prepared fruit. Using a potato masher makes quick work of crushing the fruit by hand in moments.
As an important note, I have noticed that all brands of freezer pectin caution specifically against pureeing the fruit, so while quickly blitzing the fruit in a blender or food processor might seem appealing, it really doesn’t take much work to crush the fruit manually as suggested.
Once the fruit is crushed and set aside for a moment, the pectin and sugar can be combined and mixed in a separate bowl.
The pectin and sugar mix is then added into the crushed fruit and stirred continuously for about 3 to 5 minutes as specified to help activate the pectin or gelling agent.
The final step is to let the jam set for around 15- 30 minutes as specified before jarring and storing the jam in the fridge or freezer.
To jar the prepared jam, have about four or five 250 ml clean glass jars ready to be filled with the completed freezer jam mixture. Unlike traditional canning methods, the jars do not have to be sterilized before being filled, making the process that little bit easier and less time intensive.
While of course plastic containers can be used if that is what is available, glass jars don’t take on flavours or aromas, and can easily and successfully be frozen. I highly recommend using a wide mouth canning funnel, which makes filling the jars easy and mess free, while also providing a visual reminder to leave the necessary amount of headspace in each jar.
Flavour variations
I find the vivid fruit flavours of freezer jam to be so dazzling that I rarely feel I need to add additional seasoning or spices, although you certainly can if the idea appeals to you.
I have on occasion added small amounts of vanilla paste or finely zested lemon peel to my freezer jams to delicious effect. You could also consider experimenting with orange, tangerine, or lime zest, grated ginger, ground sweet spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, or pie spice, or botanical flavourings such as crushed dried lavender, crushed dried mint, rose water, or orange blossom water.
If you decide to add additional flavouring to a batch of freezer jam, start with about a half teaspoon of the chosen flavouring per batch (in the case of flower waters, start with ⅛ or ¼ teaspoon), taste, and add more in small increments if needed, tasting with each addition, and making sure not to obscure the fruit flavour itself.
Storing and defrosting
Once a batch of freezer jam is prepared and jarred, it can be left in the fridge for 3-6 weeks (each brand of pectin will specify the storage length), or stored in the freezer for up to a year. I have personally defrosted jars of freezer jam a year later, and have found the jam to be just as delicious and fresh as the day it was made. There is nothing quite like defrosting a jar of luminous, red, strawberry freezer jam, joyously tasting exactly like fresh summer berries in the middle of a cold, Ontario winter.
To defrost a frozen jar of jam, simply take it out of the freezer and leave it in the fridge overnight. The defrosted jar of jam should be able to be stored for the length of time indicated on the original package directions, usually 3-6 weeks; I can all but guarantee it will be eaten well before that time!
Ways to enjoy freezer jam
Freezer jam, is at its essence, jam! It is a bit less “set” than standard cooked jam, and the bright, fresh, and dare I say vivacious flavour more than makes up for this slight difference in texture. For me, this no-cook jam is as close to fresh fruit as a fruit preparation can be.
Like all great jams, freezer jam is superlative on fresh bread slathered with butter, and its uses don’t end there. I like to make homemade yogurt cups with my freezer jam, layering the fruity jam underneath greek yogurt for a tasty, economical, eco friendly and less sugary version of a single serve yogurt cup.
Freezer jam makes a delicious addition to layer cakes as a filling or topping, it can be dolloped into muffin batter, spread onto pancakes, rolled up in crepes, or layered into chia pudding, just to name a few uses. Once you have a batch of this easy, homemade jam in your fridge and freezer, you may just find yourself inventing even more ways to enjoy this delicious taste of summer all throughout the year.
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