Last summer, a gal in our church was selling peaches by the box and when I found myself with a case of the sweet and ready to eat fruit, I knew I needed to get to work. Having never made jam before, I had to research. "Freezer Jam" research on line. This is what I needed, this is what I found.
Freezer Jam
allrecipes.com
Freezer jam is easy to
make. And because freezer jam isn't cooked, it tastes remarkably like
fresh fruit.
The Ingredients
There are just a
few ingredients:
Fruit
Use perfectly ripe fruit. Since you won't be cooking it, the
flavor of the jam is going to be much like the flavor of the fruit.
If it's over- or underripe, you'll be able to taste it. Jam made with
underripe fruit, besides being sour, might jell too much, while jam made
with overripe fruit--besides having an off-flavor--might not jell enough.
Pectin
Most recipes call for additional pectin to thicken the jam,
giving it that familiar jammy consistency. Commercially produced
pectin is derived from fruit--usually apples or citrus. Store-bought pectin
comes in two forms: powder and liquid. Most recipes call for powdered pectin,
but these are not interchangeable--use whichever form your recipe calls
for.
The basic ratios for each
packet of powdered pectin are:
3 cups mashed fruit
5 cups
sugar, and
1 cup water in which to dissolve and boil the pectin.
This formula can vary a
little depending on the brand of pectin, so follow the instructions on the
package.
Sugar
Sugar inhibits the growth of bacteria, keeping your jam fresh,
fruity, and safe to eat. Jam recipes are formulated to call for a certain ratio
of pectin to sugar, and they will not jell properly if you don't use the
correct amount of sugar. If you'd like to make less-sweet jam, you'll need to
buy a special kind of pectin that's formulated to work with less sugar.
Containers
Before you begin making
the jam, have all your jam jars ready and waiting. Use either sturdy
plastic containers with tight-fitting lids, or short, wide-mouthed glass jars
made especially for the freezer.
It's best to choose containers that are no
bigger than pint-size; the jam will not set up as well in larger containers.
Wash them as you would any other dishes; there's no need to boil them like with
traditional jam-making.
Making Jam
The process itself is
simple:
•
Wash and stem
the fruit (and peel it, if applicable).
•
Place it in a
wide-bottomed pan and crush with a potato masher to a smooth consistency,
leaving some chunks of fruit if you like.
•
Stir in the
sugar and let the mixture sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
•
In the
meantime, mix together the pectin and water in a small saucepan until the
powder is dissolved; bring it to a boil over high heat, and let it boil for a
full minute.
•
Pour it into
the fruit and stir for a couple of minutes.
•
Pour the jam
into your containers, leaving a half-inch of "headspace" at the
top.
•
Cover the
containers and let them sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
•
The jam should
thicken significantly overnight, but the jelling process can take up to two
weeks to complete. If it's too thick, stirring it will soften it up. If
it's still too runny after two weeks, pour it into a saucepan and bring it to a
boil. It will get thicker as it cools, and you can re-bottle as before.
Storing Your Jam
As the name implies, freezer jam
is meant to be stored in the freezer. In fact, it will keep beautifully in the
freezer for up to a year. You can also keep freezer jam in the refrigerator for
up to three weeks. Once you open a container of jam, you should use it within
three weeks as well. Just remember never to keep freezer jam at room
temperature, or it will spoil.
I hadn't bought enough pectin for the vast amount of peaches I had. Our jam was therefor runny. But we still eat it at a record rate. So now I can't wait for the peaches to be sold out of our friends pickup again this summer!
