There is nothing sweeter than the strawberry season. The strawberries are picked in the field, brought home, and made into jam to enjoy all winter. Strawberry Freezer Jam with Sure-Jell is the easiest way to make jam. Enjoy ripe, flavorful strawberries picked at their peak all year long. This homemade strawberry freezer jam is the same one I made with my mom as a kid and the same one I now make with my kids!
Fresh strawberries picked from the field during the peak strawberry season taste nothing like the grocery store variety. Depending on the variety of the fresh berries, they may be smaller, but the flavor is out of this world. My family has been picking strawberries straight from the field since my youngest could barely walk.
The smell of fresh strawberries just picked is the smell of summer. Like fresh-cut grass, freshly-picked strawberries smell fantastic. Picking a strawberry gently warmed by the morning sun and popping it into your mouth is bliss. Capturing that flavor for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or on buttered toast is one of the best ways to remember summer in the cold, harsh winter.
Sure-Jell has three products to create the best homemade strawberry freezer jam! The original fruit pectin, is in the yellow box. The low-sugar option is in the pink box. The final option, liquid fruit pectin, is in the blue box. Each choice creates a great strawberry freezer jam depending on what you need.
Ingredients
- Ripe Strawberries - Freshly picked ripe berries are the best.
- Sugar - White granulated sugar.
- Sure-Jell Pectin - The yellow box.
- Water - Good ole H2O
See the recipe card for the exact measurements and complete instructions. Selected ingredients are based on current serving sizes measured by the Monash App at the time of publishing. As always, follow your gut and modify as needed.
Jump to RecipeInstructions
Wash and dry your mason glass jars or freezer-friendly plastic containers with covers.
Wash your strawberries and remove the hull and discard the strawberry stems. In my house, this is a kid-friendly job. I give them a straw, and they push the hull right off through the bottom of the berry. It works like a charm, and everyone gets to help!
In a large bowl, mash strawberries with a potato masher. I have also used an immersion blender and a food processor. Just be aware the "electric methods" can quickly obliterate any strawberry pieces, and the berries will become liquid. You want small bits of fruit in your strawberry jam, just like what you buy from the grocery store.
Measure the exact amount of sugar you need into a large bowl. Do not reduce the sugar, or it will not work. See the low-sugar option below for a reduced-sugar option.
Add the crushed berries to the sugar. Set the timer for ten minutes. Stir this mixture every other minute. Stirring the mixture will help dissolve the sugar, which is what you want. Nobody wants a grainy jam.
In a small saucepan, add the water and the Sure-Jell fruit pectin. Bring the water to a boil. Stir constantly. Allow the mixture to boil for one minute. Remove from heat.
After ten minutes, add the pectin mixture to the strawberry mixture.
Stir constantly for three minutes. It is ok if a few sugar crystals remain.
Fill the containers immediately, leaving at least ½ inch space on the top because the mixture will expand during freezing.
Let the covered jam containers stand at room temperature for twenty-four hours. Refrigerate for up to three weeks. Or freeze for up to 1 year. However, after a year, I found a rogue jar in our freezer, which is still delicious! Thaw the jam before eating.
Strawberry Freezer Jam with Sure-Jell
Equipment
- Potato Masher
- Mason Jars or Plastic Freezer Containers
- Small Saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 cups Crushed Strawberries
- 4 cups White Granulated Sugar
- ¾ cups Water
- 1 Box Sure-Jell Yellow Box
Instructions
- Wash and dry your mason glass jars or freezer-friendly plastic containers with covers. Set aside.
- Wash your strawberries and remove the hull and discard the strawberry stems.
- In a large bowl, mash strawberries with a potato masher.
- Measure the exact amount of sugar you need into a large bowl.
- Add the crushed berries to the sugar. Let stand for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a small saucepan, add the water and the Sure-Jell pectin. Bring the water to a boil. Stir constantly. Allow the mixture to boil for one minute. Remove from heat.
- After ten minutes, add the pectin mixture to fruit mixture. Stir constantly for three minutes. It is ok if a few sugar crystals remain.
- Fill the containers immediately, leaving at least ½ inch space on the top because the mixture will expand during freezing.
- Let the covered jam containers stand at room temperature for twenty-four hours. Refrigerate for up to three weeks. Or freeze for up to 1 year.
- If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before using.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Variations of Sure-Jell
Less Sugar Sure-Jell - An excellent option for a low-sugar strawberry freezer jam and can be found in the pink Sure-Jell box. It uses less sugar and more crushed strawberries. This type of fruit pectin gets dissolved with the sugar in a medium saucepan, boiled, and added to the fruit.
I would give the less-sugar jam a good stir before using it. The fruit rises to the top, and the sugar sinks, so a quick stir will fix that minor issue.
Liquid Sure-Jell (Certo) - This is my favorite want to use fruit pectin. There is no water to boil, and it uses lemon juice, which I love! It takes the same time as the yellow and pink Sure-Jell boxes. Liquid pectin skips the boiling water to dissolve the powder pectin part. It also has the same amount of sugar as the yellow box of fruit pectin. Also, something worth noting, there are two pouches of liquid pectin in one box, so two batches of freezer jam per box.
Variations of Freezer Jams
- Different Types of Fruit - I love raspberries! You can make a raspberry freezer jam version too!
- Fruit Combos - Try making a strawberry-blueberry freezer jam or raspberry-peach freezer jam!
Storage
Because this is a freezer jam and has not been canned in a water bath or pressure cooker, it must be kept in the freezer until you are ready to use it. When our container in the refrigerator is low, I will remove a jar from the freezer and let it thaw. Once it is thawed out, feel free to use it as you would any other jam from the grocery store. Truthfully there are plenty of times we are scraping the sides trying to "force" the freezer jam to thaw faster.
Low FODMAP
Many jams and jellies contain high fructose corn syrup, a big no for anyone on a low FODMAP diet. Monash University has tested strawberries and has found them safe at 65 grams or roughly five medium. Try this amount for yourself and see if you can tolerate more. Sure-Jell contains dextrose, citric acid, and fruit pectin. Dextrose is one of the safer sugars for the low FODMAP diet because it is 100% glucose. Two tablespoons of this jam should be safe. As always, test your personal tolerance because everyone is different, and then you will know. Knowing exactly what ingredients are in my jam, where the strawberries grew, and how my family made them is just a bonus!
Additional Ways To Enjoy
- Pour jam over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Add jam to your strawberry shortcake.
- Pour it over your Swedish Oven Pancakes or Gluten Free Swedish Pancakes. The perfect way to add some strawberries to your breakfast!
FAQs
The strawberry freezer jam needs to sit at room temperature for twenty-four hours to allow the pectin to be fully set.
If your strawberry jam looks more like a sauce and not a jam, the culprit could be that the ratio between fruit and sugar was off, or your sugar didn’t fully dissolve. Another option, you got an old box of pectin - check the expiration dates.
It will last in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. A jar only lasts for a short time in our house. So many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
Truthfully it is a lot of sugar combined with fresh fruit and Sure-Jell fruit pectin. In order for freezer jam to work, you need to use the exact amount of sugar the recipe calls for. This will ensure it will set up and preserve the fresh strawberry flavor.
The little boxes of Sure-Jell have been around since 1934. That is many, many batches of jam! Sure-Jell creates a homemade easy strawberry freezer jam recipe that lets you know exactly what ingredients are the jam you put on your toast!
Yellow Box of Sure-Jell - is the original.
Pink Box of Sure-Jell - is the lower sugar option. It is formulated to use less sugar.
Blue Box of Sure-Jell (Certo) is liquid pectin, has fewer steps than the other two options of Sure-Jell, and uses lemon juice in its recipe.
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