Friday brought some much needed rain and in turn, a cancelled baseball game and a wide open evening! I was actually secretly celebrating the storm. I enjoy baseball season but our schedules have been so busy lately that it was a gift to have a free night. So, it was off to Hartville Marketplace to stock up on strawberries and get going on freezer jam. I bought one flat (about 7 quarts) for $10 of ripe strawberries. I also purchased extra Ball canning jars, sugar, and Sure-Jell pectin. I have learned that the pectin is important! Not all pectins are created equal. Since I’m familiar with Sure-Jell (and that’s the kind Jen recommended) I stuck with that.
For Strawberry Freezer Jam you can use the recipe that comes inside the box of pectin, but I found this one and decided to give it a try. Be prepared to go through a lot of sugar! 4 cups at a time:
4 cups of sugar to 2 pints of strawberries. No wonder it’s so sweet!
With the teamwork of my kitchen helpers (Jim and the boys) we whipped up over 2 dozen jars of freezer jam! I can’t stress enough how EASY this recipe is. As long as you follow the directions diligently, you can’t go wrong. Best of all, it’s relatively quick and definitely fun! One Summer “Bucket List” item checked off the list!
Blessing Prayer at the Completion of the Harvest:
Lord and Bountiful Creator,
giver of grains, of fruits and berries and all that grows from the earth, we thank You and bless You for this year’s harvest.
We lift up our hearts in gratitude for the sun, which, together with the rain, wind and earth, worked in harmony to produce this bountiful harvest.
We are grateful to all those who labored in-together with-the earth so that this harvest time might come to fullness.
Lord, as Your Son, Jesus knew: harvest is hard work! Yet, it is also richly rewarding to see the fruit of our labor, to take pride in this completed harvest.
May our joy at this harvest be a taste of the joy we shall share when we celebrate the final harvest of heaven,
that day of days when all that You have begun will be matured to completion.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, who has given to us this harvest.
Amen+
Looks Yummy Brooke! I make freezer strawberry jam too but use tupperware like containers for the freezer. I also cut the sugar by using the Sure Jell Less Sugar box {it's pink} and it is still fabulous! A great way to cut the sugar even more!
I'm hoping to take the kiddos strawberry picking this week and make mine… we love it!
Brooke,
Thanks for sharing. Have such fond memories of picking strawberries with my grandmother growing up. This is a great recipe and I look forward to doing this with my kids this summer to create some sweet memories of our own. Thanks again!