Monday, September 29, 2008

NO Cook- Freezer Jam


Today, I'm blogging about "How to make NO Cook Freezer Jam", per request of Mrs. Liz R. = )
(Thank you Liz!!)


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Everybody LOVES home-made jam right?
Well, it does NOT have to be as difficult as making jam by cooking it AND canning it.


It's as easy as whipping it up quick & easy in a mixing bowl, to the jars, to the freezer. ~Whala!
~~It's also alot fresher tasting & retains more of the health benefits this way too!


So you're just gonna' acquire the NO Cook Freezer Jam Pectin

Raley's has it,
and SaveMart MIGHT.
Safeway does NOT have it.

-At Raley's it's located in the baking aisle,
which is also where the canning jars,
and kitchenware items are located.


Acquire the fruit ....

(in this case, Strawberries, OUR favorite jam)



Pluck the stems off

(See how quickly it can be done! Look at him GO!!!! =)



Rinse & drain....



(Puree it), Bag it up & Freeze it ...

for whenever you're ready to make the jam.

You can either bag the fruit up whole or already pureed.


Pureed saves you time later, and also lays nicer in the freezer.

Sometimes I do a little of both.





You just mix the sugar & the pectin together, real well...





Then add the fruit, & the pectin-sugar all together...



Assuming you've got your jars,

and you've got them all clean and ready to go...

and that you've got yourself a funnel for canning jars....

Now here's the BEST part!!

Nope!! ~Ya' don't have to boil it, you just...

Begin ladeling it into those pretty jam jars!!




Here's another favorite part:

Nope!! Ya' don't have to can it for several minutes!!


You just place those pretty jars in the freezer, and feel very, very satisfied!!!

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Now... if you're thinking you don't want to bother w/ all that defrosting stuff..... Here's the solution:

To avoid waiting for jam to defrost, ya' wanna' always have 2 jars in the fridge; the one you are using up, and the 1 that will be ready to go NEXT time.

We have 2 fridges, so what we do is we have the 1 jar in the fridge, and 1 jar in the 2nd fridge. When we empty the 1st jar, we take the 1 already defrosted jar out of the 2nd fridge, and at the same time, take a jar out of the freezer into the 2nd fridge again. That way, you ALWAYS have a ready to go jar of jam!

-NO problems!!

=)

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Additional F.Y.I.:


This time, I made a triple batch. That is what you saw pictures of.

You'll need 1 packet of pectin for each 4 cups of fruit (depending on what kind of fruit you use.)

To give you an idea of how much different quantities make:

I just had 2 gal. size ziplocks of strawberries,

and it made 12 cups of strawberries,

which in jars, was 14 jars, of the 12 oz. size.

That's 168 oz. / or 21 cups of JAM!!!

Also, each 1 gal. ziplock can hold about 6 c. fruit.

1 flat of strawberries made about 7 1/2 gal. ziplocks.

Of the 12 oz. size, that should make about 50 jars of JAM or more!!!

So... to make it a li'l clearer for the EYES & brain to read:

That's:

1 flat of strawberries = 7-8 gal. ziplock bags = 50 jars (of 12 oz. size)

1 gal. ziplock = @ 6 c. = 7 jars (of 12 oz. size)

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If you're interested in cost effectiveness:

The last time I figured it up (a few years ago)...

It comes out to almost the same price as the cost of buying an economy sized jar of jam, maybe just the tiniest slightest bit more... but not much.

~~~~~

None the less- It does:

  • Taste better!!
  • Healthier!!
  • MUCH more satisfying to serve to your family!!!

(And.... an added benefit for those of you, whose husband has a phobia of home-canned foods, your husband might let you make it, since it's dependant on staying fresh because of the freezer, not because of canning.)

Woo-hoo!!

If you hurry, you might be able to make it the fruit stand before strawberry season is over!!!

Happy Jam-Making to YOU!! :)

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