This Kaiser Family Recipe To Remember is long overdue. I grew up on this jam, my kids grew up on this jam, and their kids are maybe growing up on it too.
Although.
Technically.
This isn't jam. This is jelly. Jelly is smooth, no chunks. Juice is technically made from juice as opposed to the actual fruit. Jam has small chunks. Since Kaiser kids do not like even small strawberry chunks in their strawberry jam, I have always pureed all strawberries. And you'll notice that the "jam" I make is actually more sugar than strawberries. So technically technically it should be labeled Strawberry Flavored Jelled Sugar. But who is going to say that?
"Hey Mom, is there more Strawberry Flavored Jelled Sugar in the freezer?"
"Hey, who left the Strawberry Flavored Jelled Sugar on the counter?"
Etc.
So - we call it Strawberry Jam. Always have and probably always will. Even though technically, it's not jam at all.
***and for any grammar nerds - gelled and jelled are both correct in this usage. I chose jelled because I am using sure Jell. Just wanted to clarify that. In case you wondered***
Anyway.
Here's how.
First, buy a box of sure-jell.
It looks like this:
In years past, this little box contained a pouch of pectin and a cute little folded up sheet of directions which told in detail how to make jelly/jam out of various fruits - grape, strawberry, strawberry/rhubarb, peach, etc. In recent years, however, that very helpful sheet of directions is not included; instructions are printed on the box itself...but instructions are somewhat vague at best. I've googled the recipe; and after a few dead ends, I've eventually found the
recipe of yore. But that's a frustrating waste of time, so I've long decided I need to include it here for ease...and because yes, I have successfully tweaked the recipe in a couple of ways. First, we puree berries instead of crushing them because even the very-best-crushed berries leave chunks; and - yeah. Kaiser kids don't like chunks. Maybe you do, so by all means crush instead of puree. Second, we double the recipe - even though instructions very clearly state DO NOT DOUBLE. That's absolutely silly. It saves so much time to double the recipe and it works just fine and has been working just fine for years. I don't know why they say DO NOT DOUBLE but ignore that part.
So.
Just in case the link to the original freezer jam recipe breaks somewhere down the line - and if you want the recipe with my tweaks - let's do this.
Puree about 2 quarts of strawberries to make 4 cups of puree. My vitamix works well for this.
Add 8 cups of sugar (!!!!! I did say there is more sugar than strawberries, remember?). Stir well. Let rest for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile.
Whisk the contents of 2 boxes of pectin with 1 1/2 cups cold water in a small saucepan. Heat to boiling; stir while it boils for 1 minute and thickens slightly. Remove from heat. If you've timed it correctly, the 10 minutes of the strawberry/sugar mixture should be about up. If not, it's ok if the pectin/water sits on the stove for a minute or two. Then mix the pectin/water into the strawberry/sugar mixture, and stir for 3 minutes. Initially the clear-ish pectin will be separate from the red strawberry/sugar; as you stir it will blend and the 2 colors will become one.
My only picture is of this step:
And this is the step where you really don't want a Walmart delivery at your door or an important phone call coming in or a grandbaby needing your attention; because if you walk away right now, the entire bowl of jam could jell right there in the bowl which wouldn't be the end of the world but certainly wouldn't be the best scenario.
After 3 minutes of vigorous stirring, you'll see the two mixtures combine into one; then scoop the jam into prepared freezer containers. I prefer pints although I have used quarts in the past. If I was a Really Thoughtful Person, I would make a few small containers to give as gifts; honestly I just now thought of this idea so maybe that makes me a Really Thoughtful Person. Or maybe not because I've been making this jam for over 30 years and just now thought of it 😬
At any rate. Leave the jam containers on the counter for 24 hours (I have no idea why) then store in freezer.
That's it. Super easy.
4 cups, 8 cups, 1 1/2 cups, 2 boxes.
10 minutes, 1 minute, 3 minutes.
Back in the day, we bought lots and lots of fresh strawberries when they were on sale and made lots and lots of jam because lots and lots of eaters lived here. Now, not so much. I use good old GV frozen strawberries and make a double batch as described above which yields about 8 pints which lasts plenty long enough. Why frozen? Because off-season, they're cheaper than fresh. At Walmart anyway. I haven't checked Aldi prices so cannot speak to that. This works for me.
Happy jamming 😁
I know, I know, technically it's not jam...
