It's that time of year. The little strawberry patch outside our front door has done it again. It's taking a beating this year with Wystan trampling through to go after the barely ripe berries in the back, but there were still enough for a big batch of shortcake and a decent supply of freezer jam, though I did supplement that with other local berries.
For all the jams that we consume, I'd never made freezer jam before today. I knew that I wanted to make jam, but all of the recipes I was finding called for SO MUCH sugar. Then I had this "brilliant" idea: if I froze the jam instead of heat canning it, I could use as little sugar as I liked and not worry about messing with bacteria, etc.
Like every recipe I've probably ever attempted, I took a look at two different sets of instructions and then just went for it without measuring or worrying too much about the specifics. I made a couple of quarts, poured it all into jars, and popped it into the fridge to set, and then, for good measure, I googled it and found this timely article which states:
Pectin is the fruit-derived gel that holds jam together and creates a thick consistency. It's important to buy a brand of pectin that is compatible with no-cook freezer jam. Read the instructions carefully, as recipes can (and will) vary from brand to brand. Different kinds of pectin call for different amounts of sugar, so read the directions or your jam won't set correctly.
I'm afraid that as usual, this little kitchen experiment is going to prove (again) that I'm not as clever as I think I am. We'll know by morning...
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