Strawberry Freezer Jam

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Rinse berries and pat dry. With a paring knife, remove hulls.

3. Quarter berries or chop coarsely.

4. Place berries in a medium nonreactive container. Crush berries with a potato masher until broken down but still have some texture. Measure out 2 cups mashed berries; reserve any extra for another use.

5. Add sugar to mashed berries and stir to combine thoroughly. Let stand 10 minutes. 

6. Combine dry pectin and water in a small saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until pectin dissolves completely. (It might be lumpy at first.)

7. Bring to a full boil for exactly 1 minute and remove from heat. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

8. Pour pectin directly into berry-sugar mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. 

9. Pour jam into clean half-pint canning jars or plastic containers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal jars and let stand for 24 hours.

10. Store in refrigerator for up to one month or in freezer for up to one year. Thawed jam can keep in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Variations

Theoretically, any fruit or vegetable can be turned into freezer jam if you stick to the right proportions of fruit to sugar to pectin to water.

Try using other berries, including raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, even cranberries (although the latter will be tart) with this recipe. These berries won't require coarse chopping because they are already small.

Another option would be to try experimenting with red or green tomatoes and bell peppers to put a delicious vegetable-flavored spin on freezer jam. Your options are limited only by your creativity.