strawberry freezer jam

We have become acquainted with a couple who sell the most delicious produce at the Farmers' Market. Last year we found out by accident that they have a you-pick strawberry field. Even though we went fairly late in the season, we still managed to get about 2 quarts of strawberries. They were so amazingly delicious that I resolved that we'd go early this year and pick enough to make freezer jam. I have been talking with Deanna every week about her strawberries and on Wednesday she said she was opening this weekend! So, yesterday before Dave went to work, we headed out to pick strawberries. It was a little stormy and we were worried we'd get rained on, but we lucked out and managed to stay dry. Hank had a blast talking with Deanna and Mike and Jed had fun helping us pick. Dave and I managed to pick 8 large quarts of strawberries in about 30 minutes, and then we headed out to beat the rain. I dropped Dave off at work, settled Hank for a nap and Jed with his animals and commenced my work.

Such gorgeous berries! When we picked, we tried to get the deepest red we could find, since they'd make the sweetest jam.

  First I washed the berries and laid them on paper towels to dry. No sandy jam for us!

 I kept thinking that 8 quarts of berries weren't very many. But seeing them laid out like this, I began to feel otherwise.

 Look at how huge they are! I managed to get them all hulled before Hank woke up from his nap. While I was getting him his second breakfast, I looked to see how much Sure-Jell I had. Ugh, only one box. That was definitely not enough to make what was beginning to look like a LOT of jam.

 So, after rounding up Jed from the yard where he was playing with Jeremy and rescuing Hank from the front bathroom where he'd managed to topple over my towel holder/plant stand (how does he move so quickly sometimes?) I left my berries on the counter like this and we headed out in search of Sure-Jell. After 4 stores, we found it and were free to come home and have lunch. Whew!

 After lunch, Hank went down for another nap and Jed went back outside to play with Jeremy. I started mashing berries. It felt a little sad to mash up all those beautiful berries, but it was also great to mash out some frustrations! Although I initially tried using my food grinder that I use to make applesauce, the berries wouldn't mash well in it, and I found it easiest to mash them in a pie pan with a potato masher and then pour the mashed berries into my biggest measuring cup.

 I got a little less than 8 cups out of each bowl of whole strawberries. As I read my recipe, I realized I was going to get about 4 double batches of jam out of all these berries. I headed downstairs to get my sugar bucket.

 Each double batch called for four cups of strawberries and 8 cups of sugar. And I had four double batches, with one cup of mashed strawberries left over. I put them in an ice cube tray for Hank to eat with other things, then started making the first batch of jam.

 I assembled everything else I'd need--the Sure-Jell, my jars, lids, and rings, and then started in. Although freezer jam doesn't need to be cooked, the Sure-Jell does have to be mixed with water and brought to a boil to activate the pectin's thickening properties.

 Because I was doing double batches, I used 1 1/2 cups of water and 2 boxes of Sure-Jell. It's so easy--just bring it to a boil and then let it boil for a minute, stirring constantly.

Then you pour the Sure-Jell into the bowl of strawberries and stir for about 5 minutes, until you can't taste any individual grains of sugar. The heat from the Sure-Jell helps dissolve the sugar and makes the jam set up.

 On the left you can see jam that is actually jam (mixed with Sure-Jell) and on the right, just strawberries and sugar. I love how it changes to a much smoother texture and more brilliant red color when you add the Sure-Jell.

 I have NEVER had jam set up so well before. As soon as I got done stirring and moved from one part of the counter to the other, it was set. You can see the crater where I scooped some out to put in the jar above.

 Filling the jars with beautiful jam! I filled 12 half-pints and 19 pints altogether. I decided to do the halves, thinking they'd be good Christmas presents for teachers and neighbors. It's so nice to have some presents done already!

 Even though the mess was spread all over the kitchen, when I cleaned up, it wasn't really that many dishes for Dave to wash--4 bowls, a couple of measuring cups, wooden spoons, a pan, the food grinder that didn't work to mash the berries, and a knife.

 ...And here is the result of all my hard work! It's awesome to think that yesterday morning, the berries were still in the field, and yesterday afternoon by 5:00, they were all finished into the best jam I have ever tasted. Hooray!

Here's a little breakdown:
8 quarts of strawberries
29 cups whole, hulled berries
17 cups mashed berries
32 cups sugar
50 cups jam
8 boxes Sure-Jell
12 half-pints
19 pints
$12 for berries
$20 for Sure-Jell
7:30 am--picking berries
9:45am--washing, hulling berries
12:30 pm--mashing berries
2:00pm--starting first batch
4:15pm--done putting last batch in jars