Hi Lpink,
I just freeze mine whole no sugar. They work great like that. As far as jam goes I always use the low sugar pectin now for all my jams and they come out great. I dont mash strawberries I just cook following pectin directions, that way they dont seem to get so mushy. I like my jam with chunks of fruit, if I wanted it smooth I would make jelly! right?

Hope this helps,
Susan in NC

You can also pur (remove seeds if desired) and freeze for later use as a sauce over desserts or use to make syrup, which is a great gift item.

Sugared berries retain their flavor a bit better in the freezer, but I freeze them both ways. I like the plain ones in smoothies.

Carol

My dad used to simple freeze whole berries, but found that once thawed, they have a very pale color. After a couple of disappointments, I used sugar in each batch, and the flaver and color didn't fade after being frozen for several months.

I finally finished processing all my strawberries. I started with 12 lbs. strawberries, and ended up with 8 pints of strawberry product, and used about 5 lbs sugar, lol!

The first batch of preserves I made was my favorite. The recipe came from the book "Summer in a Jar" by Andrea Chessman. It is out of print but can be found used. This is my all time favorite canning book, because of her emphasis on small batch preserving and low sugar recipes. I really am a devotee of the low sugar recipes, so much more flavor! I made what is called "mixed berry jam" because I had about a cup of red raspberries from my garden. The low sugar recipe called for the inclusion of ground apples for their pectin. It had excellent flavor, and you cannot see or really taste the apple. I used a slightly green golden delicious and it added a kick, not unlike rhubarb. The only down side is the low sugar jams just do not last a long time once opened. So I can them in small jars. Next year I am going to try the straight strawberry recipe, which also calls for apples to add pectin.

The second batch I made using Sure Jell "low" sugar pectin. 6 cups strawberries, 4 cups sugar, not that low IMHO. This was my least favorite batch. It has the best color and appearance, and the traditional "store bought" strawberry jam taste. I just do not care for the jams made with commercial pectin, they are too sweet, bland and gummy for my palate. Just my opinion though. These will probably make the best gifts since they are what most people are used to.

Lastly I made the "Deluxe Strawberry Preserves" from the Ball Blue Book. These also had a lot of sugar, but no commercial pectin. You leave the berries sit in the sugar syrup overnight. The strawberries dehydrate, and make a thick, intensely flavored syrup. So you have these little itty bitty strawberries floating in very, very sweet syrup. Pretty, although when I put the jars in the BWB, all the strawberries that had been distributed in the syrup rose to the tops of the jars. This sauce would be wicked good on ice cream, cheesecake, waffles, pancakes, blintzes and angelfood cake and other cakes. However, I almost never make or eat such things. I'm going to mix it in with nonfat vanilla yogurt, and maybe try some on oatmeal.

I can never find rhubarb here, and I think strawberry rhubarb is one of the best kinds of jam. I'm gonna try to find some to plant for the garden next year. I also made strawberry jam with lavender one year, that was kind of interesting, the lavendar has a spicy flavor. So if I ever end up growing lavendar I might try that. Lastly, maybe add some liqueur. Is it drambuie that is strawberry flavored? Or maybe some cointreau, which makes everything taste good. I might try a long cooking recipe next year, something like a strawberry butter.

Freezing is really the best strategy for preserving strawberries that suits my lifestyle, except that I have very little available long term freezer space. I am too much of an impermanent person to maintain a freezer. I wish it was different but sadly it's not, at least for now.

I've used Cointreau with boysenberries. (It's orange-flavored.) Drambuie is a Scottish whiskey blended with honey (and herbs, I think.). Delicious, but not strawberry flavored.

There are ways to keep the strawberries from floating. Those kinds of preserves make wonderful gifts. I also prefer their flavor to jams with commercial pectin.

Carol

Cointreau is great with fruit cakes too..

lpinkmountain,

I saw on the "What Have You Preserved" thread that you regret canning the preserves in pints. If you don't mind losing the original lids, I don't see any reason why you couldn't open the jars, gently bring back to heat and process a second time in 8-oz or 4-oz jars.

I'm willing to bet any change in quality will be indiscernable, especially if you use sterilized jars and BWB 5 minutes.

Also if you decide to make this kind of preserve again, cooking to the jell point, then cooling and letting the preserves sit overnight, bringing back to heat and then processing the next morning reduces the likelihood of "float." The syrup is heavier than the berries. As they absorb syrup it plumps them and the weights equalize. Even letting the hot preserves sit 10 minutes, stirring intermittently before bottling, can reduce the frequency of float. Much nicer distribution of the fruit.

Carol

It's interesting that you should post this Carol, because that's exactly what I'm thinking about doing. I had the preserves with plain yogurt this morning, they were pretty good that way, but they are so sweet I only need a little bit, so a pint will last me probably a year!

You know, that's exactly what I did with the preserves, I let them sit in the syrup overnight, then brought them to a boil and cooled them down a bit before canning. The strawberries are like little leather bits in there, I'm not sure why. They were all evenly distributed when I put them in the jars, but then with the 20 minute processing time, the berries all rose to the top. I think 20 minutes was a little excessive, but I figured it was because the syrup was thick.

I made strawberry preserves last year by the method carol describes. They are distributed in the syrup. But I decided I was looking for something that would be easier to eat on toast. For the second batch, after I had cooked the syrup down with the berries separate, I added some of the berries and squished them with a potato masher. Then I added the rest of the whole berries. I liked the consistency better for the second batch. Of course, it is still very sweet.

Adding an acid (blend) will help to reduce some cloyingly sweet flavor. Also, there are a few pectin choices if you want a set with reduced sugar. Do a flip on the jars a few times while it cools a little and sets up. This reduces the floating pieces

I think it's the long set in the sugar syrup that dehydrates the berries. The syrup has a lower water concentration than the berries so it draws the water out of the berries.

I did add 1/4 cup of lemon juice. I'm going to experiment next year with the syrup in the preserves, try taking the berries out and reducing it and then putting the berries back in, like Melly describes. Actually, I may try that with peach this year, since the same thing happened last year to my peach preserves, the fruit was a tad on the leathery side. Not bad really, these are subtle issues.

I did my first and only batch of strawberry preserves too, a couple months ago. I tried doing without pectin. The strawberries gave off so much liquid, I cooked and cooked and stirred and stirred. Too much for nice chunks to remain, and the results were more liquid than I had wanted. But the taste was divine. Next time I'll try letting them sit overnight to dry out some. I also want to try freezer preserving (in sugar syrup).

The fruit shouldn't be leathery. I'm not sure how/why that happened. It should be plump and nearly translucent.

If you want to try a three-stage French process, here it is:

1) Prep fruit and gently mix with sugar and lemon juice. By weight sugar and fruit should be equal. If fruit is very ripe, cut back on the sugar. For additional pectin, take lemon seeds and put in a bag; add to the mixture.

Let sit in fridge overnight or until sugar is mainly dissolved and juices have exuded.

2. Heat mixture gently and then bring to a boil; cook until strawberries look glacéed, plump, translucent. (About 20 minutes in all.) Skim foam if necessary. Let mixture sit overnight (does not need refrigeration). Cover with a cloth, not a lid, to avoid condensation.

3. Strain out berries and set aside. Remove and discard bag with seeds. Cook syrup to jell point. Return berries to syrup and bring up to heat; check temp for jell point. Skim foam if necessary. Pull off burner; let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to distribute fruit.

4. Bottle and process in hot jars, 10 minutes for half-pints, 15 for pints.

I hope this helps.

Carol