Emptying the freezer! (no-pectin jams)

16 years ago

I have piles and piles of berries in my freezer that have been there since last year. I'm thinking about throwing them all in a big batch of no-pectin mixed berry jam. I've done jams with pectin before, and I just wasn't thrilled with the way they set or the way they tasted, so I want to learn the old-fashioned way. Plus, it's not like I have any other use for these berries, so they're perfect for experimenting.

Does anyone have any experience canning with frozen berries? It shouldn't be a problem, right?

I've read a bunch of old threads about making jam without pectin, and it seems pretty straightforward. Especially since I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't set perfectly. I'm all out of mixed-berry ice cream topping anyway.

Julie

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

readinglady
16 years ago
There's no problem whatsoever with making no-commercial-pectin jams with frozen fruit. However, keep the batches small because if they're too large you have to cook the jam forever to reach the set point and the sugars will caramelize, resulting in an overcooked flavor (and perhaps a rubbery texture).

Carol
mellyofthesouth
16 years ago
I really like the method Carol got me started on. (I'm sure you read about it.) I have rhubarb soaking in its syrup, ready to be made today. I am convinced that taking the fruit out and then boiling the syrup for a while really results in a higher quality end product.
Related Discussions
BWB for Pomona Pectin jams
Q
Comments (5)
Thanks for your reply. Freezing is what I did. I just came from the kitchen, having wrapped up the Strawberry Jam 2001 Debacle. I ended up opening the jars from both the Pomona batch the Ferber batch and mixed them all together in a bowl. It improved the texture and taste of both batches. The Pomona produces jam I always think of as a little too gelatin-ey for my taste. And the Ferber was too sweet. So it was a gain to mix them. I put it up into jars and plastic containers with enough head room and it's in the freezer. Now, for some good ideas how to use it. My husband is the only one who likes strawberry jam. So I'm going to need to bake with it or make ice cream or something.....
...See More
Freezer jam question
Q
Comments (7)
Awesome...thanks! This did set up after a while and I ate some with peanut butter and crackers. Wowza! I may never buy jam again. This tasted so much more like fresh fruit than regular jam/jelly. I didn't notice it being gritty when I ate it, but like I said, it was on pb and crackers. I used the Ball instant pectin and the recipe only called for 2/3 c. sugar to 1 2/3 c. fruit. That may be part of the reason it doesn't seem gritty even though it's not totally smooth either. The Sure-Jell package calls for 4 c. sugar to 2 c. fruit. I'm sure that much more sugar would make a huge difference in the texture (and the taste!) I've sprinkled sugar on berries and left in the fridge overnight before and the sugar dissolves overnight and gets syrupy so it's possible this will over time too. Whatever happens, I'm thrilled with my first attempt! My grandmother used to make regular jams/jellies/preserves and those were worlds better than storebought but like I said, this tasted just like fresh fruit. Thanks so much for your help and I'll try the "old" method of heating next time and see how it comes out. I see lots of fun experiments in my future! All in the name of research, of course :)
...See More
No-pectin blackberry jam - how long to set?
Q
Comments (15)
1 of the jars doesn't seem to have much headspace at all - I can barely see it when I get down and sight along the edge of the lid. I tried just to fill each one to the rim below the threads. I just washed the lids and jars in my Bosch DW. It has a Sanitized light so I figured if that was on it was OK? I took them right from the DW as soon as the hour-long cycle was finished to fill 2 at a time so the jars were still hot (even though the lids were all in a baby utensil basket so I took those out all at once, the last 2 might have cooled slightly while I got the first 2 filled and closed). But I tried a spoonful of the leftovers - they're gummy! jars don't even sloosh when I tipped one upside down. So I mixed the leftover leftover "sauce" (what we hadn't eaten on ice cream) with the gum and got reasonable approximation of jam - it was roughly half and half. Should I open all the processed jars, mix them together over low heat so I don't cook them much at all, then reprocess? Or do I have to heat to boiling to put into a hot jar and process it? I hate to have to wash all these jars and waste the lids, DH says we can just open 2 (or 3, since 2 jars of "sauce" are pints and I only made half-pints of "gum") and mix them together, put them in the fridge and we all can eat PBJ sandwiches for the rest of the year! I can't give away jars of gum, though I did give SIL a jar of sauce. I *still* couldn't find pectin last night at Big Lots, though they had lots of quart-sized Mason jars.
...See More
plum jam -- added sugar before pectin ....
Q
Comments (6)
I think it may be just fine. Several recipes for plum jam will read like this one: "Stir in sugar. Return heat to high and bring back to a rolling boil while constantly stirring. Add dry pectin and return to a boil while stirring. Continue to stir and boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat." Plum jam is one I don't add pectin to at all, I just cook longer and it sets reliably. Have you tried testing a bit on a plate in your freezer for about 1 minute to see if it jells? Or a spoon dipped in and coated can give you a clue too, if the jam hangs off the edge of a spoon instead of dripping off its a good indication its going to set. Let us know what happens.
...See More
julsie
Original Author
16 years ago
Good advice, Carol! I'd planned on throwing all the berries in one gigantic pot, but that would probably doom my experiment pretty quickly.

Melly, do you use cheesecloth or something to strain the fruit out? Would it be good enough to just use a colander and let the smaller bits get through?

Julie
mellyofthesouth
16 years ago
I just use a colander.
readinglady
16 years ago
Melly, I'm really interested in how that rhubarb preserve turns out. We have tons of rhubarb, but I've never tried a true rhubarb preserve, only a rhubarb-rose petal (in the interest of historical research, LOL).

Carol
karen_b
16 years ago
Julie, I tried that last year with 2005 leftovers with black & red raspberries, strawberries & blueberries. I was aiming at a syrup but it ended up a jam. Probably the best I've ever made...but put them all together and it did take forever. I deseeded the raspberries first...what a mess. But all was well worth it. I'll have to remember Carol's idea next year. I'm freezing alot of fruit again this year, hopefully I'll remember it.
julsie
Original Author
16 years ago
Tomorrow was going to be jam day, but our local PYO berry farm is expecting blueberries in a couple days, so I figure I'll go and pick lots of underripe ones so I'll have a better chance of the jam setting up.

In the meantime, I've been looking for an excuse to buy some nice enameled cast iron cookware. Would such a thing be a good idea for cooking jam? Or is it smarter to have a pot that will cool quicker when you take it off the heat?

Julie
readinglady
16 years ago
LOL, that's one of the best excuses for porcelain enamel cast-iron cookware I've heard of!

I love the stuff, but it's not my favorite for preserves because cast-iron's gift is for slow foods and excellent heat retention.

Here's my favorite for preserving because it has excellent conductivity and is perfectly designed for jams. It works well for other things too, but it really shines in fast hot cooking and maximum evaporation of the water. As you will see, it's also nice to pour out of.

I have two of these; I liked the first one so much I got another.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Maslin Pan
led_zep_rules
16 years ago
I have made jam out of frozen black raspberries. I hardly did anything to it, just smushed the berries a bit, threw in a little sugar and some Pomona pectin. (I don't deseed my jam, except for small quantities for hubby.) It came out great, the raspberries were practically whole and it was so fruity and delicious. I don't mostly deseed because then you lose the whole berry thing. The part we deseed we use to make raspberry vinegar. That is so simple (heat vinegar, pour over berry smush, let sit for a couple weeks.) I don't like to waste any of the berries, they are such a pain to pick.

I tried making raspberry jam without pectin once, but it was syrup. Which was fabulous anyway, mind you. Of course I tried to make chocolate black raspberry syrup last year and got jam, so it can happen. I wanted to let you know there is no problem with using frozen berries. In fact, some of the water has frozen out of the berries, so actually it cooks down quicker.

Marcia
julsie
Original Author
16 years ago
I knew you'd know, Carol! Thanks for the link.

Marcia, what do you do with raspberry vinegar?

Emptying the freezer! (no-pectin jams)

Comments (10)

readinglady

mellyofthesouth

Related Discussions

julsie
Original Author

mellyofthesouth

readinglady

karen_b

julsie
Original Author

readinglady

led_zep_rules

julsie
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Emptying the freezer! (no-pectin jams)

Comments (10)

readinglady

mellyofthesouth

Related Discussions

julsieOriginal Author

mellyofthesouth

readinglady

karen_b

julsieOriginal Author

readinglady

led_zep_rules

julsieOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

julsie
Original Author

julsie
Original Author

julsie
Original Author