Aren't you going to be cooking the jam?
Just put the frozen berries in the pot and let them thaw there.....while you are cooking.
Linda C

Why yes LindaC I will be. LOL

I kinda thought I could just pull out the frozen and toss in pot..I know that might lengthen my cooking down time too...Okay..maybe I'll pull them out of the freezer in the am..for afternoon jamming....

I recently did this but it was with a recipe that called for the fruit to be left to macerate with the sugar overnight. I left it on the counter in a bowl where it thawed enough to work with pretty quickly - still ice crystals all over and very cold but no longer frozen into a solid block. Then I put it into the pot and mixed in the sugar and put it in the fridge for overnight.

My DH had frozen the fruit last season in a flat layer in a freezer bag - good for storing in the freezer and it thaws pretty quickly but kind of a pain when I want to use it because it doesn't fit in anything but a huge bowl until it defrosts enough to at least bend the corners in.

I just toss the frozen fruit into the pot and turn on the heat!
The only problem might be if you didn't measure the fruit before you froze it.
Linda C

Valid points...CS...I have most of my berries individually frozen then put in ziploc..so they are "loose"...so I'm okay there..but I have a big block of peaches...so that maybe a problem if I can't find some good fresh ones. LOL

The big issue as mentioned is determining the original amount.

Also, the flavor of frozen berries tends to be a little flat and you'll probably want to add lemon juice to perk it up.

Carol

That's why I like recipes that go by weight. It is pretty easy to weigh the frozen fruit and I assume that freezing didn't change the weight much especially if they were kept in a non-frost free freezer (the self-defrost cycles of a frost free might lead to a little drying if not packed air tight enough).

Aww GEEZ Terri do you need someone to come help you with that?

For me it would depend on whether I was using pectin or not.
If using pectin, I'd do as above, cook from frozen.

However, if I was going to make preserves without any pectin, I think I'd thaw in a strainer over a bowl to eliminate and excess juice (that you're going to try to cook off anyway). Save the juice from thawing and add to lemonade or something!!

What kind are you making???

Deanna

Carol, thanks for the tip on adding bit of lemon juice. I have a bowl full of meyers..

Good thought on the weighing..most I've seen are measured.

Yes, Jessy I do!! Wanna come help?

Deanna,
I don't know...depends on what is fresh at the farm today. Hopefully some peaches, because I saved out 2 cups of "smashed" raspberries for a Peach Melba Jam.

Maybe a Strawberry Balsamic too...

I make a much-loved freezer jam from frozen red raspberries. I always defrost, add the sugar and allow to sit for at least a few hours before adding the other stuff. The recipe uses regular pectin.

Deanna, I thought about straining out the juice, but if I had made the jam from the unfrozen fruit, it would have had the juice and I'm concerned that not using it would take away too much of the fruit's flavor. It doesn't take that much more boiling time to reduce the juice. It's the same juice that would be drawn out of the fruit by the sugar when you macerate it.

I have thought about perhaps straining the juice and reducing it a bit then adding it back into the solids when making something like a pie or crisp to keep the crust from getting soaked from the already liberated juice and to keep the solid pieces from getting overcooked.

What I do is weigh out the berries and then put them in the freezer bags. I write the name and source of the recipe on the outside. (Amazing when you look at a bag in December how easy it is to forget what the heck you were planning to do with it.) Then when I make preserves in winter all I have to do is dump everything in the pan and voila! I'm ready to add sugar and go.

I make traditional preserves. I don't drain off the juice. Cooking it down intensifies and concentrates the flavors. Besides, with something like a raspberry jam I'd end up with 90% seeds.

Carol

True on the seeds thing!!
I most often use some sort of pectin so usually just thaw (or not) the berries and go from there!
I still might drain for preserves...........just not those with lots of seeds like blackberry or raspberry.....note to self... :-)

So.......what did ya make, Terri?

Deanna

Nothing yet...It's been a slow day today...I really want to get a bunch knocked out at one time. Still planning..(yesterday I got a little preoccupied with a visitor)

I will be making a Peach Melba type jam. Probably some Dilly Beans....and hopefully tayberry too..