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.

Strawberry Orange Delight 1 punnet strawberries, hulled 4 oranges 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger 3 tablespoons fresh coriander castor sugar Peel and slice the oranges over a bowl to catch the juice. Combine with strawberries, ginger and coriander. Sprinkle over a little castor sugar and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Strawberry Butter (1) 1/2 cup butter, softened 250g cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup honey 1/2 cup mashed strawberries Combine all ingredients and mix well. Best served with muffins, bagels, waffles, pancakes, etc. Store covered in refrigerator. Strawberry Chicken 2 tablespoons butter 2 whole boneless chicken breasts, cooked,and skinned 1/2 cup strawberries 4 pear halves 1 cup heated chicken stock 1 tablespoons cornflour 2 tablespoons cold water salt and pepper few drops of lime juice Heat butter in a frypan. When hot, add chicken and sprinkle with lime juice. Cover and cook 4 minutes over medium heat. Season chicken and turn over; continue cooking, covered, 4 minutes. Turn again; cover and cook 8 minutes over medium heat. Add strawberries and pears to pan. Continue to cook 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken and pears from pan. Add chicken stock to liquid remaining in pan; bring to the boil. Cook sauce 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat. Mix cornflour with water, stir into sauce. Simmer 2 minutes over medium heat. Pour sauce over chicken and fruit. Strawberry Cheesecake Crust: 1 1/2 cups plain sweet biscuits 3 tablespoons butter, melted 2 tablespoons sugar Pre-heat oven to 170C. Stir together biscuit crumbs and sugar. Mix in butter thoroughly and press into a 23cm springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven temperature to 150C. Filling: 170g cream cheese, softened 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup sugar 3 eggs 2 teaspoons lemon peel, grated Beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Add lemon peel and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Pour into shell. Bake 1 hour or until centre is firm. Cool to room temperature and then spread with the strawberry glaze. Chill 3 hours. Glaze: 1 cup mashed strawberries 3 tablespoons cornflour 1 cups sugar 1/3 cup water Blend sugar and cornflour together in a small saucepan. Stir in water and strawberries. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Cool thoroughly before spreading over cheesecake. Strawberry Cobbler 1/4 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 cup self raising flour 1/2 cup milk 3 cups fresh strawberries, cut in half lengthwise 1/4 cup plain flour 1/4 cup sugar, extra 1/4 cup butter, chilled Beat softened butter, gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. Add self raising flour to butter mixture alternatively with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon into a greased 20cm square baking dish. Arrange berries on top, cut side down. Combine plain flour and extra sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over strawberries. Bake at 180C for 1 hour or until tester comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping. Strawberry Dumplings 4 eggs 4 tablespoons melted butter 4 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons self raising Combine to make stiff batter which holds its shape. 4 cups strawberries 2 cups sugar Mash berries with sugar. Bring to the boil in a large saucepan with a tight lid. Drop dumplings into hot liquid, reduce heat and simmer, with lid on, for 15 minutes, without lifting the lid. Remove dumplings carefully to dessert dishes and spoon berries over. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Strawberry Salsa 1 cup coarsely chopped strawberries 1 tablespoon orange juice 1 teaspoon grated orange peel 1 green onion, finely chopped, top included 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons dried currants 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Mix all ingredients. Chill, serve with grilled chicken or fish. Strawberry Spinach Salad 4 cups torn spinach or 2 cups spinach and 2 cups torn salad greens 1 cup sliced, hulled, fresh strawberries 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced Combine all ingredients. Top with dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Poppy Seed Dressing: 125g plain yoghurt 1 tablespoon honey (or to taste) 2 teaspoons poppy seeds (toasted for fuller flavour) juice and grated rind of 1/2 lemon Combine all ingredients Strawberry Syrup 8 cups strawberries, crushed 1/4 cup lemon juice 3 cups sugar 1 cup corn syrup Place strawberries in a large saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Pour berries into a damp jelly bag set over a bowl covered with a double thickness of cheesecloth. Let juice drip for at least 2 hours. There will be 3-4 cups of juice. Return juice to the pan and combine with remaining ingredients. Stir constantly and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Boil 1 minute. Pour syrup into sterilised jars, leaving 2cm headspace. Process in water bath for 10 minutes. Recipe can be refrigerated without processing, when used within a few weeks.

Our family makes tons of jams every year using a foolproof basic recipe: 9 cups fruit (whole berries or cut up if using apricots, etc) 6 cups sugar juice of one lemon Place cut fruit, sugar and lemon juice into large deep pot. Stir. Allow to sit for 30 minutes or so until teh sugar has started to draw juice from the fruit (this ensures that the sugar doesn't burn when you first turn on the heat. Turn heat on low/med and stir, scraping bottom fairly often (I use a silicone spatula) until syrup forms and starts to boil. Simmer gently until it thickens and starts to set up (put saucer in freezer for a while. drop a half teaspoon of the liquid onto cold saucer, if it sets up and allows you to draw a finger through it - it is done). Ladle into clean jars and process in a water bath canner for 12 minutes. Remove and sit on counter with a dishcloth covering and let sit overnight. Test for seal. Note --- the jam when poured into the jars is like a thick syrup -- but very liquidy. If you boil until it looks like jam - once it is processed, you will have rubber! Better to err on loose jam (which is still delightful and can also be sued as ice cream/cake topping or on pancakes) then to over cook. Enjoy -- we have won many prizes with this simple recipe -- especially for our apricot jam!

Here is a recipe I found. I don't know how good it is but you can try it. Peach Jam Drain peaches and crush to yield 6 cups. Place 6 cups crushed peaches, 2 cups crushed pineapple, and 8 cups sugar into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2 boxes of orange jell-o. Stir well until dissolved. Can and seal. I have made Strawberry/Pineapple jam like this but I used fresh strawberries with the canned crushed pineapple and it turns out fine. Just add equal amount of sugar to your fruit and cook about 20\-30 till thickend and pour into prepared jars.