It lasts until it gets moldy...If you have freezer room, clean and freeze the berries, same thing without the sugar.

DH made chokecherry jam years ago. He put the extra in the freezer. He used little containers, 8oz, yogurt sized.

Yes, it can definitely be frozen. When I make it (I make strawberry jam and raspberry jam), I call it freezer jam because one jar goes into the fridge to be used right away, and the others go into the freezer, to be thawed as needed.

Boil your jars for 10 minutes before filling and your jam will last for months in the refrig.....and even longer in the freezer.

Jasdip, have you been able to find Garden Fare powder recently, and if so, where? What's your next best option if it's unavailable? Thanks!

Smiles,

Sooz

Lindac, I'm not using canning jars, just recycled jars from commercially produced jam. Can they take the boiling treatment?

Freeze it. I just take out what I will use in a month.

FWIW, when I need to use up strawberries, I like to cut up and roast them with brown sugar and it makes a lovely kind of gloppy jam that can be used as a sauce. I store it in the fridge in a jar, but it doesn't last long enough for me to know how long it keeps.

I just hull and cut in chunks then sprinkle with sugar and roast in a shallow glass or enamel pan @400F for about 25 - 30 minutes.

Of course, I am a rather lazy person and like simple stuff 🙂

Here is the freezer jam I make. The recipe is from the North Carolina Strawberry Growers Association. It is simple and delish! I freeze it in 1/2 cup portions. Click on the picture to read.

Socks, if you wash your jars well, they'll still last a long time in the freezer and a few weeks at least in the fridge, if you don't want to boil them. However, I think your "recycled" jars will do OK with the heat, depending on the jar. I reuse spaghetti sauce jars, some old marshmallow cream jars from when they were still glass, some Miracle Whip jars, and they all make it through the 15 minute boiling water bath, so yours probably will too.

Annie

I boil recycled jars all the time.....and trust me the secret of jams and jellies lasting a ling time without processing is sterile jars and immediately pouring your parrafin on the hot jam. No chance for mold spoors to get in there.
And If you do get one that won't take boiling.....if it cracks....what have you lost? We are talking glass aren't we? Not plastic?

Yes, glass. Thank you everyone. I’ll make it today.

Do you really, really like strawberry jam? I love strawberries but not the jam. All of the freezer jam that I have been gifted has been OMG Too Sweet for my taste. (I buy commercial fruit spreads that are a lot less sweet.) And then, when I indulge, it's my most favorites--blackberry or raspberry.

Anyway, I deal w/ an abundance of strawberries by slicing them, adding some sugar & freezing them. Those frozen berries get used for things like shortcake & crepes.

Yes, DH likes it. I'll go light on the sugar, give it a taste as I go.

I used to get a lower sugar one at Marshalls--Grandma Hoerner I think it was, but haven't seen it there in years. I'll check out the fruit spreads.

If you use pectin I don't think you can lessen the sugar. Check the pkg. My favorite is rhubarb freezer jam!

yum.

I am making watermelon and preserves, adding red hots and cinnamon like we used to do when making faux apple rings.

Sooz I haven't looked for the Garden Fare yet, it's not that easy to come by. It's made by Club House. I found it last year at a grocery store in a small town near me. I couldn't find it in my city, strangely enough.

It uses 1/3 cup less sugar which I love. You could try Certo Light or something similar, just compare the amount of sugar required between that and the regular.

Ci_Lantro, that's why I like Garden Fare powder. I too dislike most jams as they're too sweet. Garden Fare only uses 1 1/2 cups sugar to 4 cups fruit.

Jasdip, I went down a wormhole after reading your first post about low sugar Garden Fare powder. After much research, I discovered it is a Canadian product and I could get from Amazon CA, but thought that might be pricey since I'm in the U.S.

After more digging, I found that Ball has a similar product for low sugar freezer jam and it should be easier for me to find. I'm really excited about making this jam. Thanks for posting about this.

I'm glad you were able to find a substitute, Lizbeth!! I'd never make jam any other way.

I think refrigerator jams and jelly are a great way to make your own, and control sugar content, for those who don't can. I've got some blackberry (seedless) in my freezer now. I put mine in tiny Tupperware as we don't eat much jam/jelly. I have others I've canned in half pints. Nice to have on hand, and a great way to use fruits that are going overripe.

Thanks for the specifics, Jasdip and Lizbeth! I found it on Amazon after reading this post and wow, pricey!

I made banana jam, the other week. So delicious! So easy. Made peanut butter bread to go with it and gave to son and his wife. Jam was much better than the bread.

Here is an interesting article on the different low sugar pectins.

Specialty Pectins

I am making some now; strawberry rhubarb.

Sounds good. I wish I had gone easier on the sugar. But mine’s ok.

Sooz,I think the price is high on Amazon because it's through third party sellers. If you do a search for Ball instant pectin (for freezer jam) it looks like Wa*mart, Targ**, a well known hdwr chain and several farm stores have it for less than half that price.

Someone please post the recipe for rhubarb freezer jam.....and for the strawberry rhubarb...

A friend gave me some strawberry rhubarb.....and ti was good on my toast...I asked for the recipe.....and it had a box of cherry jello in it!!! Now all I can taste is that artificial jello flavor.....

Funny I liked it before I knew what was in it!

Thanks, lizbeth!

Once i learned about frozen strawberry jam i never went back to cooked jam

Socks, I made fresh strawberry “freezer” jam some years ago. Even froze it in my 8 Oz. glass jars. I liked it. I gave a lot away —my dad liked it.

1. It tastes like freshly picked strawberries! Yum! 🍓🍓

2. It uses more sugar than the cooked jam, IIRC.

3. I believe it uses pectin or a pectin mix specific to Freezer Jam. I think I used Sure-Jell (sp?) and may have some in the cold cellar. Want me to check the box for ingredients?

Speaking of sugar — I have been dipping peeled rhubarb stalks into sugar and eating them. Love rhubarb, “pie plant.”