Grandma's Strawberry Freezer Jam
As a child, I remember disliking all jam and jelly. My Grandmother, who was a local caterer and canning aficionado, would always load my mother up with her years-worth of canned jams and jellies—much to my chagrin. When it came time to eat them, I would look at the vintage jars and ask my mom what the heck a “loganberry” was or “marionberry.” Why couldn’t we just have the “normal” store-bought stuff that said “strawberry jam?”
Flash forward to my college years where I lived 45 minutes away from my Grandmother. I would go visit her with friends and boyfriends just to say, “hello” and check in on her. It wasn’t until she made me one of her famous peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that I realized EXACTLY what I had been missing over the years. While this jam was not the loganberry or marionberry jellies, it was her Strawberry Freezer Jam, which I was very much drawn to. I raved about her sandwich the whole visit. And just like that, in true Grandma fashion, she asked me if I would like to take jars of jam home. I said “Yes!” faster than you could imagine.
Ever since then, I have had a love for this Strawberry Freezer Jam and nothing else compares. After I would run out, I would call my Grandma to ask for more and she finally said, “Courtney Rose, if you like it so much would you like to come over when the strawberries are ripe and I will show you how to make it?” You mean to tell me, I can have this stuff in my fridge whenever I want it? Once again, I said “Yes!” faster than you could imagine.
I remember the day we made the Jam together like it was yesterday. And I still feel her presence with me every time I make the Jam.
There are a few pointers she gave me that I will share with you here.
One, when you are loading the jam into the jars, you scrape the bowl clean. And two, on the day you make the jam, you are supposed to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
My grandmother passed a few years ago when I was pregnant with my son. Unfortunately, she had not yet heard the news of my pregnancy and will not have a chance to meet her great-grandson until the day we are reunited in heaven. However, her legacy lives on through this Jam and my son knows it is her recipe. The first time I made the Jam for my son Rory, I asked him if he wanted some, and he said “Yes!” faster than you could imagine.
Often when you are in college your life becomes very centered around you and all the new things going on. My favorite thing about this Jam is how it brought my grandmother and me together. It was also a time when I was more mature and ready to hear the stories about her past and her relationship with my Grandfather, my father’s father, whom I never met because he died when my father was three. It seems fitting that I would give you the recipe now when my son is three.
It was a melding moment for the two of us. When she asked me if I wanted to hear the stories about her past, I said “Yes!” faster than you could imagine. I was so moved by these stories. It was a time where her past met me at my present. For a moment in time, we were the same age and those stories were so real to me.
Not only is this strawberry jam a delicious treat but what I like to call “soul food.” This jam nourishes my soul each time I eat it remembering the past and the moments we shared making the jam.
The other day someone asked me if I would share the recipe. I thought, “Yes!” faster than you could imagine. Here it is. May it always bring a smile to your face whenever you make (and eat) it!
Ingredients:
5 cups strawberries, measured with a dry measuring cup. Once crushed this should measure into 2 cups using a liquid measuring cup.
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 pkg. SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin
Recipe:
Crush strawberries. I use a food processor on the pulse mode (not my grandma’s way of doing it, but it’s faster for me).
Then measure exactly two cups with the liquid measuring cup and pour into a large mixing bowl. Stir in 4 cups of sugar and let it stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After the 10 minutes is up, mix the water and pectin in a small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Once boiling stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the pectin to the strawberry mixture and stir for 3 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved.
Fill your jam jars immediately, leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top of the jar and cover with lids. Leave the jam on the counter for 24 hours. If you are using the Jam right away it can be placed in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. If you are saving the jam, put it in the freezer for up to one year.
Remember to scrape the bowl, and eat that peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
