Strawberry Jam from Frozen Strawberries?
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How to make delicious strawberry jam from frozen strawberries. Canning tips for adjusting sugar, keeping flavor, and how to handle the juice.
Hi there, and welcome! I’m here to share tips and answers to your home canning questions. Today, I’m responding to a question from Marybeth about making strawberry jam from frozen strawberries.
Marybeth’s Question
“Hi Sharon, I am a follower of your site. I have a question about strawberry jam. Strawberry season is over here in Arkansas. I did freeze strawberries in 3- and 4-cup amounts with 1/2 and 3/4 cups of sugar respectively. Can I use these to make more jam?”
My Answer: Yes, you absolutely can! Here’s a few tips to make it work. This also works for other berries as well.
First a few recipes that will work for you.
- Recipe for Strawberry Jam
- Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe
- Easy Mixed Berry Jam
- Low Sugar BlueBerry Jam
- Canning Raspberry Currant Jam/ No Pectin
You might also want to consider a Jam Jelly Maker. At first I was not sure about mine… but now, I’m sure. I like it!
Making Strawberry Jam from Frozen Strawberries
Thaw the Strawberries Completely
- Keep all the juices that come out during thawing. Those juices are packed with flavor and should be included in your jam.
Adjust the Sugar in Your Recipe
- Be mindful of the sugar you’ve already added to the frozen strawberries.
- Add more sugar as needed to match the recipe you’re using.
- Since you’ve already got sugar you might want to use a low sugar pectin. This is not NO sugar jam, but just a low sugar jam. The pectin is designed to work with however much sugar you want to add… or not. So whatever sugar you already have may be just fine.
Consider Texture Adjustments
- Using thawed fruit can sometimes make the jam a bit runnier.
- If you’re using commercial pectin, follow the recipe instructions as written on your package.
- For no-pectin recipes, you might need to cook the jam a little longer to reach the right consistency. It starts out juicier so cooking may be a bit longer.
A Few Personal Tips
When working with frozen berries, I’ve found that it comes out pretty well. I love the low sugar options. Pay attention to the sugar content and keep that juice. Jam-making is as much an art as it is a science, and every batch can be slightly unique.
If you’ve never made jam with frozen fruit before, don’t worry. The worst that can happen is you make syrup. Or simply rename your final result. I’ve had my share of what I rename ‘ice cream topping’.