Comments on: Jammin’ on the one

By: Dana

Dana — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:04:36 +0000

I was spoiled by strawberry freezer jam from Iris's age. My grandma would herd me and my sisters through the strawberry fields, joking that they needed to weigh us before and after we entered the fields and charge us for all the berries in our bellies. Then we would return with flats and flats of berries, strawberry and raspberry, and use the entire day for making freezer jam, an entire years supply. So I never really knew there was any other kind!

I scoured the market before I left looking for lemon verbena, wanting to add it to a batch of strawberry freezer jam this year but no luck.

Maybe we could make sour cherry freezer jam?

By: mamster

mamster — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:39:31 +0000

Hey, this is no fun. I wanted a jamfight.

By: annmarie

annmarie — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:42:00 +0000

I apologize for insulting mums jam-making skills. It was wrong of me to assume that she used the same process that my family used for generations. My mum used the long slow boil method and her strawberry jam wasnt’ very good. (brown, overcooked etc) Like Laurie, I’ve always disliked strawberry jam, frozen, or boiled. For your very reason of brighther/fresher flavour. I also agree that it likely depends on the fruit being used and that strawberries, raspberries, brambles (softer fruit) all lend themselves nicely to the frozen jam method. I will stand firmly corrected in my frozen method perceptions if someone can provide a good frozen jam recipe for black or red currants. (apricots and sour cherries too) BTW - I made a great peach jam with rosemary using the rapid boil, no pectic method last year and we use the jam as a marinade to to slow-cook pork. Yummy. The reason why I boil not freeze is because I don’t have space in my freezer for 5x10 jars of jam every summer. Boiling them allows me to have lower sugar, organic, home-made jam through the winter. My two year-old goes through a jar every week. We also use the jams as hostess gifts when we go a-visiting. It’s just nice to stock up for the year. (we’re down to 3 jars now- 1 black currant, 1 raspberry, 1 peach) Happy jam-making.

By: hippogriff

hippogriff — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 04:48:49 +0000

I like to put just a little bit of rhubarb in my strawberry freezer jam. Adds a note of tartness and a little bit of complexity. Strawberries make a fine freezer jam, but raspberries and blackberries are even better.

By: ctate

ctate — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:26:43 +0000

We had a plum tree in our front yard when I was a kid. Smallish purple leaves, small purple plums with red flesh; I think they may have been Santa Rosa plums, or a mostly-ornamental variety related to those. We made the most glorious cooked jelly out of those plums. Raw would not have worked well; the flavor needed to concentrate by cooking out a lot of the water.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 03:55:40 +0000

I wonder if the freezer jam method is particularly suited to strawberries. I’ve never tasted a cooked strawberry that I liked, and I agree with Matthew that this is the best strawberry jam I’ve tasted. The best jam I’ve ever tasted, however, was a jar of plum jam, cooked and canned by Mrs. Stratman (my former elementary school teacher and dear family friend). That one, single jar was much beloved and never to be repeated (the house with the plum tree was sold). Plums would not work well for freezer jam. I’m wondering about peaches, though…

By: Neil

Neil — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:54:43 +0000

I really don’t think you want to be impugning my Mom’s jam making skills. Suffice it to say she knew what she was doing.

I have tasted all kinds of fancy-schmancy expensive jams and I still think freezer jam tastes brighter and fresher (and therefor better). It doesn’t matter how short a time you boil strawberries, they still taste cooked.

By: annmarie

annmarie — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:05:30 +0000

Oh and another comments. With my super-fast boil method no pectin required. You just test the thickness as it boils. After I ditched the pectic, my jams turned out much nicer. And be sure to use bottled lemon juice too when making jam to act as a natural preservative.

By: annmarie

annmarie — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:02:46 +0000

So no. Freezer jam does not taste better than regular jam. I suspect that mums-y probably boiled the jam for about 10 hours for it to thicken. I make about 10 different kinds of jams a summer. All in small batches. You boil the berries/fruits sugar at a super high furious boil for 10-15 minutes. Make sure that it’s not burning. Can, process and voila. Tastes fresh and good. I suss that mum just didn’t make jam the right way when boiling.

By: LauraMac

LauraMac — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:21:49 +0000

Only a parent says “for snack yesterday…” Instead of “a snack yesterday.” :) In addition to snack being a real meal now, I have a new affection for the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I understand that sometimes one must examine cheese with one’s ear to be clear that it can’t be eaten that way…