BRANDIED STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM
This spirited strawberry jam makes an elegant filling for thumbprint cookies or a serve-along with buttery shortbread.
This spirited strawberry jam makes an elegant filling for thumbprint cookies or a serve-along with buttery shortbread.
PREP: 35 MINUTES STAND: 24 HOURS MAKES: 5 HALF-PINTS
1. Place strawberries in a large bowl. Use a potato masher to crush berries (should have 2 cups crushed berries); stir in sugar, brandy, and lemon peel. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. In a small saucepan stir pectin into the water. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir pectin mixture into berry mixture, stirring about 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture is no longer grainy.
3. Ladle jam into half-pint freezer containers, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Seal and label. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours before storing.
4. Store for up to 1 year in the freezer or for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
PER 1 TABLESPOON: 45 cal., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 1 mg sodium, 11 g carb., 0 g fiber, 0 g pro.
Freezer jams that feature apples and pears are most often cooked first—which changes texture and flavor—before being frozen. Those made from fresh berries are most often not cooked first. Especially in fresh-berry freezer jams, the final product will only be as good as the fruit it’s made from, so it’s especially important to make them from best-quality, ripe, in-season berries.