Sweet Summer Strawberries

And then the fruit! the glowing fruit, how sweet the scent it breathes!
I love to see its crimson cheek rest on the bright green leaves!
Summer's own gift of luxury, in which the poor may share,
The wild-wood fruit my eager eye is seeking everywhere.

~ Mary Howett

As the much anticipated, yet short lived, strawberry season comes to a close in upstate New York, I have happy memories of picking quarts and quarts of the perfect, brilliant red berries at a pick-your-own establishment near our farmhouse and, later, enjoying my harvest with ice cream and with angel food cake.   I also happily and easily transformed 4 quarts of my harvest into strawberry freezer jam, filling 12 sparkling Ball jars.   What a joy it has been to share these little jars of concentrated happiness with family and friends!

Cassandra's Collection of Vintage Strawberry Dishtowels

I use the Ball version of the recipe since it has much less sugar (my fresh picked strawberries were sweet enough!) and does not require any cooking.

·         1 package Ball No Cook Freezer Jam Pectin

·         1-1/2 cups sugar

·         4 cups crushed strawberries (about 4 lbs or 2 quarts)

The finished product!

Ladle the jam into six clean 8 ounce jars leaving about a ½ inch at the top of the jar so that the jam has room to expand as it freezes.

Time to enjoy fresh strawberries!

To find locations near your home for pick-your-own fruits and veggies and for canning resources, including free printable labels, go to  PickYourOwn.org.