Strawberry Peach Freezer Jam

Last night I tried making freezer jam for the first time. I received a ton of peaches in my Bountiful Basket this weekend (post coming on this). Neither DH or I enjoy the texture of fresh peaches but we sure do love the flavor. Therefore, I decided to try making some peach freezer jam. You would think that if it was my first time I would follow a recipe exactly right? Instead I decided I didn't want to make just plain old peach jam. I wanted to make Strawberry-Peach Jam. It sounds so delicious and such a great way to carry over the fruits of summer into the Fall and Winter. The color of the jam turned out absolutely gorgeous! I am now plotting creative ways to maybe gift some of my jam to friends and family. I will definitely consider making another batch of jam with the large number of pears I also received this week. Here is the recipe I used:

Strawberry-Peach Jam

2 cups fresh peaches, pitted, peeled, chopped and mashed (I used a potato masher, worked wonders)

1 cup fresh strawberries, stems removed, chopped and mashed

4-1/2 cups  sugar, measured into separate bowl

2 Tbsp.  fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup  water

1 box  SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin

 

1. Rinse clean freezer safe containers and lids with hot water. Dry thoroughly.

2.  Measure exactly 2 cups prepared peaches and 1 cup prepared strawberries into a large bowl. Add sugar and lemon juice; mix well. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally. 
 
3. Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy.
 
4. Fill all of the containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops (I used a canning funnel and I definitely recommend one). Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.  

Note: This filled 8 half pint sized jars (8 oz.) with about 2 tablespoons left over. It doesn't matter what brand of jars you buy just make sure they are freezer safe. I also read a recommendation that you buy jars with straight sides and not ones that curve outwards from the lid because your jar could break when the Jam expands in the freezer.  

Happy Jamming!