Raspberry Freezer Jam

Due to popular demand by family members whose names I will not mention (Alex, Michael), my autumn stash of freezer jam gets pretty depleted by the end of spring. I am fortunate to have a "source" for frozen raspberries, who trades me gallons of them for salsa. So I always have berries for jam in the freezer. Note that berries can easily be frozen when the harvest season is upon you and later turned into jam, jelly and syrup. I would not recommend trying to do that with apples, peaches and apricots, unless you are just going to grind them and turn them into a fruit butter. (I will make a mental note to share my recipe for apple butter with you this fall.)

Defrost the raspberries overnight. You want them to be room temperature, as the secret to good freezer jam is that there is no grittiness to it. This recipe takes 3 cups of mashed berries and juice. The beauty of this particular recipe is that it can be doubled (I always make 2 double batches).

This is what you do:

In a large stainless or glass bowl, mix 3 cups of raspberries with 5 1/4 cups sugar and the juice of one lime. Stir well and set aside for a few hours, stirring every half hour or so to incorporate the sugar. In the meantime, wash 4 pint jars and lids for every single batch; 7 pints and a half pint for every double batch. You will need one box of Sure Jell for every 3 cups of berries.

Assemble your jars, funnel and utensils. In a saucepan, pour 3/4 cup cold water and the powdered Sure Jell, stir out the lumps and bring to a boil. Boil ONE minute. Remove from heat and pour immediately into your berries and sugar. Stir THREE minutes, incorporating well with the berries. Immediately, ladle into your clean jars. Put lids on the jars and set on the counter for 24 hours. Then put into your

freezer, for as long as it lasts! Yumm!