I finally bought my fresh Michigan strawberries this morning and was able to make the new freezer jam recipe I found for strawberry rhubarb jam.  I found this recipe in Midwest Living magazine and couldn’t wait to try it.  I tripled the recipe below and ended up with ten large freezer containers full to last us through the winter and to share with friends.  And yes, that means I used 15 cups of sugar!  I did have a small issue trying to get the sugar to dissolve completely.  The recipe says to stir for 3 minutes to dissolve the sugar, but I stirred for 20 minutes and there was still a slight graininess to the jam.  We’ll see how it comes out when I eat some today.  Hope you enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam

3 cups strawberries

1 cup finely chopped rhubarb

5 cups sugar

1/2 t. finely shredded lemon peel

3/4 cup water

1 (1.75 once) package regular powdered fruit pectin

In a large bowl, use a potato masher to crush berries.  You’ll have about 1 1/2 cups.  Stir in rhubarb.  Stir in sugar and lemon peel. Let stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  In a small saucepan, mix water and pectin.  Bring to a boil over high heat, boil 1 minute stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add to berry mixture.  Stir for 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture is not grainy.  Ladle into pint-size freezer containers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Seal.  Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours.  Store 3 weeks in refrigerator or up to 1 year in freezer.