The ultimate guide to freezer jam ~ easy no-canning jams, jellies, and curds made with ripe fruit, simple ingredients, and a little freezer space.
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SMALL BATCH JAMS, JELLIES, AND CURDS
Freezer jam is my favorite low-pressure way to preserve summer fruit. You can make as much or as little as you want ~ even a handful of berries can become a great little jar of jam. And because you’re not fussing with all the rules for canning, there’s more room to play with flavor, fruit combinations, and small-batch experiments.
A few tips apply no matter which freezer jam recipe you make:
- Freezer and small-batch jams are quick, easy, and often have brighter color and fresher fruit flavor than traditional canned jams.
- You can use almost any amount of fruit, so this is a great place to experiment with unusual fruits or mix-and-match combinations like berries with stone fruit.
- Fresh or frozen fruit both work.
- Freezer jams don’t need the large amounts of sugar traditional canning often calls for. You can use less, or even none, depending on the recipe. I do find that a little sugar can intensify the flavor of the fruit, so I’ll sometimes add a bit for that reason.
- Even though you aren’t canning, always start with scrupulously clean jars.
- Pectin is optional, you can thicken your jam by cooking it down on the stove until it thickens naturally as the moisture evaporates. Pectin comes in dry or liquid form, and some is specifically made for low sugar recipes… if a recipe calls for pectin, follow the directions carefully and don’t try to substitute one type for another.
- Kick up the flavor of your jam with lemon juice, or even a little bit of liqueur. I like to use a touch of spice, like cinnamon or cardamom with fall jams.
CONVERT ANY JAM RECIPE TO A FREEZER JAM
Did you know that ANY jam recipe can be converted to a freezer jam, just skip the canning stage and send right to the freezer after cooling.
- After ladling your hot jam into clean jars, let it cool completely at room temperature before capping and refrigerating or freezing.
- You can freeze jam in plastic or glass, and you can even freeze jam in zip lock freezer bags, just be sure to press out any extra air before zipping them up.
- Be sure to leave at least 1/2 inch free space at the top of the jar to allow for expansion in the freezer.
- Jams and jellies will keep for a month in the refrigerator, but up to a year in the freezer.
SUMMER FREEZER JAM RECIPES
An Easy Blackberry Jam Recipe
Super Easy Hot Pepper Jelly
Easy Peach Butter
Sweet Hot Red Pepper Jam
Apricot Curd
3-Minute Microwave Jam
Habanero Peach Jam
Fresh Strawberry Curd
Simple Strawberry Jam, European style
Apricot Jalapeño Jam
Habanero Nectarine Jam
Old Fashioned Tomato Jam
SPRING FREEZER JAM RECIPES
Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Jelly
Rhubarb Curd
Rosé Wine Hot Pepper Jelly
Easy Rhubarb Butter
These are amazing jams!
Can I freeze loquat jam for a longer time?
yes, you can freeze just about any type of jam successfully.
I just made starfruit mango freezer jam! Looks amazing!
Nice, I haven’t seen starfruit in ages!
I always have some sort of homemade jam in my fridge. So perfect for quick snacks and spreads, but they are also great over grilled foods for a quick sauce. Love them!
This is such a fun post and you’ve totally inspired me to try freezer jam! 🙂
Go or it Laura, you can use it in all your gorgeous baked treats!
So many amazing recipes! Yeah, this kind of jam making is right up my alley!
Freezing has so many advantages and is a process with which one can experiment a lot. Thank you Sue for your guidelines and the collection of ideas and recipes! These are really helpful to me since I have to be a bit careful with my sugar intake. The last couple of years I have been reducing the sugar level significantly (1/0.5 ratio) and still jamming the way we all do here (hot pots filled with hot fruit, close and turn upside down, in the pantry). Now I can go even further down (1/0.3-0.2)….., jam-freeze, and still enjoy our produce. Great project Sue, thank you!!!
Thank you! If you can tolerate natural fruit sugar then you’re going to love some of these recipes, some of my favorites need no sugar at all, like my microwave berry jams.
Thank you again, Sue
Wow! What a great collection of jams. And thanks so much for including my peach and pepper jam (one of my favourites!). So many jams, so little time. I’ll have to pick a few and get at least some jam done this Summer 🙂
So amazing, Sue! Brilliant inspiration for Christmas gifting – there’s definitely something for every taste here.
This would make a terrific book … just an idea!
I love your site to begin with, but now I’m smitten. This post was fantastic as I’ve always wanted to make jams and butters, but was intimidated by the “old fashioned” methods. Thanks for sharing these great recipes.
I’m glad I could inspire you David, I was the same way for a while, I didn’t like all the fussy rigamarole you have to do with traditional canning, this way is much better. Good luck with your jamming!
Love all the freezer jam, thanks for putting it together.will be pining this.
Thanks Pamela 🙂