Homemade Raspberry Freezer Jam: A Taste of Summer All Year

There’s nothing quite like jam made from raspberries you picked yourself.

Every year when our raspberries start producing, I do the same thing. I eat as many as I possibly can, standing right there in the row. Then I try to figure out what to do with the rest.

We freeze some for smoothies. We put them on anything we can think of. And we make freezer jam.

Picking is half the fun

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share things I actually use.

I take an old ice cream bucket and hook it around my waist with a belt bag so both hands are free. It’s not fancy. It works.

A raspberry that’s been ripening in the sun is warm, sweet, and nothing like the ones in a plastic clamshell at the store. A few always disappear before they make it into the bucket. I’m not sure how that happens haha!

Why freezer jam?

If the word “jam” makes you think of a whole afternoon of canning, this is not that.

Freezer jam is the easiest way I know to save raspberries. You crush the berries, stir in the sugar, boil the pectin for one minute, and fill your containers. That’s it. No water bath. No sealing jars.

Then the little containers go in the freezer. In the middle of January you pull one out, and there’s summer on the kitchen counter.

What you need

• About 6 cups fully ripe red raspberries (you need 3 cups once they’re crushed)
• 5 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 box SURE-JELL Original Premium Fruit Pectin
• Small freezer-safe containers with lids (half-pint size works great)

This is the recipe from the SURE-JELL box, and it’s the one I’ve used for years. Don’t cut the sugar. With this pectin, freezer jam needs it to set.

Is it gluten free? Raspberries, sugar, water and pectin. Nothing in there has gluten. If you’re making it for someone with celiac, check the label on your pectin the same way you’d check anything else.

How I make it

1. Get your containers ready first. Once the jam is mixed, it sets fast, so have clean, dry containers and lids lined up. I rinse mine with boiling water and let them dry completely.
2. Crush the berries. I crush them a layer at a time so I don’t end up with whole berries hiding at the bottom. I leave the seeds in. No sieving, no extra step.
3. Measure exactly 3 cups. This is the one place not to eyeball it. Too much or too little fruit and the jam won’t set right.
4. Stir in the sugar and wait. Pour the sugar into the berries, stir, and let it sit for 10 minutes, stirring now and then. The sugar starts to dissolve while you get the pectin going.
5. Boil the pectin for one minute. Whisk the water and pectin together in a small saucepan. Bring it to a full boil over high heat, stirring the whole time. Keep it boiling and stirring for exactly one minute.
6. Stir it into the berries for 3 minutes. Pour the hot pectin into the berry mixture and keep stirring until the sugar is almost dissolved and it doesn’t feel grainy anymore. A few crystals are fine.
7. Fill and cover right away. Fill each container, leaving about 1/2 inch at the top so it has room to expand in the freezer. Wipe the rims and put the lids on.
8. Let it sit out for 24 hours. Leave the containers on the counter overnight to set. Then into the fridge or the freezer they go.

How to store it

It keeps in the fridge for about 3 weeks and in the freezer for up to a year. Thaw a frozen container in the fridge, not on the counter.

One batch makes about six half-pint containers for me. I freeze small ones instead of one big one. That way we pull out one at a time and never have a huge jar sitting open in the fridge.

Ways we eat it

Gluten Free Toast is the obvious one. Don’t stop there. Try it on:

• Pancakes or waffles
• Biscuits
• Oatmeal or yogurt
• Ice cream
• Cheesecake
• A peanut butter sandwich
• Fresh bread, still warm
• in pie cakes

Or just grab a spoon. I’m not here to judge.

Saving summer for winter

When I pull a container of raspberry jam out of the freezer in January, I don’t just see jam. I see those plants loaded with berries, the ice cream bucket around my waist, and the warm sun on the row.

That’s what I love about preserving what we grow. It’s not only about having something to eat later. It’s saving a little piece of the season.

So when your raspberries are overflowing, don’t feel like you have to eat every single one fresh. Make some jam. Freeze some berries. Save a little summer for the cold months.

---

Raspberry freezer jam questions

Can I use less sugar?
Not with SURE-JELL Original. It needs the full amount to set. If you want less sugar, buy a pectin made for low or no sugar and follow the directions on that box.

Why didn’t my jam set?
The usual reasons are the fruit wasn’t measured exactly, the pectin didn’t reach a full boil for the whole minute, or the sugar was cut. Measure, boil, and don’t skip the 24 hours on the counter.

Why leave room at the top of the container?
Jam expands as it freezes. Half an inch keeps the lids from popping off.

Do I need to can it?
No. That’s the whole point. It lives in the fridge or freezer, so there’s no water bath and no sealing.

---

More from the garden

• Easy One Jar Refrigerator Pickles Recipe
• Garden Fresh Salsa Recipe: The Ultimate Garden-to-Table Snack

Something good is always growing.

XO, Carly