Mona’s dad, Frank, was of Norwegian heritage, which goes a long way to explaining why he was such a serious and dedicated berry picker. If you’ve ever been to Norway, then that berries (and currants) and their picking hold a special place in the hearts and bellies of those hearty Scandinavians.
Mona has more than a few memories of picking strawberries along side her dad when she was little, so she’ll be the first to tell you that berry picking with Frank wasn’t for the faint of heart. After all, serious Scandinavian picking meant getting up at the crack of dawn early summer mornings in order to be one of the first in the berry field.
The morning hours were then spent squatting and picking fron the low berry bushes while swatting and cursing at the ravenous mosquitos. Back then, berry picking expeditions took a few hours (depending on how many berries were eaten on site) since the family tradition included picking baskets of berries for neighbours along the crescent back home. (Lucky neighbours eh?).
But the work didn’t end with all that picking. No… the tradition according to Frank also included preparing jars and jars of freezer jam as soon as the crew returned home.
The recipe Mona’s dad used is simple, as follows:
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Ingredients:
4 cups cleaned ripe strawberries, cleaned and sliced
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 packet of pectin powder
4 (at least) jars and lids, cleaned
Directions:
Combine the sliced berries with the sugar in a large bowl and stir gently. Let sit for about 15 minutes.
Add the packet of pectin powder to the sweetened berries, and stir until the sugar and the pectin are completely dissolved. This will take about 5 minutes.
Next, fill the clean jars with the berry mixture, leaving a space at the top of each of the jars to allow for the jam the expand as it freezes (if freezing is what you choose to do), otherwise the jars could crack under pressure from lack of space. Then put the clean lids on the jars and let the jars cool on the counter overnight.
The jam can be used right away (wonderful on toast, yogurt or vanilla ice cream)- or stored in the refrigerator for up to three months.
Alternatively, the jam can be frozen for up to a year and saved for use on a cold winter morning when it will be sure to lift your spirits as you contemplate the fact that the nearest mosquito is a thousand miles away.