Too many Strawberries! Can I puree and freeze them for Jam making???

[becklespeckle]

Basically I totally overestimated the amount of strawberries I needed when I took the DCs strawberry picking at the weekend... I have made 21 jars of jam this weekend and used all my empty jars but still have enough strawberries left for a further 10 or so jars!

Can I prepare them for jam making (ie heat and puree them) and then freeze them until I have spare jars again? I did read somewhere that you can freeze pureed strawberries for 6 months but not sure how reliable that is!

Any advice or other suggestions as to what to do with these strawberries gratefully received!

I thought you just froze them in pre weighed bags - at least I'm sure my mum did for jam-making

you can just freeze them whole.

Ooh thanks! Do you know how long they keep for frozen whole? Is it less when they are frozen 'uncooked' as such?

I would only keep them a few months and then make a jelly or jam with them.

what about strawberry ice cream? I have a lovely recipe if you're interested

or how about pureeing them and freezing then in ice cube trays ......then use them to make smoothies )

You can freeze them whole and they'll last for 6 months+ but they have a strange consistency when you unfreeze them - kind of mushy.

However this probably wouldn't matter if you were going to make them into smoothies/milkshakes/jams/sorbets etc.

One nice thing to do with frozen fruit is making posh "slushies", ie freeze the fruit whole, then when you come to use them, put them into a blender, still frozen, with fruit juice or milk and yoghurt, and blend. It makes a yummy kind of icecream/sorbet type drink.

You can also drop them whole into jugs of water instead of using icecubes.

We do the slushie thing too with frozen strawbs.

If you intend to make jam later, then weigh them before you freeze them and write it on the bag.

Oooh, thank you for all your great suggestions! I particularly like the idea or making ice cream with them taffetacatski, I'd love your recipe please!

I think I may weigh and puree them for jam but perhaps do some in ice cube trays too as I love the slushie idea

I don't think you need puree them for jam though. Surely you make the jam with the whole fruit?

I don't exactly puree them theyoungvisiter, but I do mash them until fairly smooth as my children are not keen on lumpy jam, they prefer it smoother! I keep all the pips in and everything though!

Strawberry margaritas!