Here are the results from 4 flats of strawberries:
13 gallon size bags of strawberries for the freezer
9 1/2 pints of honey or rapadura sweetened jam (thanks to Pomona’s Pectin)
1 large container of homemade strawberry ice cream
I think it was a profitable day, don’t you?
Hey Lindsay… What was the name of the farm/lady you got your berries from? I remember searching everywhere last year to find organic/no spray strawberries to no avail. [the closest was a farm about three hours south] So I just got mine at Dobbins [in Woodland] as usual. $15 dollars is a great price for this year, were they 10lb. flats?
Always curious,
Amber
I really enjoyed the info. Iam working at a berry farm this year and really nead some thoughts!!
Q. My dad can not eat sugar and last year l made
strawberry jem with no suger and it did not jell!!
Any thoughts?
sounds great! where did you buy/pick? your strawberries?
I got mine in Woodland, pre-picked for $15 per flat (with no sprays – horray!). I am not sure if she has any left as the season is pretty much over, but you can try giving her a call at 360-606-1494.
Where did you purchase the pectin? I’m in WA too (north) and was wondering where to buy…
You can get the pectin through Azure Standard or at Whole Foods. It is about $3.20-$3.60 in price but it makes 4 batches of jam! I used one box for my 9 1/2 pints and still have some left over.
And apparently I’m craving them so much I didn’t even write my whole name…LOL
So now I am totally craving strawberries! I won a strawberry cookbook last week that came in the mail today, and then reading this… I have a feeling we’ll have something strawberry tomorrow!
I, too, am interested in how much rapadura or honey you used and if you feel it turned out well. I wonder how long those pints of jam will last? I don’t think they would last long in my house. I LOOOVEEE strawberry jam!
I just tried my jam and I think the sweetness is perfect (using 1 cup rapadura per batch)! They didn’t set as well as I would like, but I understand that could be just due to the ripeness of my berries (they were pretty ripe!). Michele @ Frugal Granola told me they prefer the freezer jam, and she uses just 3/4 cup rapadura in each batch. So there you have it!
Oh, I grew up eating freezer jam, and think it’s the absolute best tasting jam that there is. But I wasn’t sure how to make it without all the sugar. I’ll have to check out Frugal Granola to see if she has specific instructions.Thanks, Lindsay!
The freezer recipe is also in the pectin box or on the website linked above. It’s seems very simple, if you have the freezer space, which I don’t! I have to can mine for space saving!
Wow- that’s a lot of strawberries!
Yum! 
You did all that today after you left my house? Wow, you are amazing!
Actually, it was more like two days, since I had started the freezing part the day before!
I am sorry, not quite that amazing. Thanks for the fun time at your place sister!
Could you share the jam recipe? We are also in WA (North though) and we picked 25 lbs Monday and are going back tomorrow. We also filled our freezer (the 35 lbs last year didnt last as long as we thought) and plan on making jam and homemade ice cream tomorrow.
I have the Pomona’s Pectin but was scared to try using a sugar substitute.
I’d also love your ice cream recipe if you dont mind sharing that as well!
The recipe in the pectin box is what I used (cooked fruit version w/water bath). I added 3/4 cup honey or 1 cup rapadura as the sweetener. I know they all sealed, but I should check the flavor to make sure it was good (sweet enough). I’ll get back with you on that one. It was pretty straight forward, especially since I had never made jam before.
As to my strawberry ice cream…hmm…this is approximately what I did.
5 cups milk (1 1/2 cup cream & 3 1/2 cups whole milk) -I used raw
2-3 cups mashed strawberries
1/4 cup maple syrup
pinch of stevia (you can use any type of sweetener, but 3/4 cup of something is about right, if you want to just use maple syrup)
I always just taste it as I go. Turned out quite yummy!
Enjoy!
Did you have to scald the milk first?
No, it is not necessary to scald the milk, no matter what type you use. When using raw milk, if I were to scald it, that would be killing all the nutritional value that I am preserving by choosing raw. You just mix all the above ingredients together and throw it in a ice cream maker. And that’s it!