Summertime is the best time to find the freshest fruit around as it is the natural harvesting season for many fruits and vegetables.

Purchasing and freezing fresh fruits and in bulk during peak season is not only a money-saving tradition, but a quick way to preserve the nutritional content of your favorite fruits while letting you enjoy the taste of summer year-round. The quality of frozen foods will vary depending on how they are prepared for freezing, on packaging materials and storage time.

Freezing is one of the simplest and least time-consuming ways to preserve foods at home. Freezing does not sterilize food; the extreme cold simply retards growth of micro-organisms and slows down changes that affect quality or cause spoilage in food.

Properly frozen fruits retain much of their fresh flavor and nutritive value. Their texture may be somewhat softer, however, than fresh fruit.

Here are some

quick facts:

• Berries and cherries are best frozen soon after harvest. Peaches, plums and apples may need to fully ripen before freezing.

• Small whole fruits, such as berries or cherries, can be frozen individually on trays, packaged in bags and later used in salads or garnishes.

• Most fruits maintain high quality for 8 to 12 months at 0 degrees F, or below.

Consider the following tips as you begin your freezing adventure with our recipe that follows.

Fresh Is Best:  Use produce from home gardens, buy locally or select fruits in season from supermarkets for the best quality.

Keep it Clean: Prevent bacterial contamination by cleaning all equipment, surfaces, hands and fruit thoroughly before starting.

Keep the Color: Prevent browning by treating light-colored fruits (apples, pears, peaches, apricots) using ascorbic acid mixtures before freezing (located in canning sections of supermarkets).

Leave Room to Grow:  Freezing causes expansion. Follow the recipe and leave proper head space [space between food mixture to lid] to allow growth.

Substitute Sugar: When freezing or canning, do not stray far from recipes for safety purposes.  However, reduced-sugar options are available as shown in the following recipe.

Learn to Label: Always label frozen or canned foods with the date processed & content of container.  Properly frozen and stored products should be used within one year.

Freshman Strawberry Jam

Enjoy the following Strawberry Jam recipe as a spread on warm bread, garnish on morning pancakes or as a topping for your ice cream.  Add a ribbon around the finished product and pair it with a loaf of homemade bread for the perfect gift for any occasion.

To make ahead: Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, in the freezer for up to one year or at room temperature for up to one year if processed in a water bath.

All you need

12 cups hulled fresh strawberries

1 to 2 cups Hy-Vee granulated sugar or brown sugar*

1/2 cup water

1 (1.75 ounce) packet “no-sugar-needed” pectin*

6 to 8 (8 oz) canning jars

All you do

1. Combine strawberries, sugar to taste and water in a Dutch oven. Bring to a vigorous boil and crush the berries with a potato masher until desired consistency. Add pectin in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Stir until the pectin is dissolved. Bring to a full rolling boil (a boil that cannot be “stirred down”), stirring constantly. Boil, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

2. If freezing or refrigerating, ladle the jam into clean canning jars to within 1⁄2 inch of the rim. Wipe rims clean. Cover with lids. Let the jars stand at room temperature until set, about 24 hours, before refrigerating or freezing. (Or process in a boiling water bath to store, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to 1 year.)

* 3/4 cup maple syrup or honey or 1/2 to 1 cup Splenda Granular can be used in place of 1 cup sugar.

*Eating Well prefers “no-sugar-needed” pectin from Ball or Sure-Jell to regular pectin because you can adjust the amount of added sugar. Regular pectin cannot be used in its place because it requires more sugar to ensure a proper set. Although Sure-Jell’s instructions indicate that you cannot use less sugar than called for in their recipes, Eating Well had successful results using less.

Nutrition facts per serving: 12 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat, 0g monounsaturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 1mg sodium, 32mg potassium, 3g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, 0g protein.

Carbohydrate Servings: 0

Exchanges: free food

Source: Adapated from Eating Well, Inc.

For more information on freezing or canning, go to:  http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/PM1045.pdf