It seems spring has sprung. Or at least it did for a few days.

But then, as is so often the case here in the South, it got stage fright, whipped up a few tornadoes and exited stage left in a flurry of snow.

I don’t know, man. Mother Nature seems to be in her “I Do What I Want; Let’s Start Right There” phase.

And frankly, I’m right there with her.

I mean, I’m right there with her insofar as I can be. I know I am not actually powerful enough to cause any type of weather, so don’t come for me.

At any rate, last week, when it was still spring, a friend of mine sent me a photo of a box filled with some of the most beautiful strawberries I’ve ever seen.

“My mom went to the farmer’s market and texted to ask if I wanted some strawberries,” she wrote. “I said yes. I didn’t know she was buying them by the flat.”

Of course, I said I was jealous.

So a few days later, my friend showed up at my house – bearing the greater part of that flat of strawberries.

I knew eating all those berries before they went bad would be an impossible task, even for all the berry lovers we have in this house.

As I considered my options, I remembered a long-ago day spent at my friend Sarah’s house. Sarah’s mom had made strawberry freezer jam and offered me some on a sandwich.

Honestly? I’d never heard of strawberry freezer jam before then and wasn’t terribly excited. I was not a particularly adventurous eater at the time.

But that freezer jam absolutely changed my mind. I can remember thinking that I’d never eaten any type of jam or jelly that tasted so much like a piece of fresh fruit – except somehow better. (Spoiler alert: it’s the sugar.)

That’s why I decided to try my hand at freezer jam. I know how to water-bath canned goods and could have made strawberry preserves, but I was still chasing that freezer jam high from my youth. (I know, I know. It’s a crazy life I’m living over here.)

The results were so easy and so delicious that I think I will try to make some every spring.

Usually, I don’t think of jam as being a beginner-level project, but freezer jam actually is.

There are only a handful of ingredients, and you can put the jam in any freezer-safe container. I used glass jars, but plastic would also work.

Strawberry season is upon us now. If you have access to fresh berries, try this project. I promise it’s worth the effort.

STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM

(adapted from Tastes Better from Scratch)
Yields 5-6 cups of jam; recipe doubles well

Ingredients:
About 1 quart ripe strawberries, washed and hulled
4 cups white sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3/4 cups water
1 envelope Sure-Jell fruit pectin

Instructions:
■ First, clean and sanitize your containers. My jars were already clean, so I sanitized them by running them in the dishwasher without soap or any other dishes. That way, they stayed hot and sanitized while I worked with the jam.
■ In the largest mixing bowl you own, crush strawberries with a potato masher. (Trust me on this. You will want to use a very large bowl here.) You may want to crush only a handful of berries at a time to prevent crushing more than you can use. Measure out exactly 2 cups of crushed berries and return them to the large bowl. (This is important. Your ratios must be correct for the jam to set properly.) Add the sugar and lemon juice to the crushed berries and mix well. Allow mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
■ While the strawberries rest, place a saucepan containing the water and Sure-Jell over high heat. Bring water to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil mixture for one minute. Carefully pour hot liquid into the strawberry mixture, taking care to pour away from your body. Stir mixture really well until sugar dissolves. This may take several minutes.
■ Fill your containers with the mixture, allowing about a half-inch of space between the surface of the jam and the rim of the container. (You won’t be sealing these jars, so this headspace is just to allow for expansion in the freezer.) Wipe rims of containers with a damp cloth. Add lids. Allow jam to sit at room temperature for 24 hours to set completely, then transfer containers to the freezer. To eat, thaw in the refrigerator. Jam will keep at least one year in the freezer and for several months once refrigerated.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.