If you grew up on freezer jam, you know the taste. Bright and fresh, closer to the fruit than the cooked kind from the store. You also know the catch. It has to live in the freezer.

So here's the short answer. Our freeze-dried jam is freezer jam. It's Grandma's freezer jam recipe, ready to mix with water. Add water, stir, and you've got freezer jam. That's the "insta" in Grandma's Insta-Pantry.

Here's how it stacks up against making freezer jam yourself and grabbing a jar at the store.

Homemade freezer jam

Freezer jam is uncooked jam. You crush ripe fruit, stir in sugar and pectin, and pour it into containers. There's no canning and no water bath. Because the fruit never cooks, it keeps that fresh-picked flavor.

The trade-off is storage. Freezer jam has to stay cold. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says it keeps up to a year in the freezer or up to three weeks in the fridge. Left on the counter, it molds or ferments fast.

Store-bought jam

Most jam at the grocery store is cooked. The fruit is boiled with sugar and pectin, then sealed in jars so it can sit on a shelf. Cooking gives it that thicker, sweeter, cooked-fruit taste. Many brands also add preservatives to help it last.

USDA guidance says an unopened jar keeps about a year in the pantry and about six months in the fridge once it's open.

Grandma's freeze-dried jam

It's Grandma's freezer jam recipe, ready to mix with water. It comes as a powder made with REAL fruit, sugar, modified corn starch, and citric acid. You can get it in Strawberry, Raspberry, Rhubarb, Blackberry, Blueberry, and Plum.

Freeze-drying is what lets it live on a shelf. Food is frozen, then placed under a vacuum. In a vacuum, the ice turns straight into vapor and leaves, skipping the liquid stage. That takes out nearly all of the water, which is why freeze-dried food is so light and keeps so long.

A sealed bag keeps up to 25 years on a pantry shelf. No fridge and no freezer. When you want jam, mix equal parts powder and water and stir. Use a little less water if you like it thick.

Once it's mixed, it's freezer jam, so treat it like freezer jam. Keep it in the fridge and use it within a few weeks, like any homemade jam. Mix only what you need and the rest of the powder stays on the shelf.

Side by side

Where it lives

• Freezer jam: the freezer, then the fridge
• Store-bought: the pantry until you open it, then the fridge
• Freeze-dried: a pantry shelf

How long it keeps

• Freezer jam: up to a year frozen, about three weeks in the fridge
• Store-bought: about a year unopened, about six months in the fridge once opened
• Freeze-dried: up to 25 years in the sealed bag, a few weeks in the fridge once mixed

How it tastes

• Freezer jam: fresh, like the fruit
• Store-bought: cooked
• Freeze-dried: fresh, like the fruit, because it's freezer jam

How much work it is

• Freezer jam: an afternoon of washing, crushing, and stirring
• Store-bought: none
• Freeze-dried: a spoon and some water

Batch size

• Freezer jam: a whole batch at once
• Store-bought: a jar at a time
• Freeze-dried: a spoonful or a bowlful, your call

When the power goes out

• Freezer jam: the USDA says a full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours with the door shut. After that, the clock is running.
• Store-bought: fine until you open it
• Freeze-dried: nothing changes

Does it taste like freezer jam?

Of course it does. It is freezer jam. It's bright and fresh, and it tastes like the fruit it's made from. It doesn't taste like it came from the store. It reminds us of Grandma's kitchen.

Freeze-drying helps. It uses cold and a vacuum instead of heat, so the flavor of the fruit stays. So does the nutrition from the fruit. Heat breaks down vitamins, and freeze-drying skips the heat.

Mix equal parts powder and water and you get a soft, spoonable jam. It thickens a little more in the fridge.

One customer, Sage H., called it "almost addictively delicious."

The best test is a spoonful on toast. Strawberry is a good one to start with.

Which one is right for you?

Make freezer jam if you have a berry patch, a free Saturday, and room in the freezer. It's a great summer project.

Grab store-bought if you just need a jar for this week's sandwiches.

Go with freeze-dried if you want Grandma's freezer jam in your food storage, in the camp box, or in the cupboard for the morning you run out.

Not sure which flavor to start with? The Sample Pack is three cups, and you pick the flavors.

Common questions

Is freeze-dried jam the same as freezer jam?

Yes. It's Grandma's freezer jam recipe, ready to mix with water. Add water and you've got freezer jam.

Does it need to be refrigerated?

Not until you mix it. Keep the powder sealed in a dry place. Once you add water, keep it in the fridge.

How long does it last?

Up to 25 years in the sealed bag. Once it's mixed, a few weeks in the fridge.

How do you make it?

Equal parts powder and water. Stir, give it a few seconds, and adjust until it's as thick as you like.

Can you bake with it?

Yes. Start with our jam thumbprint cookies, then try these 10 ways to use freeze-dried jam.

Ready to try it?

Pick a flavor and mix up your first spoonful. Shop all flavors and get a bag on your shelf.

Keep reading

• Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Sources

• National Center for Home Food Preservation. Storing Home-Canned Jams and Jellies.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodKeeper App.
• Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center. Freeze Drying Foods.
• FoodSafety.gov. Avoid Foodborne Illness During Temporary Power Outages.

Thumbprint cookies are one of our favorite ways to use jam. Janessa suggested this recipe, and it's a keeper. Buttery cookie, soft in the middle, little pocket of jam on top.

Freeze-dried jam is handy here because each cookie only takes a dab. Mix what the batch needs and put the rest of the powder back on the shelf. Want three flavors on one plate? Mix three small bowls.

Jam on toast is the obvious one. But the handy part is the powder. You can mix it thick, mix it thin, or skip the water and stir it straight into something else.

It's made with REAL fruit, and freeze-drying uses cold and a vacuum instead of heat. That's why it holds on to more of the fruit's flavor and nutrition than drying with heat does.

A sealed bag keeps up to 25 years on the shelf, so it's there whenever you want it. Here are 12 ways to use it.

1. On bread

The classic. Mix equal parts powder and water, stir, and spread. Strawberry is hard to beat here.

2. In yogurt

Stir 1 to 2 tablespoons of powder into a cup of plain yogurt. No water needed. Try it with Raspberry.

3. As syrup

Mix one part powder with two parts water and stir until smooth. Pour it over pancakes, waffles, or ice cream. Blueberry on pancakes is a good place to start.

4. In smoothies

Add a couple of tablespoons of powder straight into the blender with everything else.

5. As pastry filling

Mix the powder with just enough water to make a thick paste. Spoon it into the dough before baking. Our jam thumbprint cookies use it this way.

6. On ice cream

Stir the powder right into a bowl of vanilla.

7. In salad dressing

Shake the powder with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Blackberry works well on a green salad.

8. In overnight oats

Stir the powder into your oats before they go in the fridge. Breakfast is ready when you wake up.

9. With cream cheese

Blend it into softened cream cheese. Spread it on bagels or toast, or use it as a dip.

10. In baking

Mix the powder straight into muffin, cake, or quick bread batter. Rhubarb muffins are worth a try.

11. In water or tea

Stir a teaspoon of powder into a glass of water or a cup of hot tea.

12. As a glaze for meat

Mix the powder with water, olive oil, and your favorite herbs and spices. Brush it on pork, chicken, or ham. Plum and pork go together.

A few things to know

• The powder keeps on the shelf. Once you add water, keep it in the fridge.
• Mix only what you need. A spoonful for toast, a bowl for a recipe.
• You can blend flavors. Mix two powders and make your own.
• Freeze-drying preserves more of the fruit's nutrition than heat drying does, along with the flavor.

Pick your flavors

Not sure where to start? The Sample Pack is three cups, and you pick the flavors. Or shop all six and stock the pantry.

If you come up with a use we missed, tag us on Facebook or Instagram. We'd love to see it.

Keep reading

• Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Sources

• Study comparing freeze-drying and hot-air drying of blueberries, tart cherries, strawberries, and cranberries (2018). PubMed record 29751916.