Friday, June 30, 2006

Raspberry Freezer Jam


Yep, more jam. There were some brilliantly ripe raspberries for sale at the local farmers’ market and I couldn’t pass them up.

I had to make jam before I realized this but jam has twice the amount of sugar as it does fruit. Seriously: don’t think you’re eating preserved fruit with a dusting sprinkling of sugar. It's closer to Pixie Stix than Nature's Candy.

Which is probably why I wanted to make it.

The one issue with raspberry jam is that the berries are rife with firm little seeds. Even after straining half the mixture through a sieve, there are still tons of seeds. Next time, I will either buy 1 quart of raspberries and strain them down to 2 cups or strain 2 pints of raspberries and make up the difference with blueberries, strawberries, or a combination of both.

Raspberry Freezer Jam
2 cups prepared fruit (buy about 2 pt. fully ripe red raspberries)
4 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
1 pouch CERTO Fruit Pectin
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Rise clean plastic (I used glass -- LR) containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly.

Crush raspberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. (Press half of pulp through a sieve to remove some of the seeds, if desired.) Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, mix pectin with lemon juice. Add to raspberry mixture; stir 3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)

Fill all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. (I found that the jam began to gel after about 5 minutes. –LR) Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using. Yields 5 cups.

Grade: A

2 comments:

Lis said...

It looks beautiful, Laura Rebecca! Since you are becoming a jam making professional, have you run across the issue of using sugar substitute in the jams? Will it work in freezer jams?

Laura Rebecca said...

Thank you Lis!

I'm pretty confident I can say no on the sugar substitute though Sure Jell does make pectin that works for low/no sugar jams.

Here's the site; there are recipes there as well.