Honey Raspberry Jam
I get excited when fun things arrive at my doorstep. Today, the postwoman brought me a delivery of 50 alpine strawberry plants!!! I’m way super excited but I haven’t quite figured out where I’m planting all of them. The coolest thing about these plants is that they don’t produce runners so they won’t spread like regular strawberries. They’re actually a cultivar that’s typically wild and the berries are much smaller and much more flavorful than the ones you find in the local market. I’m hoping that by next summer they’ll be producing at least some fruit. I am totally stoked about these little guys!
Speaking of awesome and nutritious berries, my wonderful dad and step-mom brought me a big ol’ bucket of fresh raspberries from their farm this past week. Since my raspberry patch is just starting out here at the new place, I won’t have enough quantity to do much with other than eat a few nibbles here and there. It just so happens that my middle daughter has recently fallen in love with honey raspberry jam from the farmer’s market so the fresh bucket of red wonderful berries was just the right amount to experiment with and freshen up my jam making skills that I haven’t used in nearly 10 years.
I made two batches of jam… one with regular sugar and simply reduced the amount of many current recipes to be comparable to the amount used in my grandmother’s days of making jam. How do I know this? My grandmother happened to leave me a very old canning book with a few of her hand written notes in it. It’s missing the front cover but judging by the images in the book it’s probably from the 60’s. Pretty cool. The other batch I made was a honey raspberry jam so it has a bit more nutrition than using regular white sugar, tastes just as delicious or maybe even more-so, and was equally as simple. The only real difference I noticed was that the jam turns out a little lighter in color and more vibrant with the honey. It’s perfectly tart , is great on toast and even better on a dish of ice cream!!
- 4 cups crushed raspberries (if you wish to eliminate some of the seeds, press half of the berries through a mesh strainer - be sure to measure the puree after straining)
- 1 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons pectin for low sugar recipes (optional - see note)
- 5 jelly jars (8 ounce size)
- Wash raspberries in a strainer and be sure all leaves/stems are removed.
- Crush raspberries with a potato masher and strain some of the seeds out if desired.
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer.
- Let simmer until jam becomes thicker, about 15-20 minutes.
- While jam is simmering, place 4 empty jelly jars in a large pot of water and heat it to boiling.
- When jam is thickened, scrape off foam if any forms.
- Carefully remove jelly jars from water with a tongs and then pour hot jam into hot jelly jars leaving only ½” space from the top of the jar. Use a canning funnel for easier filling.
- With a clean damp cloth, wipe the rim of the jelly jars to remove any spilled jam.
- Place lid on jar and twist on the ring so it is air tight.
- Place entire jar of jam back in the hot water (enough to cover jars by 1-2”) and boil for 15 minutes.
- Remove jars of jam from water and let sit out to cool.
- After 24 hours, check lids for proper seal by pressing on the top center. If it dents in, it has not sealed and will need to be re-boiled.
- If you do not wish to process in the hot water to seal the jam, you can simply keep these in the fridge for about a week or two. Sealed in jars will keep a LONG time.
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Hi Kari, I am about to try this recipe and I’m just wondering what brand of pectin you used. Did you use liquid or powder.
Thank you!
Karin
Hi Karin! I used the Ball Low Sugar powder when I made this originally. Just keep in mind this will be a softer set than a higher sugar jam 🙂 I would think the powder Sure-Jell low sugar version would also work as I often use them interchangeably in other recipes.