“Jam on a winter took away the blue devils. It was like tasting summer.” - Sandra Dallas
Most people make multiple batches of jam in summer and preserve it to enjoy in winter. And here I am, posting a recipe of mixed berry jam on a cold winter evening. Anybody in my club on this? I doubt!
All jams begin with delicious fruits and my plan was to wait for summer to make a fresh batch until my eyes fell on these gorgeous looking berries. I know it's not the right season but they were so pretty, juicy and very sweet.
Making jam is very easy but preserving jam requires a litte attention to detail. I am no expert in making or preserving jam but I did some reading and it helped me understand a little bit about it. I usually avoid making huge batches as it's just the two of us at home and neither of us are huge fans of jam.
The experts suggest to use mason jar for storage as it has this flat lid which helps creating vacuum and seals the jar tight. This is a key factor for preserving the jam.
Pectin also plays a very important role in making a fruit jam. It is what makes the fruit jam set tightly. It's like a glue, technically called complex carbohydrate which is present in the cell walls of plants and helps thicken the jam. All fruits have certain content of pectin in them, some high and some low. Depending on what fruit you are using, you might have to use artificial pectin powder.
This recipe has no artificial pectin in it. I used orange juice and lemon juice, which have very high content of pectin and that gave the jam right amount of consistency that I was looking for. I personally don't prefer jams which are too thick.
Ever since I learned how to make jam at home, I stopped buying them from the store. Honestly speaking, I never liked the store bought jams. They are always so overly sweet and never smell of fruits!
This jam came out just perfect. Sweetness from the fruits, tartness from the citrus juice and a very light herbal touch from the fresh rosemary.
Mixed Berry Jam – Enjoy it fresh or preserve it.
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh strawberries
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Chop the strawberries in halves or quarters.
- Place the berries in a deep sauce pan and lightly mash the berries using a masher.
- Pour the citrus juice, honey and chopped rosemary.
- Cook in medium heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally until it thickens.
- While it's cooking, start preparing the jar for preserving.
- Clean the jar, fill it with boiling water and keep it aside for a while. After a while, throw the water and dry the jar completely.
- Pour some more boiling water in a pan and drop the flat lid. Let it stay there unless you are ready to use the flat lid. The idea is to keep the flat lid warm until you ready to seal the jar.
- Once the jam thickens, fill it in the clean jar and wipe the rim of the jar clean with a damp tissue paper.
- Pat dry the flat lid and place it on top of the jar.
- Screw the dome lid ring tightly onto the filled jar.
- Turn the jar upside down. This helps the heat from the jam to contact with the lid and create a vacuum.
- Allow the jam to cool and then, store it in a cool dark place.
- It's very important to refrigerate the jam after the jar has been opened.
Ingle
Hi Kankana!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe, I made it a few weeks ago and it is fabulous! I'd like to make a few more batches while the berries are still plentiful in the South, but I had two questions for you:
1 - When you cooked yours on a medium heat, did it come to a boil? I don't know if my stovetop simply runs hot, but the mixture did bubble most of the time and I want to make sure I'm not scorching the batch.
2 - Do you think it's safe to double the recipe?
Thanks so much for your awesome blog!
Kankana Saxena
Hi Ingle.
Thanks a lot for dropping by and leaving your comment. To answer your question:
1. Yes it will come to boil and you have to stir occasionally in between. It will eventually reduce and get thicker. I sometimes remove the foam with a spoon, that gets formed as it boils.
2. Increasing the quantity should work too but since I always make small batches I never tried doubling it up!
Hope this helps. If not, please feel free to email me again.
Thanks
Kankana
Priya
I have a lot of pear, oranges n strawberries at home, planning to adapt your recipe...will let u know how it turned out! Glad to see that u have not used pectin, i dont wanna use it coz we also like it loose n spreadable.
Ananda Rajashekar
No seriously you have rosemary there, god i would love to try. i tried making jam, yet to post the pic, somehow i don't eat much jam either..but will have to try urs Kankana pic are just dreamy!
Nash at plateful
Alas, is only fresh berries were not so expensive right now! These pictures are so lovely & tempting and what better way to make use of the jars in my collection!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen
You should see my collection of jam jars! lol They have overtaken my cupboards. Time to make some more jam!
Namitha
I love the mixed berries jam. Yours look just perfect 🙂 I love it even more when I add Rhubarb to it ! And the pics are just awesome, as always
Vijitha
Ummmm!!! The jam looks so yummy and awesommeeeeeee photographs! Why don't you get me a toast smothered with delicious jam.
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
MMmmmmm... I have abundance of berries just waiting to use -- love this simple, rustic and non-preservative jams. Drool-worthy!
Nami | Just One Cookbook
I tend to think preserving is a time consuming project because I usually think we have to make a lot. Hmm, never thought of making just two jars! That's pretty great idea! We don't need too many either otherwise we get bored with one kind. You make me motivated to try it one day. The other day I got strawberries and blueberries and they were both so sweet! I was telling my husband we don't need to wait summer to enjoy fruits nowadays. We are lucky to be in California too. Abundant local fruits! Thanks for this post - will keep this as my reference.
Shumaila
Haha! I would have probably been in your club if I had the patience to make jam. I don't care if its winter or summers, I wouldn't mind this jam anytime of the year! Beautiful pics as always!
priya mahadevan
Hi Kankana, Long time since i stopped by, apologies! The pictures are fabulous and the preserve lip smacking delicious 🙂 Happy new year dear - never to late to say that! cheers, Priya
[email protected]
oh my. Look at the colourful berries! The jam must be wonderful.
Asmita
Hi Kankana,
The jam looks gorgeous. Love the flavors and the photographs are stunning!!!
sukanya ramkumar
Mouthwatering jam recipe... Looks so good... Nice recipe... Beautiful pictures.... YUM!!!!
Juliana
Wow Kankana, your berries jam look great...nothing like homemade ones. Love the pictures as well.
Hope you are having a fantastic week 🙂
Malli
Absolutely lovely textured jam and with honey. It must taste just marvelous with fresh bread and butter:) reminds me of childhood.
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Homemade jam tastes so fresh and great!
Madonna
I got so caught up in your photography that I forgot to ask how many half pint jars does this recipe make? You may have stated it somewhere, but I did not see it.