Fresh Raspberry Jam
It's berry season here in the Pacific Northwest, and we have been having a fabulous time berry picking over the last month or so. We picked strawberries a few weeks ago, and raspberries last week. I'm excited for blackberry and blueberry picking in the next few weeks as well! My kids have had so much fun picking berries (and surprisingly few berries have made their way into their mouths while picking, which is always a win). Our favorite local place to pick is Smith Berry Barn, and it is the cutest place! They have fields and fields of berries, but also goats and chickens the kids can feed, and a cute little market full of treats and cute kitchen items. If you're in the area, definitely check it out!
My favorite way to preserve all those fresh berries is by making them into jam! I used to make jam the traditional way, with roughly equal parts sugar and fresh fruit, but I hated that the jam was so sweet and didn't even really taste like real fruit. I switched to using low sugar pectin a few years ago, and I love it! The fruit flavor comes through so much better, and it's still plenty sweet, without being overwhelming. I will warn you that the recipe below won't work with regular pectin, so be sure to find the low sugar pectin if you want to make it.
Since I like my little jam jars to be as cute as possible, I found these adorable jam labels online and printed them out for the tops of the jars. So cute and easy peasy, too! This fresh raspberry jam is seriously the best, and my family has been eating it on everything from toast to pancakes to PB&J's. Yum!
Fresh Raspberry Jam
4 cups crushed fresh raspberries
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
4 1/2 tablespoons low sugar pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
Add the raspberries, apple juice, and pectin to a large pot and stir to combine until the pectin is dissolved. Add the butter to the pot. Bring the mixture to a full roiling boil over medium heat, then stir in the sugar. Return the mixture to a full rolling boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat and ladle into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top of the jar. Wipe the rims of the jars clean, then place sterilized lids and bands on the jars.
For freezer jam, allow the jam to cool completely, then freeze. For shelf-stable processed jam, place the jars in a canning pot, fill with water to 1-2 inches above the lids of the jars, then bring to a boil. Cover and process for 10 minutes, adjusting processing time as needed for altitude. When the processing time is finished, remove the lid, turn off the heat, and let stand five minutes. Carefully remove the jars from the canner and let cool. Check that all the jars have sealed after 24 hours by pressing on the lids to see if any move up and down when pressed. Store in a cool dry place and use within 12 months.
adapted from freshpreserving.com
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