My family has always been staunchly in the strawberry jam camp. Thick slices of warm, homemade bread are accompanied by a frosty mason jar filled with that crimson goodness.
However, a few years ago, my sister made a foray into the land of raspberry jam and came back with stained fingers and happy taste buds. My Christmas present that year was two pints of raspberry jam, a string of raffia tied jauntily underneath the rim. I ate them sparingly, saving them for especially delicious treats like fresh bread and oatmeal scones. It was a sad day when I finally spied the bottom of the second jar and tried scraping out the last, few globs.
Last week, my sister and I made the trek to my favorite orchard to pick apples and fall raspberries. It was a warm day and the bees buzzed busily around us. Lace picked in one row and the baby and I picked in another. The bushes stretched on endlessly, each tendril reaching for sun and dropping its bright, red fruit into our waiting hands. We chatted pleasantly across the rows, disembodied voices tossing observations on the sweetness of the berries, the persistence of the bees and the joy of being in the country. Jack pattered confidently between rows of towering bushes, stopping to chew on a twig or crow excitedly over a new-found rock. Dirt soon coated his socks and speckled his shirt and face, most certainly making it into his mouth. But he was happy and curious and content.
We brought our fruit home and crushed it and mixed it and transformed it into jam. There was chatter and baby squeals and mulling over directions and tasting of fruit and fingers. Sweet sisterhood reflected in rows of gleaming jars. More memories made in the everyday business of sharing life together.
Raspberry (Freezer) Jam
Makes (just shy of) 2 quarts
About 1 1/2 quarts (3 pints) of raspberries
5 1/4 cups sugar
1 packet of fruit pectin (I used SureJell)
There are two types of fruit pectin:
There are two types of fruit pectin:
SureJell is a powder that you will need to mix with water and boil for 1 minute. It's pretty easy and you have plenty of time to make it while you wait for your sugar to dissolve into your berries.
Certo is even easier because it is already liquefied. You just open the pouch and squeeze it out!
(The catch is that it seems to be hard to find. My local grocery stores don't carry it.
I have to either order it off Amazon or drive an hour away to Wegmans.
The other catch is that it is more expensive than SureJell. Ah, the price of convenience.)
Before you start:
Read your directions throughly.
Each jam has slightly different directions
and even different brands of fruit pectin may have different directions,
so make sure you read and understand the directions before you even start.
(The measurements I have included are for SureJell freezer jam)
The directions inside the box are for many varieties of either freezer jam or cooked jam.
I always make freezer jam.
A little tip...I'd suggest circling the variety of jam you are choosing to make
so it's easier in the moment to know where the directions are for your specific jam.
(I have circled raspberry freezer jam)
Gather your tools.
- I use one medium bowl for crushing the berries and one large bowl for mixing the berries and sugar.
- I use a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup for measuring the berries
and a 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup for portioning jam into the jars
- You need a sieve to strain out some of the seeds (if you choose to do this).
- Spatulas. You definitely need spatulas.
- A pastry cutter or potato masher for crushing the berries.
Prep your containers.
(Pssst....ignore my gross sink. How am I supposed to keep a white sink from getting stained? Bleh)
Make sure to wash your jars and lids in hot soapy water. It's especially important to sanitize your jars for cooked jam, but you want to wash them for freezer jam too. No germs allowed in the jam!
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Now you are ready to start the jam.
Aren't these berries lovely? I always feel bad crushing such beautiful berries. Just a little bit.
Crushing the berries is a two-step process.
Step 1: Using the pastry cutter or potato masher, crush enough berries to equal 1 1/2 cups. Set aside.
Step 2: Crush more berries and strain out the seeds by pressing on the pulp with a spatula.
Make sure to scrape off the back of the sieve!
Repeat the straining process until you have 1 1/2 cups of raspberry "juice."
Then, combine the juice with the crushed berries that you set aside.
Make sure that you have exactly 3 cups.
In the large bowl, measure out exactly 5 1/4 cups of sugar.
Mix the 3 cups of crushed berries/juice with the sugar.
Stir until combined (make sure you got all the hidden pockets of sugar!) and let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir occasionally.
While your sugar and berries sit, dissolve the box of powdered pectin in 3/4 cups water. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Set aside until the berries are ready.
Stir the pectin into the berries. Stir constantly for 3 minutes, until sugar is completely dissolved.
Using the 1 cup Pyrex, portion out the jam into 2 quart size jars or into 4 pint size jars.
Make sure to leave a 1/2 inch space at the top or your jars will burst in the freezer.
And that would be a sad day.
Your jars will be good for up to a year or so in the freezer.
When you want some jam, pop a jar in the fridge to thaw.
And spread some on toast.
Preferably homemade toast!
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