RASPBERRY JAM RECIPE ~ HOMEMADE RASPBERRY JAM

Today’s recipe is about making homemade Raspberry jam. We at home have toast almost two to three times a week for breakfast and it will be mostly peanut butter or jelly… Well I’m not a big fan but Sid loves his toast with fruit jelly. Always skeptical thinking it may not turn good and also fearing that it may not last longer.

With being at its peak, markets are filled up with different vibrant berries, I was tempted to homemade raspberry jam. With few trail and error here and there… mastered the trick and manged to make some decent jam.  Raspberries are good place to start.. as they are naturally sweet, rich in pectin & acid and makes our work much easier resulting in best tasting jam!

Some Jam recipes to try….

1.Beetroot jam

2. Jam Biscuits

To make any homemade jam..

all you need are few ingredients – Fresh fruits, granulated sugar, lemon juice & pectin. Each plays a part… Always pick fresh ripe juicy fruits for any jam recipes. Pectin is a flavorless substance that is added while preparing jams mainly to thicken –

Raspberry seeds are naturally rich in pectin and we are skipping that in this recipe. Pectin with some sugar and acid from lemon juice helps to produce a glossy finish to the jams.  Raspberries have light level of citric acid too and hence I skipped that too.

Pick fresh purple raspberries and puree in a mixer/ blender without any water.

Transfer the puree to a heavy bottomed pan and start heating at low medium flame.

When they reach a rolling boil add the sugar and continue heating , stirring and mixing constantly. (Its always 1:1 ratio for making raspberry jam, so whichever cup you use, for every cup of puree its one cup of sugar)

Once it becomes thick, it will start to look glossy… (it took about 7- 8 minutes to reach this stage) you may test to see if it has reached the gel stage. Scoop some jam with a cold spoon and if the  holds firm without slipping then that’s the right consistency.

Immediately switch off the heat and let it cool a bit. Then transfer to a sterilized jar. Jams stays good in room temperature for few days and if you plan to keep for couple of weeks then refrigerate.

Notes

• Jam are usually made with just sugar and fresh fruits. A few factors can affect your cooking time. The level of boiling, the sauce pan that you cook with and how thick you want your jam to be.
• If you like your jam little runny – then less cooking time, no need for lemon juice.
• If you like your jam firm – then long cooking time (over slow flame).
• If you want to make jam in less time and then gel up quickly then add lemon juice.
• Lemon juice gives you nice glossy finish and sheen for clear jams.