My favorite jam, as a child and now, is raspberry jam! This is a low sugar alternative to the high fructose corn syrup that you buy in the grocery store.
I started this post in early June but with the death of my only sister and working on several side projects, I have been quite distracted in July! Now that it’s August 1st, I’ll get back to it!
Honestly, is there ANYTHING better on the entire planet than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with homemade raspberry jam? I think not! Seriously, I think not.
I have been doing posts lately with all these expensive ingredients… lobster, lamb, crabs, etc. etc. So today I was flipping through galleries of photos and came across these beauties and my mouth was literally salivating, reminiscent of Pavlov’s dog!
Perhaps because we are all out of raspberry jam (there is a grown woman sitting behind my computer literally pouting 🙂 ) and raspberry season will be upon us soon, I thought I would share this easy, low sugar jam with you all today!
My neighbor has orchards and small fruits and has a stand right down the road. When he has berries that are slightly past saleability he is generous enough to deliver them to me! (Of course, the free jam that he gets out of the deal probably doesn’t hurt!) I only pray he has a few quarts of rejects soon as he is getting $5 per PINT on the stand! Pray with me people!
So you can see that there are a few on the top that are starting to get moldy but the rest of the quart (yes I said quart, not pint) are still perfect! So I sort out the bad ones and then rinse them in cold water.
Canning gets a bad rap. It is so much easier than people are led to believe and the rewards are innumerable! Namely garden fresh produce all winter long!!
If you have a dishwasher, that is the easiest way to clean jars.
How to Make Raspberry Jam
Take them directly from the dishwasher to a water bath canning pot. Mine happens to have belonged to my husband’s Grandmother so it has seen lots of use! Used canning pots are readily available at garage sales and on Craigslist for peanuts.
Bring the canning pot to a boil on your biggest burner and boil jars for about 10-15 minutes to sterilize.
Sort and rinse raspberries in a colander.
Mash with a potato masher.
If you want seedless jam, mash the raspberries and then strain the juice through cheesecloth. If not, place them in a large pot and mash with a potato masher. Heat over high heat.
Measure sugar. I always make low sugar jam. If you do, make sure to use low sugar pectin.
I like Ball brand low sugar pectin. It comes in a 4.7 oz. container. You can make 23 half pints with one container so it is much cheaper!
Mix pectin with 1/2 c. sugar per 2 c. sugar used.
Add sugar mixed with the pectin. And stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil.
Don’t worry if it foams up. If there is foam left, you can skim it off but most of the time, the foam disappears after the cooking process is complete. You can add 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine to deter the mixture from foaming but read on to avoid the extra fat and calories.
Add the rest of the sugar all at once. Make sure your pot is large enough because at this stage it foams a lot! You don’t want it to boil over because you could get badly burned!
Bring the mixture back to a full rolling boil (one that can’t be stirred down) and boil for 1 minute.
You can see that once you have stirred it for the full 1 minute almost all of the foam is gone.
Pour the jam into hot, sterilized jars. A few years ago, I bought a set of canning tools that was less than $20 and it really is a time saver (not to mention a burn saver)
Fill the jars leaving a 1/4″ headspace. Cover with hot lids. Fingertip tighten the bands.
Place the jars in a water bath canning pot and process (boil) for 10 minutes. Increase processing time if you are over 1000 feet elevation. Turn off heat and let the jars sit in the hot water for another 5 minutes.
Remove jars to counter. You will hear the jars pop. This means they are sealed. Let them sit for 24 hours without disturbing to ensure the jam jells. After 24 hours check for seal. (Lid does not flex up and down when center is pressed.) If lid flexes the jam should be stored in the refrigerator.
For more information on canning practices, see here.
OK, now I am drooling all over the keyboard and anticipating quarts of berries!
I hope you like the recipe today for Low Sugar Raspberry Jam! Leave me a comment below and let me know if you make your own jams! If you do, you may like this Blueberry Jam or this Plum Jam!
Due to my background in horticulture, I had several readers request a tutorial on Vegetable Gardening. So if you have interest in the subject, these posts are packed full of information about how to get that big harvest by the end of the season! Don’t miss my How to Start a Garden Series! The first part is Planning Your Garden! Second is Preparing the Garden Site. The third is Choosing Plants and Planting Your Garden. The fourth is Garden Maintenance, and the last is Harvesting a Garden and Preserving the Harvest, this post has over 100 FREE recipes for preserving your harvest!
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Enjoy! And have fun cooking!
Xoxo,
Tools I Use to Make Low Sugar Raspberry Jam
Contains affiliate links, for full disclosure, see FTC Disclosure, here.
- Canning Pot
- canning tools
- low sugar pectin
- jelly jars
- adapted from Ball Recipes
- 1 1/3 c prepared fruit (about 1 pint fresh raspberries)
- 1/3 c water
- 1 1/2 Tbsp low sugar fruit pectin
- up to 1/2 c. sugar
- Prepare jars. Wash in hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Place directly in water bath canning pot. Cover clean jars with water about 2 inches above jars. Boil jars for 10 – 15 minutes to sterilize. Let jars sit in hot water until ready to fill.
- Place washed lids in a small saucepan and cover with boiling water. Let sit until ready to use. I also add my ladle and funnel to this pot to sterilize them. Sort, and rinse raspberries. Mash with potato masher. Add to 8 qt. sauce pan. Add water.
- Measure sugar and pectin. Add a few tablespoons of sugar to pectin.
- Bring raspberries to a boil and add pectin/ sugar mixture. Again bring to full boil (one that can’t be stirred down).
- Add the rest of sugar all at once. Bring to a full boil and boil for 1 full minute.
- Wipe rim of jars with clean paper towel and place lid on. Add band and tighten to fingertip tight.
- Place filled jars into canning pot and bring to boil. Low boil for 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat and allow to sit in water for 5 minutes.
- Check lids by pushing down in center. If lids flex up and down, the jar is not sealed and should be refrigerated.
- Jars that have sealed should be stored in a cool place for a year. (If it lasts that long!)
- This recipe makes 2 half pint jars jam.
Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you click the link and purchase something. See FTC Disclosure, here.
Originally Published 8/1/2016
Bintu
MMM homemade jam tastes so much better than shop bought and you have the satisfaction of making it yourself!
Binky
It really is remarkable how much tastier it is, isn’t it Bintu?
Laura
I wish I had all those fruits to can. Great tutorial, I will now go looking for a water bath canning pot hoping one day my garden produce will be enough for canning.
Binky
There’s a link to one on Amazon! You should be able to find there fairly cheap! Thanks, Laura! I hope your garden will produce lots!
Karen Bandy
Trying this today. Can I double the batch when preparing?
Binky
Oh, absolutely! You can do as many as your canning pot will hold, usually up to about 10 half pint jars! Let me know how you like it! Thanks, Karen!
charissa mendez
I just made 8 batches. It made 5.5 pints. It’s Delicious! Thank you for the recipe, it’s definitely a keeper!
Binky
I’m so glad that you like it! Where did you get the raspberries this time of year? I wish I had some! Thank you Charissa!