Recipe: Low Sugar Raspberry Jam

In this crazy, fast-paced, fast food world, it’s sometimes nice to take the long way ’round. It’s so easy to not think about where our food comes from, and I think that having the vague feeling that food comes wrapped up in plastic on a grocery store shelf somehow takes away some of the nourishing aspects of eating. Every now and then, I like to take it way back…growing vegetables in our garden is a great way to see what really goes into creating dinner. But you can’t always grow all the kinds of fruit and vegetables you’d like, which is why one of my favorite family traditions is picking fresh raspberries with the kids from a pick-your-own farm. We drive out to the farm, spend a morning picking away with the warm sun on our shoulders, and then come home to can fresh raspberry jam. If you’ve never tried raspberry jam made without much sugar, you’re in for a real treat. The full flavor of the berries makes this jam so much better than the store-bought variety! Traditional jam recipes call for more sugar than berries, and you lose so much of the real flavor of the fruit that way.

A low sugar jam recipe makes the fruit shine!

The farm that we visit  has a blog, and we have had a wonderful time following the adventures of the family that owns it. We’ve gotten to read about how much work goes into taking care of the raspberries, and watch as the family experiences the ups and downs of farm life (one year, their house burned down and had to be rebuilt). They also post hints on picking, storing, and preparing raspberries as well as some great recipes! There’s no better place to get this kind of information than right from the farm. We often bring friends to pick and can with us…the more the merrier!

After picking, we weigh the berries and pay for them. One of the great things about a pick your own farm is that you’ll be getting your produce for so much less than at a store! We drove home with 18 pounds of fresh, delicious berries ripened under the sun, not in a factory truck.

In the past, it’s been tough to avoid eating so many fresh berries that our jam supply dwindles.  I’ve learned to plan ahead for that, and save a few pounds for snacking! Once we get home, we carefully wash the berries. A few bugs, sticks and leaves hitch a ride home on the berries, so it’s good to sort through them and make sure they’re clean. There’s nothing more delicious than fresh, ripe raspberries!

Once your berries are ready, it’s time to make jam.

There are many different ways to make jam, and you can choose to freeze or can the end result. Jam requires three basic things…fruit, sweetener (or not, up to you) and pectin. If you are not using much sweetener, you’ll need to be sure to use a pectin that will work with your recipe. One issue that I’ve run into when making jam is that you can’t find a store-bought pectin that’s organic! This is really frustrating (anyone know of one? Anyone want to start producing one?) and it leaves you with a dilemma…do you use a pectin that’s not organic but is all natural and GMO free (like this) or do you bypass the store-bought pectin and make your own? You can make pectin from green apples (unripe green apples work the best) by following the instructions found here. You’ll have to experiment, however, with the amount of homemade pectin you need for each batch of jam…I haven’t found a way around this. The recipe in the link above explains how to test the jam to see if you’ve got enough pectin. Or, you can skip the pectin altogether and use more sugar, which is kind of a bummer but you’ll have to decide which is the lesser of two evils (and, even though it’s more sugar than the pectin recipes use, it’s still far less than a traditional recipe). I’ll share 3 ways you can make low sugar raspberry jam in the recipe below, and you can choose the one that you’re most comfortable with. Whichever one you choose, you’ll be amazed by how wonderful fresh raspberry jam tastes when it’s not full of sugar! But once you try it, beware…my kids won’t eat store-bought jam any more, because it just doesn’t taste right after you’ve had the “real thing.”

Low Sugar Raspberry Jam

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Jam doesn't have to be super loaded with sugar to be delicious - this low sugar raspberry jam is perfect for all our jam needs.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• For all natural, non GMO pectin (url href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AIXRMT6?&tag=tyb060c-20" target="_blank"]like this[/url) adapted from this recipe
• 4 cups organic, ripe raspberries
• 2 teaspoons calcium water
• 2 Tablespoons organic lemon juice
• 1/2 cup organic raw honey, or 1 cup organic evaporated cane juice
• 2 teaspoons pectin powder

For homemade pectin...use [url href="http://www.pickyourown.org/makeyourownpectin.htm" target="_blank"]this recipe[/url] and adjust as described.

• 4 cups organic, ripe raspberries
• 2 Tablespoons organic lemon juice
• 1 cup organic raw honey, or 1 1/2 cups organic evaporated cane juice (evaporated cane juice works best for this one)
• 4 Tablespoons of homemade pectin, to begin with. Add and test as described in the pectin recipe in the link above, until your jam sets.

For jam made without pectin...from [url href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirabai-holland/easy-homemade-jam-no-gunk_b_3535820.html" target="_blank"]this recipe[/url]

• 5 cups organic, ripe (not overripe) raspberries
• 2 1/2 cups organic evaporated cane juice

Instructions

For recipes using pectin or homemade pectin:

1. Mix berries, lemon juice, and calcium water (if using) together in a large pot. Mash berries with a potato masher or whisk until you reach the desired consistency (I like mine a little chunky). Stir together well.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the sweetener and the pectin. Set aside.
3. Bring the berry mixture to a boil on the stovetop. Mix in the sweetener/pectin mixture and bring back to a boil, boiling for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from heat. If you're using homemade pectin, test the jam by dropping a little on a plate that's been in the freezer, or in a cold spoon as described in the homemade pectin recipe. If your jam does not set, add more pectin to the jam and try again.
4. Pour jam into sterilized 8 ounce canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe the mouth of the jars clean, and fit with sterilized lids and rings. Or, put jam in freezer containers and freeze.
5. Process in a water canner for 10 minutes, adjust for altitude by adding 1 minute for every 1000 feet altitude above sea level.
6. Remove from water, allow to cool on the counter (leave room between each jar and don't disturb them for several hours as they cool). Check that the seals have formed properly by pressing on the center of each lid, it should be sucked down and not give at all. Reprocess any cans that don't seal, or pop them in the fridge and eat them first.

If you're using the no-pectin method:

1. Mash together berries and sugar in a large pot. With the heat on high, stir the jam for the first 5 minutes. Then, lower the heat to medium and stir constantly for 20-25 minutes.
2. After 20 minutes, test the jam by dropping a bit on a plate that's been in the freezer. If it sets up, it's ready to go. If not, cook and stir for longer...testing every 5 minutes.
3. Once the jam sets, proceed as above to can, or put it in freezer containers to freeze.

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Have you tried homemade jam? What method works for you?

Photography by Jennifer Leung Johnson

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