Classic Raspberry Jam

Prep Time : 15 Minutes | Cook Time : 30 Minutes | Total Time : 1 hour | Difficulty : Moderate

Hello my lovelies! I spent a lot of time thinking about a clever twist on raspberry jam for you. But then I realised that it’s such a staple in so many recipes that the best thing would be to share the recipe for the best raspberry jam imaginable. Perfectly set and packed with an insane amount of lip-smacking raspberry flavour. This recipe is a foundation for your own flavour twists. The best possible addition to cookies, slices, tarts and cakes. This recipe has only three ingredients plus water so good quality berries are a must. As is a good amount of lemon juice. Acidity does a lot of heavy lifting in jams and my number one trick for improving all your jams is to add more acid. It bumps up the freshness and flavour and it helps to set the pectin. Without enough sugar and enough acid your jams won’t set well.

I’m probably offending someone but I think frozen berries make excellent jam. So long as you can get your hands on a good brand and the berries come from an ethical source then go for it. Fresh berries are generally very expensive to make jams with especially in NZ so good quality frozen berries are your best friend. Because they’ve been frozen they also break down very quickly when you cook them which brings you even closer to delicious jammy goodness. You don’t want the berries to be too ripe as we are looking for a bright clear raspberry flavour. They also won’t contain as much pectin when they’re overripe and it will take longer to get your jam to set perfectly.

If you want to make a small amount of jam (say a half or quarter of this recipe) for quick use then don’t worry about the sterilising steps – just wash, rinse and dry your jars and store the jam in the fridge. We will be using this jam in a super decadent recipe next week so keep your eyes peeled..

As always we begin with sterilising out jars and getting our equipment ready. Thoroughly wash and rinse your jars and lids. Put the jars in a 120C (250F) oven. They will need to be kept above 100C for at least 10 minutes to make absolutely sure all the nasties are dead so do this first.

Put the lids in a heatproof bowl or jug and set aside. We will pour boiling water over these later. Lay out a folded tea towel next to the stove so you can put your hot jars there later. Put 2 or 3 small saucers or plates into the freezer to chill. We will use these to test if our jam is ready.

Put the raspberries, lemon juice and water into your pot or preserving pan.

Cook the raspbberries over a medium heat until they have broken down and become pulpy – about 10 minutes. You can encourage them to break down by smushing them with your wooden spoon or a vegetable masher.

Turn the heat right down and add the sugar.

Stir until all the sugar has dissolved. You will be able to hear and feel if there are sugar granules still floating around. It makes a scritchy sound on the bottom of the pot when you stir. When the sugar is dissolved turn the heat up to medium high and stop stirring.

The jam should be at a boil. Adjust the temperature up or down to get a steady boil. The jam will thicken and start to spatter as it get’s closer to being done so be careful to have long sleeves on and keep kiddos away.

Use your thermometer to keep track of the temperature. I like to use the wrinkle test as my final test that the jam is ready but the thermometer lets you know when it’s getting close. Once it starts to show above 103C then start testing for a set. Also boil your jug. It should take 10 to 15 minutes to reach a set.

To do this get one of your cold saucers out of the freezer. Drop a small spoonful of jam on it and pop it back in the freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam and see if it wrinkles up. If it does then the jam is ready. I forgot to snap the raspberry jam test so this slightly incongruous pic is of blackberry jam.

You can double check that the temperature of the jam is 104.5C to 105C. Now get your jars out of the oven carefully and place them on the folded towel. Pour boiling water over your lids.

Using a ladle or a small pyrex jug carefully fill the jars leaving 3-5 mm of space at the top. Use a clean paper towel dipped in boiling water to clean any drips of the rim of the jars.

Drain the lids and seal the jars. Hold the jars with a towel so you can make sure the lids are on tight. Leave the jars to cool before labelling and storing. You can easily label your jams with a gold or silver permanent marker – when the jars are empty just wipe the writing off with a little nail polish remover.

Now take your ruby red jars of gloriousness and bake all the things! Or make toast or whatever.

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