Gluten Free & God Seeking

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

You Can Do It Yourself! How to Make & Can Your Own Raspberry Jam


Last Saturday we headed out with our three international students to a nearby farm to pick blueberries and raspberries. It was as you can see a beautiful Northwest day. This was a first for them, and they told us they enjoyed it. 

For me there's always that element of connecting to my family's farming heritage. Every part of it I enjoy--from the working in the hot sun to the hours it takes to process the fruit.  And just like my grandmother used to do with us, I promised to make them them a berry crisp the next day,  which I will share in a post later this week!


 
Making & Canning Low Sugar Raspberry Jam

1. Prepare fruit
(1)   Gently mash a layer of prepared fresh/frozen raspberries in a flat pan or container. I read on an instruction sheet that you have to use a masher and not a food processor because if you do you will break down the fruit's natural pectin preventing it from setting up right.
(2)   After mashing, measure into a saucepan 5 cups of mashed berries (which the instructions for Ball No Sugar Needed Pectin says will take 10 cups of whole berries). This will make six  8 oz. jars of jam.
 
2. Get the canner ready: Fill your water bath canner with enough water to cover the jars and bring it to a boil because this takes about 30-40 minutes.

3. Prepare jars

(1)  Wash the canning jars you will need in hot sudsy water. 
(2)  After they’ve been rinsed, fill them with hot water until they’re needed. This will keep the jars from breaking when they’re filled with the hot jam.

4. Into the saucepan add:
(1) The 5 cups of mashed berries.

(2) Stir into the berries 1 cup of apple/white grape juice made from concentrate or 1 cup of water or frozen apple juice concentrate (straight out of can). 

(3) Stir  1 package of Ball No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin with 1/4 cup of the sugar you will use for the jam. Whisk to remove lumps. 

(4) Add 1 tsp. of butter to reduce foaming. 

(5)   Bring this mixture to a full rolling boil (one that cannot be stirred down) over medium high heat. Stir the jam constantly so it doesn't scorch!

(6) If you want to add sugar:  You don’t have to add any sugar to this kind of pectin to get it to set, but the instructions say the lack of sugar will affect the appearance and the taste will be a bit tart.
1.  Taste the jam to see how much sugar you want to add—this can be from nothing up to 3 cups. 
2.  When I made my jam a few weeks ago, it was still a tiny bit tart, so I removed the pan from the stove and skimmed off any foam, and then I stirred in ¾ cup of sugar. It was perfect, just the right amount without overpowering the berries. 
3.  If you add sugar, let the jam come back to a boil for one minute stir constantly so it doesn't scorch. Remove any foam on the top. 

5. Prepare lids: 
(1)   Put about 1-2 cups of water in a small saucepan and let it come to a boil.
(2)   Put the lids into the pan when the jam starts to boil, but make sure the water in the pan the lid goes in doesn’t start to boil. One site said this could make the seal not work as effectively.
 
6. Ladle the jam into the jars
(1)   Empty the jars as you need them of their hot water, and then ladle in the jam leaving about ¼” space. 
(2)  Wipe the rim and threads clean with a damp cloth. If you leave something on the lid, it might prevent a good seal from forming.

7. Put on the lid and screw on the band:  Put the lid on the jar and hold it steady with your fingertip while you screw on the band until it’s what they call fingertip tight (which means don’t overdo it!). I am using the picture from when I made applesauce.

8. Finish the rest of the jars: Go through steps 6 & 7 until all the jam is gone.

9. Process in the canner
(1)   When the water is boiling in the canner, put the jars in one by one with the jar lifter. 
(2)  Make sure they don’t touch each other on the rack. 
(3)   Add more hot water if it doesn’t cover the top of the jars. 
(4)   Put the lid on the canner and process jam for 10 minutes—you count the time when it comes to a full rolling boil. Follow altitude directions on your pectin package.
(5)  Let jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes before removing.

10. Remove jars: Use the lifter to remove each jar and sit them on a flat surface to cool. Do not touch the jars or the bands for 12-24 hours! If you do, you may break the seal.

11. Test seals
(1)   A good seal:  The next day you can check the seals by pressing the center of each lid. If the lid doesn’t flex up and down, it’s sealed.
(2)  A bad seal: If a jar didn’t seal, you can put the jam in the refrigerator for 3 weeks or you can reprocess it with a new lid for 10 minutes.

12. Clean jars & remove bands: Wipe down the jars and remove the bands. Store the jam in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Homemade Jam makes a nice gift!

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