Mixed Berry Quick Jam Recipes

MIXED BERRY JAM RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash a pint jar, but do not dry. Add about an inch of water to the jar and place in the microwave and on high for 2 minutes. Using jar grips, pour out the hot water and place jar on a clean towel until ready to pour in the jam.
• If you aren't planning on using temperature to know when the jam is ready to pour, then place a small saucer in the freezer.
• Rinse and weigh the berries. Add to a sauce pan with the lemon and sugar.
• Heat on low, stirring frequently until the sugar has melted.
• Increase the heat to medium and bring the jam to a boil, stirring frequently.
• Bring the jam to a full boil, stirring constantly. A full boil is a boil that cannot be stirred down. You may need to increase your heat level a bit to get there and to sustain the boil while you are stirring.
• Stir constantly at a full boil for 14 to 16 minutes. Test* @ 12 minutes, then cook another minute or two if needed OR at 14 minutes add a candy thermometer to the pot and use temperature to know when the jam is ready. Skim off any foam remaining on the surface of the jam.
• Remove from the heat and pour into the clean pint jar. Screw on the lid. Let cool, then refrigerate. This jam will keep in the refrigerator until you finish it off, which won't take long.

MIXED BERRY FREEZER JAM

Steps:

• Stir together the sugar, pectin and salt in a small bowl until combined. Mash the berries in a separate large bowl with a fork or potato masher until evenly and finely crushed; stir in the lemon juice.
• Add the sugar mixture to the berry mixture and stir until well combined and the sugar has fully dissolved, about 2 minutes (this will also help the pectin bloom). Ladle into a glass mason jar or other freezer-safe container and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes to set. Cover and store in the freezer for up to 1 year.

BERRY JAM

Steps:

• Toss berries and sugar together in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Let sit for at least 15 minutes and up to overnight, periodically tossing to coat and to dissolve the sugar. (This will help coax the juices out of the fruit.)
• Place a small plate in the refrigerator to chill. (You'll use this later.)
• Bring the fruit to a strong simmer over medium heat until the berries burst and the juices start to boil, about 15 minutes. If using a vanilla bean as an add-in, put it in the pot at this point.
• Increase the heat to medium-high. Cook the jam, at first stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or spatula, then more frequently as the juices thicken. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the fruit has begun to break down, 40 to 50 minutes. How much it breaks down will depend on its type and ripeness: For example, strawberries are likely to retain more of their shape, while raspberries will break down almost entirely.
• As the jam cooks, the liquid will reduce, the sugars thicken and the natural pectins activate. You'll notice the liquid go from a rapid, rolling boil with smaller bubbles to a slow, thick, tarlike boil with larger bubbles: This is the stage at which it's most important to stir constantly along the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching and sticking. (Sugar is heavier than water and will concentrate there, increasing the chance that the fruit will burn.) It's also the stage at which splattering may occur, so take care in stirring.
• Once the jam reaches a slow, thick boil, add lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam returns to its earlier consistency, about another 5 minutes. To test the consistency, spoon a bit of jam onto the chilled plate, return it to the refrigerator and chill for 2 minutes. Drag your finger through it: It should hold its shape on either side without appearing watery or runny. If it's not there yet, cook a few minutes more. (Note: Some fruit, like strawberries, contain more water and less natural pectin than say, a raspberry. This means the jam will never be quite as thick or gelled, but it will still be delicious).
• Remove from heat, and incorporate any of the add-ins listed (see notes). Pick out vanilla bean if you added it earlier. Divide jam between several 8-ounce canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space, and seal immediately. Can the jams (see our How to Make Jam guide for more instruction), or store in the refrigerator, using them within a couple of weeks.

TRI-BERRY JAM

Steps:

• Combine the berries and lemon juice in a stockpot; crush fruit slightly. Stir in pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar; return to a full rolling boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. , Remove from the heat; skim off any foam. Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

EASIEST MIXED BERRY JAM

Steps:

• Chop the frozen fruit from each bag into pea-sized chunks (you can mash the thawed fruit with a potato masher if you prefer larger fruit chunks in your jam - I don't, I like jam that has a chunky texture, but spreads easily).
• In a large pot, combine fruit and sugar.
• Bring mixture quickly over high heat to the gelling point (it actually takes quite a while, in excess of ten minutes - and stir constantly, or fruit will stick to the bottom and burn).
• After fruit has reached the gelling point (thick enough to slide, as one 'flake', from a cold spoon), remove from heat.
• Ladle into sterilized jars, apply seals and rings, and process for 15 minutes, with whole jars submerged at least 1-2 inches under boiling water.
• That's it! Six bags, six cups. Chop, mix, boil to the gelling point, fill jars, process, DONE, all in less than an hour.
• NOTE: the Ball Blue Book calls for 9 cups of "berries" (i.e., blackberries, young berries, dew berries, etc.,) - six 12 oz. bags of mixed berries yields slightly less, but approximately that much.

MIXED BERRY JAM

Steps:

• In a large pan, combine berries with sugar.
• Crush berries with a potato masher.
• Add lemon juice and lemon rind.
• Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that forms.
• Cook at a full boil until jam thickens, approximately 30 minutes (jelling point is 221F).
• While the berries are cooking, sterilize your jars and heat the seals in a pan of hot water.
• Pour jam into hot jars; wipe rims, place seals and screw on bands fingertip-tight.
• Process in a boiling water bath for five minutes; remove to a protected countertop and let cool, undisturbed for 24 hours.
• If any of the lids have not sealed, either re-process or store in the refrigerator and use those jars first.

MIXED BERRY JAM(NO PECTIN)

Steps:

• Steralize and dry a glass jar with a lid(approx 350gms capacity).
• Wash and blend berries into. A smooth liquid using a blender.
• Keep sugar and fresh lemon juice ready for use before you start.
• Seive the liquid into a thick bottom cooking pot or pan to get rid of seeds if.
• Keep on medium flame to start the cooking process.Stir in the sugar and lemon juice into the liquid and mix well. Keep stirring occasionally.
• Check for sweetness and adjust accordingly. A frothy layer while cooking the jam is common and can be ignored.
• Check with a steel or wooden spoon if the jam is thick enough. Incase if runny, you need to cook further.
• Transfer the hot jam into the glass jar and close the lid tightly and allow it to rest in a cool and dry place till it's set.
• Ideally 350gms of jam can be easily obtained from a mix of berries amounting to 500 gms within 25 minutes.
• This jam can stay good for 6 months and can be stored out in a cool place, however storing it in a refrigerator is an option too.