#Juice jam support skin#

If it is set and doesn’t run you’re ready to go. Then, add a dollop to the back of one frozen spoon or ramekin and see if the jam thickens. So, use this trick to tell when jam has thickened: Set a few metal spoons or very small ceramic ramekins in the freezer when you start your cooking. Use a fine skimmer to skim the foam off and discard.īecause it only thickens once it cools, guessing when jam is thick enough to stop cooking can be a big question mark. Smash the berries with a whisk or wooden spoon as they cook to help them break down further.Ī foam will likely form on the top of the jam as it cooks. Blueberries deepen the flavor of the combination jam and add more pectin too.Īs the jam and sugar cooks together, the berries will macerate and begin to break down. But not to worry, it won’t make your jam darker. You may be wary of using blueberries in a red berry jam, thinking they’ll change the color of the jam. The riper the berry, the less pectin they will retain so the possibility of a thinner jam is there, but they’ll also be sweeter so you’ll need less sugar. The berries have natural pectin in them that thickens the jam after it cooks and cools, so there’s no need for adding extra. lemon juice: lemon juice not only adds a brightness to the jam but also helps the pectin develop and keeps the jam from botulism if canning.įor this jam I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.sugar: I use half the amount of sugar than other recipes I’ve seen.your favorite combination of berries including strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cherries (not a berry but still a favorite to add to the mix.).The simple ingredients for berry jam include: Taste test your mix once it’s started cooking and add more sugar if needed. If your berries are tart or underripe, you may need to add more sugar. For this batch I used 6 cups berries to 2 cups sugar.

Unlike what you may find at the grocery store, you know exactly what’s in it.īecause I like to use more ripe berries, I use 3 parts berries to 1 part sugar in my jam, eliminating the need for a lot of added sugar.

It’s so fresh and so good you’ll be finding yourself making it all of the time. Or, if you’re in the canning mode, double, triple, or quadruple the recipe where I’ve shared directions for canning the jam too. I can make it any night of the week while cooking dinner (or in the morning too) and keep in the fridge and eat until it’s gone. This easy jam makes it silly to think of getting your jam any other way.

#Juice jam support skin#

The berries may not look the same the day they went into the fridge-with a few more dimples and their skin beginning to look a bit withered-but that’s my signal that their sweetness just leveled up, making them perfectly ready for crunchy sourdough toast and this easy to make, sweet berry jam. Just because they may not be picture perfect is no reason for tossing them out. The thing is, homemade jam is the perfect remedy for those fresh berries that are at, or have just passed the point, of being perfectly ripe for snacking.

Who else finds themselves guilty of the best of healthy intentions and buys too many berries that then start to look like Yoda as they ripen faster than you can eat them? It’s okay, not to worry, there’s a remedy for that: Homemade jam.

Use up your almost over-the-hill berries for the sweetest homemade jam that cooks in just 20 minutes.