This simple, traditional recipe only needs three ingredients and is super easy to make! Homemade jam is definitely better than store-bought because there are no additives, artificial preservatives, or thickeners!
Let’s get started! You only need Raspberry, sugar, and fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Wash and thoroughly dry the raspberries.
Add the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice to a pot and mix well.
Turn the heat on low, stir until the sugar dissolves and then increase the heat to high, let it comes to a rolling boil.
Once it comes to a boil, let it boil for a few minutes then turn the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. (Meanwhile, put a glass plate in the fridge or freezer to chill. We will use that to test the jam later.)
If you want to, you can use a potato masher to mash the raspberry at this point. Personally, I don’t think it’s needed for raspberry. If I see some bigger chunks in there I will simply mash it with the spatula. Let it simmer and stir it frequently.
When we cook it slowly at low heat, this is where the pectin will be activated naturally and thickens the jam. The key ingredient is the fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Pectin needs acid and sugar to do the job of gelling properly. Acid helps extract pectin from fruit during gentle simmering and helps the gelling process.
After cooking for about 15 minutes. I’m going to test and see if this is done. Take the chilled plate out from the fridge. Scoop a little bit of jam on there and wait for a couple of seconds. Then push the jam gently and if you see it wrinkles, like so, that means it’s done!
If it is still quite runny then boil the jam a little longer. Another way to check is to draw a line in the middle, and if the jam holds the line then it means it’s done!
Pour the jam into sterilized jars. The jam will thicken a little more as they cool.
Let it cool to room temperature before putting the lid on and put them in the fridge. And this is now completed! You can make all sorts of fruit jam with this method.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Raspberry
- 2/3 cup sugar (You can use as much as 1-1/2 cup sugar, or as low as ½ cup)
- 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
General Sugar to Fruit Ratio for Fruit Jam: For every 1 pound (450g) of fruit, you need 1 cup of sugar.
Tutorial Video: