Quite simply, friends, there is no substitute for homemade jam. It is so ridiculously delicious. I would even go so far as to say it is one of the little things that make life extra special and worth the effort. I was very fortunate to grow up eating homemade jam as a girl; my mom was and still is a master jam maker! I am glad to be able to pass on the same gift to my own children-you haven’t had a true peanut butter and jelly sandwich until you’ve had it with your own homemade jam!
And I promise you, this method is EASY. If you can mix together fruit, sugar and pectin (one big bowl, one big spoon), you can make homemade jam. No cooking required, whatsoever! You won’t have to eat (or feed your family) preservatives and food coloring and whatever artificial ingredients can be hiding in the store-bought stuff. Plus, I promise you, the taste is beyond compare.
This spring, after our trip to the strawberry patch, Wynn and I made several batches of strawberry jam. Last week, with the first red raspberries of the season, we made our first of several batches of raspberry jam. Because raspberries are in season in so much of the country, I’m sharing the recipe and steps for homemade raspberry jam today, but you can use this incredible easy method of making jam (commonly referred to as “freezer jam”), with pretty much any kind of fresh fruit. Just embrace what’s in season!
If you are a mom, involve your children! Teach them where fresh food and ingredients come from. Show them how much God loves us-that he gives us gifts of red raspberries and sweet sugar!! Let your kids help mash the berries. Let them stir. Let them make a sticky mess and great memories.
{Easiest Homemade Raspberry Jam}
CRUSH raspberries thoroughly, using a potato masher. Measure exactly 2 cups of the mashed berries into a large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.
MIX pectin and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the pectin/lemon mixture to the raspberry mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)
FILL jam jars immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops and immediately cover with lids. Let jars of jam stand at room temperature 24 hours to set.
Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year.
Because blueberries are also in season, here is the link to a previous post I wrote on how to make homemade blueberry jam.
All photos in this post @Rare & Beautiful Treasures
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It is so worth it later in the year to have that yummy jam!
Pomona’s Pectin is a product I learned about in the last couple of years. You can use it in freezer jam, and with it you can sweeten with honey, agave, sugar or other sweetners. When I made it, it was about 1/4 cup honey in each jar of strawberry jam. Don’t feed honey-sweetened jam to babies or toddlers though!!
I make both strawberry and raspberry freezer jam every summer…so delicious!
I’d love to know where you got the small le bon lait milk bottles. I have the full size one and would love the small size as well.
It was an Etsy find, in the vintage section! Love those milk bottles!!
Mmmm…raspberry jam. My mom would always make a huge batch and stock our freezer for the rest of the year. Something about opening a fresh container felt like Mama love 🙂
Do you need a certain type,of jar to freeze or will regular canning jars be okay for the freezer?