Don’t forget! Tomorrow is Pennywise Platter Thursday. I am looking forward to reading your frugal and nourishing ideas!
Sweet berries and raw honey are made into a brightly flavored jam that is raw and delicious! It’s the perfect jam for summer time. It was so nice to not only avoid using sugar, but also to avoid cooking the berries to death.
I have all sorts of planned uses for my jam. Spread on tarts and topped with fresh berries, perhaps? And there is nothing better than toast with butter and jam.
When there is an abundance of something, you store it up. At least that’s what was done traditionally. Jam is an easy way to “store” extra berries, but I’ve never gotten very into it because it’s so full of sugar. This recipe uses Pomona’s Universal Pectin which doesn’t rely on sugar to gel (I believe I heard about this brand from Sally Fallon in her book, Nourishing Traditions). This way, you can add whatever type of sweetener you want and add enough to make it sweet, without having to overdo it.
And let’s talk about cost. Buying high quality, organic jam can be quite expensive, and they are still often quite sweet (the fruit sweetened ones have fruit concentrate added to sweeten it). If you U-pick or pick up some local berries in season, and make your own jam, you will definitely save a lot of money. For just a little time, you will have not only saved money, but you will have some lovely jams to enjoy throughout the year ahead.
If you want to can your jam, there are also recipes in the Pomona’s Pectin instruction for doing so with cooked jam recipes. I did this last year, and it came out great.
Raw Berry Freezer Jam
I’ve given such a wide range on the sweetener because it will depend first on how sweet your berries are, and secondly on how sweet you want your jam.1 box of Pomona’s Universal Pectin
4 cups of washed berries, stemmed if needed (I used half strawberry and half raspberry)
1/4 cup of lemon or lime juice (optional, I didn’t use because my raspberries were quite tart)
1/3-1 cup of raw honey or sweetener of choice (I used a 1/3 cup)
3/4 cup of water
3 teaspoons pectin
4-12 teaspoons calcium water1-Make calcium water, using calcium from the Pomona’s packet and following instructions contained within it.
2-Heat water in a small saucepan until it reaches a boil. Put in a blender or a food processor and carefully blend this with the pectin for 1-2 minutes, or until it is dissolved.
3-Add fruit and honey and blend until well pureed.
4-Add 4 teaspoons of calcium water, blend, and then check to see if it’s jelling. If it doesn’t continue to add one teaspoon of calcium water until jell appears. This jam may be softer than a cooked jam. * I only needed to use 4 teaspoons of calcium water and jelled beautifully.
5-Spoon out your jam into clean, freezer safe containers and label them. Freeze what you want. Once taken out of the freezer the jam will last 2-3 weeks.
*If you can’t get your jam to jell “raw”, then you may have to heat it to make it jell. Bring to a boil and boil stirring for 1-2 minutes. Jells when cool.
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Perfect timing as I just picked black raspberries yesterday.
I was just looking for a more healthful jam recipe! Thanks!
Thank you for that! I am always curious about the sugar thing. Do you know if it is possible to make preserves or jam without sweetener, and still keep it in the pantry? Or does the sweetener do some preserving?
WOW! I JUST made a few batches of this exact jam last week! I was so excited to make it as it had so much less sweetner and it was raw. I tried to explain this to my family, but they just weren’t as excited as I was! Hehe!
We have all loved it!
Maybe I missed it on your post, but the instructions said that this jam will last one week once opened (defrosted). So enjoy quickly! =)
I have the fondest memories of my grandmother’s strawberry freezer jam . . . . I can’t wait to try this version–I’m sure it’s lower in sugar, too!
Thank you – I’d heard of this pectin, but it greatly helps me to have a recipe to work from. Is Pomona’s pectin available at N.S.??
Perfect timing. We just picked raspberries yesterday and I have been searching high and low for a raspberry jam recipe without sugar. Thank you!
Where do I buy Pomona’s Universal Pectin?
What is calcium water?
What is pectin water? and calcium water?
I too am wondering what calcium and pectin water are? Thanks!!!
I’ve used Pomona pectin to make my own “jello”. The consistency turned out just the way I’d expect gelatin to be and made for a great alternative to those sugar filled instant gelatin mixes. The recipes and easy to use instructions are in the package. I found this product at the local health food store.
Hey You All,
Gotta head to bed, but I know that a lot of you had questions. Just real quick, the “pectin water” was a typo, it should just be pectin. Both the pectin and the calcium powder (to make the calcium water) are in the package of Ponoma’s pectin. You can buy it at most health food stores, or online.
Goodnight!
Looks beautiful, Kimi, and so much healthier! It’s the perfect color for 4th of July. And, of course, I love any recipe that calls for honey from our bees.
Speaking of honey … hope you and others will participate in this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free! blog carnival. We can’t have too many blog carnivals to share great recipes IMHO.
Check out my theme here: http://glutenfreeeasily.com/july-go-ahead-honey-its-gluten-free/
Happy Independence Day!
Shirley
Hi Kimi – this sounds wonderful and not needing to sterilize the jars and so forth sounds even better! Thanks!
Thanks for all the diff. options! I love raspberry jam!
I have a couple apple trees in my yard and most of the apples get wasted. I wonder if someone could direct me to information about making jams, etc. so that I use up these apples!
This sounds so good! I’ve never liked traditional jams or jellies because they are just TOO sweet for me–what a great alternative! One question though– could you use frozen fruit? I have lots of frozen strawberries and blueberries (and actually some blackberries that need to be used up…) but no access to good fresh berries right now. Thanks!
Hi Sam,
You can definitely use frozen! Just let it defrost a bit before using.
In fact, the raspberries I used in this recipe were frozen!
I never thought of using honey! What a fab idea. I have some more fruit I was going to just make more freezer jam with, but I am going to try it with honey.
Thanks for the great idea!
Can I use peaches?
This worked great! I used partially defrosted strawberries, and sweetened with 2/3 cup sucanat. Wonderful, and SO easy. Thanks, Kimi!