Blueberry and Raspberry Jam – raspberries are among the most popular berries and, together with blueberries, the most suitable for making jams and marmalades.
You must know that usually the weekend shopping is done by my husband, he is a good housewife, he knows how to cook excellent dishes. The only thing is that every time he is about to cook, my kitchen ends up looking like a battlefield.
This weekend Gianfranco (my husband) returned home with raspberries and blueberries and we couldn’t find space in the fridge for the amount he bought.
So, I decided to make preserves!
What do I need for the Blueberry and Raspberry preserves?
Come to think of it, I have it all: sterilized jars, fruit, sugar, and lemon.
But do I need Pectin?
The answer is no because we find it in the fruit itself. Pectin is a carbohydrate that has thickening and gelling properties. Therefore, it is better to use the pectin of the fruit itself than to resort to the artificial one. The quantity also varies with the degree of ripeness of the fruit, so it is a variable percentage even within the same fruit we are using.
But the amount of pectin varies from fruit to fruit as you can see in the picture below.
As you can see, the berries I used have a very low amount of pectin, but despite everything, I didn’t buy pectin. Mostly because my children don’t like thick jams. But if you prefer thicker you can use the natural pectin that I recommend, it is pure citrus actin, and you can find it by clicking here on Amazon.
Which jars should I use?
I use hinged jars, but most people use jars with screw-on lids.
But the fundamental thing when we are preparing preserves and jams is to sterilize the glass jars that will eliminate the risk of botulinum.
If you are going to use hinged jars, always change the rubber seal (as I do). The sterilization technique I use is from my grandmother!
Sterilization of a pot
Take a tall pot and place a clean cloth inside to line it.
Place the jars inside with the opening facing upwards and space them by placing a cloth between one and the other so that they do not collide during boiling and do not break.
Put water until it completely covers the jars and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and let it boil for 30 minutes. In the last ten minutes, add the lids if the jars are not the hinged ones and the rubbers for the hinged jars.
After the time has elapsed, turn off the heat and let the jars cool in the pot with the water. When they have cooled, drain them upside down on a clean cloth or put them in the oven at 50 °C for a few minutes. Before use, they must be completely dry.
How to make delicious Blueberry and Raspberry jam.
To prepare the blueberry and raspberry jam, the first thing to do is wash the fruit. Wash the berries under running water and then dab them lightly with a cloth. At this point, take a saucepan and squeeze the berries with your hands so that the juice comes out and you will drop it back into the pan. Instead, you will transfer the squeezed berries to a bowl.
This step is essential. Extracting the juice from the fruit will favor the natural production of pectin and therefore the success of the recipe. When you have finished squeezing all the berries you can blend them using an immersion blender. Then transfer the blueberry and raspberry puree to the saucepan with the berry juice. Add the sugar and the juice from only one lemon. Stir lightly, cover with a lid and cook over low heat for an hour.
After the indicated cooking time, your blueberry and raspberry jam will have reached the desired density. Transfer the boiling jam to a previously sterilized jar. Then repeat the aforementioned sterilizing process but this time with the lid on.
Let them cool completely. At this point, your blueberry and raspberry jam is ready to be spread on a fragrant slice of toast. Once opened, keep the jar of blueberry and raspberry jam in the refrigerator for a few days.
Delicious Blueberry and Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
- 10.58 oz blueberries
- 7 oz raspberries
- 6 ¾ tbsp sugar
- 1 lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash the berries under running water and then dab them lightly with a cloth.
- Squeeze the berries with your hands so that the juice comes out and then drop it back into the saucepan.
- Transfer the squeezed berries to a bowl.
- Blend the squeezed berries using an immersion blender.
- Then transfer the blueberry and raspberry puree to a saucepan.
- Add the sugar and the juice from the one lemon.
- Stir lightly, cover with a lid and cook over low heat for an hour.
- Add the juice from the squeezed berries and cook over low heat for another 30 minutes.
- Transfer the boiling jam to the previously sterilized jar.
- Close the jar very tightly.
- Refer to the ‘Sterilization of a Pot’ and repeat the process but with the lid close this time for 30 minutes after boiling.
- After letting them cool completely.
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