10 Minute Raspberry Jam Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the ratio of sugar to berries when making jam? ›

The amount of sugar you need to make jam depends on the amount of pectin in your chosen fruit, but generally the fruit-to-sugar ratio for traditional jams is 1:1 (ie. 450g/1lb sugar to 450g/1lb fruit).

The Magic of Macerating

One of my favorite tricks for jam-making is macerating the fruit first. Macerating is the process of coating the fruit in sugar and letting it rest for a few hours or overnight, which pulls some of the juice out of the fruit and creates a syrup with the sugar.

Once the jam reaches a slow, thick boil, add lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam returns to its earlier consistency, about another 5 minutes.

The ratio between fruit and sugar varies: with sweet fruits, it's about 2:1 (2 kilos of fruit, 1 of sugar), while with more bitter fruits like oranges, it should be more like 3:2. If uncertain, it's better to round up with the sugar. The other potential ingredients – lemon and pectin – are found in many jam recipes.

Sadly, sugar plays a huge role in set. If you cut the amount in the recipe and you don't compensate with a pectin designed for low sugar preserving, your jam may well be runny.

If, on the other hand, the jam is rock solid, that means you've gone too far and cooked it too long. You can try adding a little water to thin it out, but bear in mind that after overcooking a jam, you can't really get those fresh fruit flavors back.

You can also let the spoonful of jam sit on the cold plate for 30 seconds and then push it with your spoon or finger. If it wrinkles up, you've reached your setting point. TIP: Use a white plate so you can see the jam clearly. A darker plate or patterned plate may give you the impression your jam is set when it is not.

5. Do Not Stir Once Mixture Is Boiling. Once your jam/marmalade it has reached a rapid rolling boil do not stir it. Stirring it will alter the temperature of the jam/marmalade meaning it will take longer to reach the setting point.

If you aren't using pectin as a thickener, the sugar as well as the cornstarch slurry will work to thicken quite well. Feel free to add more for an even thicker jam.

What is the best sugar for jam? ›

I prefer to make jam using normal granulated sugar or caster sugar. However, you can also use sugar with pectin added (also called “jam sugar“), and I find this sugar is most useful when you are making jam with fruit which contain low amounts of natural pectin.

You can use bottled lemon juice or fresh. However, I personally look to use other complementary juices to certain fruit jams. Rather than rely on lemon juice I would for example use redcurrant juice from fresh redcurrants in a strawberry jam instead, or an acidic type of apple and apple juice in a blackberry jam etc.

It's Not Only About Pectin

There's another reason why lemon juice is added to most jam recipes: for safe canning and to prevent the growth of bacteria. Bringing the pH level down means jars can be sealed in a regular boiling water bath in a reasonable amount of time (sometimes as little as 10 minutes).

Cooking any mixture of fruit and sugar long enough will result in a jam that will set up in your canning jars. But longer cooking times can mean over-processed flavor, darkened color and a lower yield. Adding pectin allows you to cook jam for a much shorter time, which may result in the jam of your dreams.

(2)Most jam recipes call for a 1:1 ratio of fruit to sugar. I usually use a 75 % ratio, or 1 ½ pounds of sugar to every 2 pounds of fruit, unless the fruit is not very sweet, in which case, I adjust accordingly.

Top tips for making jellies

These are clear jams without 'bits' in them, made by boiling strained fruit juice with sugar. They're best made with fruits high in pectin, though if your fruit isn't, combine with a fruit that is, like apples and gooseberries. To every 600ml of juice, add 450g sugar.

To Make Jelly: Use no more than 6 to 8 cups of extracted fruit juice at a time. Double batches do not always gel properly. Measure juice and sugar. When a recipe is not available, try using ¾ cups sugar for each 1 cup of juice.

Jam Definition

To legally be called a jam, the recipe must contain a minimum of 60% sugars (including natural fruit sugar and added sugar).