This simple and delicious jam recipe utilizes the natural pectin found in cranberries, along with a touch of fresh-squeezed lemon juice to set. It’s not only delicious on grain-free toast, biscuits and granola, but it’s also absolutely perfecto for making fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt.
Refrigerator jam also makes a wonderful gift-in-a-jar! Simply add some decorative ribbon and a gift tag, and you have a thoughtful homemade gift to share with your family and friends!
Recipe Variation: You can create virtually any jam of your choice following the simple method outlined in my “Honey Sweetened Fruit Preserves” recipe, such as delicious raspberry preserves, strawberry jam or my personal favorite – blackberry preserves. Yum!
This simple and delicious jam recipe utilizes the natural pectin found in cranberries, along with a touch of fresh-squeezed lemon juice to set.
This recipe makes four 8oz jars of jam. You can then place one of the jars in the fridge to enjoy now, and freeze the remaining jars for future use. Or add decorative ribbon and gift tags to create a thoughtful homemade gift-in-a-jar!
Jumble Berry Jam is not only delicious on grain-free toast, biscuits and granola, but it’s also absolutely perfecto in yogurt too!
Ingredients
- 2 cups quartered, fresh or frozen organic strawberries (approximately 1 lb.)
- 1 cup fresh or frozen organic blackberries
- 1 cup fresh or frozen organic blueberries
- 1 cup frozen whole organic cranberries
- 1 to 1 1/4 cup pure honey (depending on how sweet you prefer your jam)
- Juice of half a lemon (about 1 tbsp)
Instructions
- Please note: If using whole frozen strawberries, allow to thaw completely and then use your hands to break them into small pieces. If using fresh strawberries, remove the stems and quarter them before measuring out 2 cups. Then cut the blackberries in half before measuring. No need to cut the blueberries and cranberries.
- In a medium saucepan over medium/medium-high heat, bring the berries and honey to a boil while stirring. Then, reduce the temperature until the mixture remains at a constant simmer. Allow berries to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once you reach the 20-minute mark, use the back of a wooden spoon to mash the cranberries against the side of the saucepan. This helps to release all of their natural pectin.
- Maintain a gentle simmer, making sure to stir the mixture frequently, so it does not scorch. While stirring, use the "back-of-spoon" method to break up any large pieces of fruit into smaller pieces. Or if you prefer a less chunky jam, thoroughly mash all of the berries.
- After 10 minutes, if the mixture is somewhat thick and no longer runny, turn off the heat. It will thicken more as it cools. If it is not thick enough, continue cooking at a gentle simmer, while stirring constantly until it thickens a bit more, then turn off the heat. (Keep in mind, preserves are looser than jellies, so once the mixture is chilled, it will be thick, but not gelatin-like.)
- Pour the fresh-squeezed lemon juice over the warm preserves, stir well and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- Evenly distribute the cooled preserves among four 8 oz. glass jars making sure to leave about an inch of space between the top of the jam and the jar lid to accommodate for expansion. Then, cover and refrigerate or freeze.
- Because homemade jam does not contain any preservatives, I recommend placing one jar in the fridge to enjoy now, and freeze the three remaining jars for future use. (Recipe inspired by Everyday Grain Free.)
Notes
Recipe Variation: You can create virtually any jam of your choice following the simple method outlined in my "Honey Sweetened Fruit Preserves" recipe, such as delicious raspberry preserves, strawberry jam or my personal favorite – blackberry preserves. Yum!
How do you keep your glass jars from busting once they are frozen?
Hi, Hanna! I have heard that some people have this issue. I guess I must be blessed because I make many types of jam, including a delicious fresh peach jam that I’ll be sharing soon, and I haven’t had a “Ball” brand jam jar bust on me so far. I always make sure to leave about an inch of space between the top of the jam and the jar lid to accommodate for expansion. Here are the ones I use for freezer jam: http://www.target.com/p/ball-4ct-platinum-wide-mouth-jars-8oz/-/A-12911515#?lnk=sc_qi_detailbutton Hope this helps! Blessings, Kelly 🙂
Hi Kelly,
Could dried cranberries work in this recipe?
Thanks,
Sam
Hi, Sam. Dried cranberries do not contain the pectin in an available form that is required for this recipe to work (jell properly). And they would leave an undesirable chewy effect in your jam. If you cannot locate whole raw cranberries (usually in the freezer section of most markets), then I would advise to use an all-natural, low-sugar pectin instead, such as Pomona’s. You can see the process for using pectin in my Peach Preserves post here: http://thenourishinghome.com/2012/08/perfectly-easy-peach-preserves-gf/
Lots of blessings, Kelly
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for your response. Just wondering if I could use substitutes to create the jelly effect, such as arrowroot or cornstarch (organic)?
Thanks,
Sam
Hi, Sam. Yes, I know some do use arrowroot to make jam, such as this example from Elana’s Pantry.
http://www.elanaspantry.com/vanilla-plum-jam/
Blessings, Kelly
I’m not a big fan of chunks of fruit (I’m actually trying this as a replacement for jelly, which is mostly fruit juice), so I’m wondering if I could potentially run it through the food processor to get a smooth consistency. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Hi, Ashley. Yes, during step 3 in the recipe instructions, you could use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender or food processor to blend to the desired consistency, then return to the stockpot and continue as directed. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Blessings, Kelly 🙂
Thanks Kelly! I just finished a batch and it is cooling now. It doesn’t seem to be thickening into that jelly-like consistency (it’s just like a thick sauce). Maybe I just haven’t waited long enough, but if it doesn’t thicken, do you have any suggestions for how to fix it? I would even be willing to add pectin or something else at this point just to save it. I really don’t want to waste all those ingredients! Thanks so much!
Hi, Ashley, I wanted to let you know that it should be the consistency of fruit preserves, not jelly. So it won’t be a super thick jell, but will be like the photo of the toast – a thickened fruit preserve. If it’s not as thick as you’d like, and you followed all the directions and used the ingredients listed without substitutions, then you may need to simply allow the mixture to simmer a bit longer on the stovetop at a low temp so more of the liquids can cook out of the preserves.
Or yes, you could add a bit of pectin to the preserves. In which case, I’d recommend using Pomona’s Pectin since it works will with no-sugar, low-sugar recipes. Here’s a link to their site for details: http://www.pomonapectin.com/ I use this for making peach preserves (you can find the recipe here: http://thenourishinghome.com/2012/08/perfectly-easy-peach-preserves-gf/).
I hope this helps. Many blessings, Kelly 🙂
Thanks for your suggestions! I did replace half the honey with date paste. I’m wondering if that, or the processing in the blender, affected the recipe. I tried simmering a bit longer, but still just have a thick sauce. I realized it will be great to flavor yogurt and I’m sure I can find some other uses so it doesn’t go to waste. I’ll try the exact recipe next time and hopefully have better luck! Thanks again!
Yes, the date paste is most likely the culprit here. And that is a super idea to use it to flavor yogurt. We do that all the time with homemade preserves: http://thenourishinghome.com/2012/03/fruit-on-the-bottom-and-top-yogurt/ Blessings, Kelly 🙂