Email to Cat      

Mixed-Berry Jam

Source of Recipe

From "It Starts with Fruit" by Jordan Champagne


Recipe Introduction

"This is a fun recipe that a bunch of friends invented when they wondered, 'What if we just mixed all the berries together?' Once you understand the principles of jam making and how to create your own recipes, you can do just that! We decided it would be fun to call the final product 'JamBoree Jam.' Mix it up!"

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 3 pounds strawberries (4 baskets), destemmed and cut into quarters
â—¦ 1 ½ pounds blackberries (2 baskets)
â—¦ 1 ½ pounds raspberries (2 baskets)
â—¦ 1 ½ pounds blueberries (3 baskets)
â—¦ 1 cup lemon juice
â—¦ Zest from 2 lemons
â—¦ 3 cups organic cane sugar


Recipe

• Day 1:

Make sure that the fruit you are using is freshly harvested and perfectly ripe or slightly underripe. The berries should be firm and shiny. Wash and thoroughly dry all of the fruit. (When I am mixing strawberries with other fruit, I cut them into quarters so that I won't need to mash them later; the other fruit can maintain its full size before cooking. It makes for a chunkier jam!) Mix the fruit in a large bowl and drizzle the lemon juice and zest evenly over the fruit. Pour the sugar evenly over the berries, cover, and let macerate at room temperature for 12 to 48 hours. If you are making this jam with a group of friends, you can skip the maceration stage — you just may have to cook it down a little bit longer!

• Day 2:

Place five plates in the freezer so they are ready for your gel test at the end. Prepare ten (8-ounce) jars for storing the finished jam. Put the contents in a nonreactive pot large enough so that it is no more than one-third full and place over high heat. You will need to boil on high heat and stir frequently to avoid scorching until the desired gelling point is reached. This mixed-berry jam can take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes to reach a medium jam consistency. Start your first gel test about 10 minutes after you begin cooking.

Once the jam reaches your desired consistency, remove it from the heat and fill the jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace at the top. Wipe the rims, apply the lids, and process in a hot water bath canner for 10 minutes. Jars will keep for up to one year.

Makes ten (8-ounce) jars



• Variation:
One time I was doing a daddy-daughter workshop, and they got excited about experimenting with this jam. What they came up with was AMAZING! So now I call this "Daddy-Daughter Jam."

Add juice and zest of 5 blood oranges on Day 1 in place of the lemon juice and zest. On day 2, add 5 cinnamon sticks when you begin boiling your jam. Place two star anise and 1 tablespoon of ground cardamom in a tea sachet and tightly tie it closed. Add the sachet to the pot of boiling fruit. Remove the cinnamon sticks and tea sachet when the jam is finished.