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Raspberry Lemon Jam

Source of Recipe

From "It Starts with Fruit" by Jordan Champagne


Recipe Introduction

"Once I was making raspberry jam at a workshop in a private home in Big Sur. The gardener happened to come into the kitchen and asked if he could taste our jam. He used his finger and remarked, 'What is that unique herb essence?' I discovered that he had spent the last hour harvesting thyme and had the essential oils on his hands. We added a few sprigs of thyme to our jam that day and delighted in the process of creativity and spontaneity!"

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 4 pounds raspberries
â—¦ Juice and zest of 4 lemons
â—¦ 2 cups organic cane sugar



Recipe

Day 1:
Raspberries easily get waterlogged and so I recommend washing them only if you think they need it. We are going to be boiling them down into jam, so do not worry about it for the sake of sanitation. If you do wash them, be sure to lay them out on a clean towel to dry. Put the raspberries in a large bowl and drizzle the lemon juice and zest evenly over the fruit. Pour the sugar evenly over the raspberries, cover, and let the fruit macerate at room temperature for 12 to 48 hours.

Day 2:
Put five plates in the freezer so they are ready for your gel test at the end. Prepare five 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. Bring the contents to a boil and continue boiling until the desired gel set is reached, 20 to 30 minutes. 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 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 five 8-ounce jars



• Variation:
To make Raspberry Thyme Jam, simply add 1 tablespoon of dried or fresh thyme leaves in the final stages of cooking. Add it directly to the pot or in a tea sachet. We added a few sprigs of fresh thyme from the garden, cooked the jam for 5 minutes more, and then removed the branches. There is no right or wrong way to do it!