My friend and I spent a good part of the day, picking berries and veggies a couple of weeks ago.
During our trip, we were greeted by Aslan, who is more than willing to humour those of us who really want to get a dog (but have a husband who won't allow it).
Raspberries are my favourite berry to pick -- no kneeling, not too many bugs and easy to do a "one for me, one for the basket" (that's allowed, right?).
They also had Red Currants
and Black Currants, ready for picking.
After eating about 1/4 of the raspberries I picked, I figured I better preserve the rest.
I followed the Bernardin no-sugar pectin recipe, except I followed Craving Greens' advice of using honey to sweeten, rather than Splenda.
No Sugar Raspberry Jam
5 cup-sized jars
4 cups crushed raspberries
1 cup unsweetened apple or grape juice
1 package of No Sugar Needed Pectin
3/4 cup of honey or agave nectar, or 1 1/2 cup of all natural cane sugar (or omit altogether)
1/2 tsp butter (to reduce foaming)
In medium-sized saucepan, combine the crushed fruit and fruit juice.
Stir in butter (I excluded this and just skimmed the foam off) and the pectin until dissolved. Over high heat, bring mixture to a full boil, stirring frequently. If using, add the sweetener. Stirring constantly, return mixture to a full boil. Boil hard for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and skim off foam, if necessary. Fill and process jars leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Remove bubbles, wipe jar rim and place hot disc on clean rim. Screw band down until resistance is met.
Boil in canner for 10 minutes. Wait 5 minutes and remove jars without tilting. You should hear the lids pop as they seal. Cool upright for 24 hours and refrigerate any that has not sealed, for immediate use.
The jam smells and tastes delicious! I only added about 1/2 cup of honey. Next time, I'll probably be a bit more generous with the honey. But, I think I'll be sticking to the no-sugar pectin for the most part, because a one to one ratio of sugar to fruit just seems like too much sugar.
This dish is being shared with the Simple and In Season July Blog Event.
6 comments:
Your jam looks delicious, but I became a bit envious as I as I read through your post. I live in an area where berries abound but currants aren't grown. I have no idea why. It's a bummer. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
I dunno. I'm fairly certain jam was only invented as a way to eat sugar without people judging you for sticking your spoon straight into the bowl. Sugar-free jam seems blasphemous ;-)
I've been looking for two years for fresh currents!!!! Guess what I'm going to do this weekend!?!
I am all for the "one for me one for the basket" philisophy Psychgrad.
I've always refrained from the no sugar jams because I didn't want to use things like Splenda but if I can use honey then I want to try it!
I'm in the same dog spot as you. I want one & Matt says no. Well he does have allergies.
Thank you so much for entering this post into Simple and in Season. A round-up follows today! What a great, easy to make, recipe and a lovely day out!
Post a Comment