Description
I had a hypothesis here (don’t I sound like a scientist?). To avoid a potentially runny jam, I thought that surely a grated apple would help add natural pectin like it does in my blueberry pie recipe.
The recipe follows a pretty standard old-fashioned jam recipe but without the long cooking times and the addition of a slash of fresh lemon juice, because isn’t everything better with lemon juice? Yes.
Ingredients
Scale
- 5 cups mashed berries
- Half cup of grated apple (I used a honeycrisp but I’d bet a Granny Smith would be delightful as well)
- 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
- 3 1/3 C sugar in separate bowl
Instructions
- Measure 5 cups of prepared fruit and bring to a boil.
- Once fruit mixture has boiled for 2 minutes, add the sugar, grated apple, and lemon juice. Stir well.
Boil for two more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.- Pour into prepared jars without delay, leaving a 1/4 inch at the top.
- Wipe jar rims and tops, making sure no jam will mess with the proper seal. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw on tightly.
- Place jars in canner or if you just use a large pot of boiling water like I did, make sure that the jars are covered by an inch or two of water. Process by boiling for 15 minutes.
- After jars cool, check the seals by pressing the lids with your finger. If they spring back, the seal didn’t work and the jars will need to be stored in the fridge.
- Jars should seal once cooled and the jam will set once it’s cooled. It takes a little longer to set than the version with pectin.
- Using a permanent market, label your jams so you can remember when you made them and what went in them!
