Prepare the BEST Raspberry Jam with my easy homemade from scratch Recipe.
Use fresh or frozen Raspberries and make this berry fruit jam your own.
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🫐 Ingredients
This is a French raspberry jam without pectin. I only add natural pectin to help to set the jam.
Raspberries
You can use fresh or frozen Raspberries.
I usually use frozen raspberries because we grow our own and we collect them one by one to use them all at once when there is enough.
Besides, you can just use the regular raspberry variety to make a red raspberry jam or the so-called white or golden raspberries to switch up things.
Only use healthy fruits and never use fruits that got bad a bit because when used will turn your jam bad real fast, even if you followed my recipe to the T!
Sugar
I use common regular all-purpose sugar and not special pectin enriched sugar to prepare this jam.
This is a french jam recipe (from my family) and we have a way of preparing the jam by adding natural pectin to make this raspberry preserves.
Lemon and Juice
I add lemon with juice and whole squeezed out lemon halves to the jam to add natural pectin to the jam.
This is optional but I totally recommend you do add lemon.
The lemon rind contains plenty of natural pectins which is extracted during the cooking process in the jam and lemon juice helps to set the jam as well.
Just make sure to add an untreated lemon which hasn't been sprayed with pesticides.
FYI, Organic doesn't mean that it's pesticide-free.
🔪 How to make it?
To prepare your own batch of raspberry jam is super easy.
Just follow my handy step by step guide below or get the full printable recipe at the bottom of the post.
Step 1
Wash your fruits to get rid of any impurities.
I use garden fresh raspberries and if there are worms in the berries, I add the fruits into the water with a dash of vinegar first to take out all creatures asap.
Step 2
Add the raspberries with the sugar, lemon juice, and lemon rinds into the jam cooking pot and mix well.
Take to the heat and bring to a rolling boil while stirring occasionally.
Cook further until jam appears translucent and until it has thickened.
Step 3
Test if the jam has set, pick out the lemon halves and discard.
Pour your hot jam into clean sterilized jars and close with a lid.
Turn upside down to create a vacuum.
Leave to cool ad store in a dry and cool place.
💭 FAQ
I have made countless fruit jams over the year with my family and alone in my kitchens in Asia and Europe.
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions that will help you with canning raspberry jam.
What's the Raspberry Jam Setting Temperature?
Your Raspberry jam sets at 220 Fahrenheit/ 105 Celsius.
Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature when you think your jam is done.
The set jam will still appear liquid when hot.
You can also do the jam setting test by dropping hot jam on an ice-cold plate.
The jam is set if it doesn't run on the plate.
Why won't my Raspberry Jam set?
Your raspberry jam setting is important, as it will preserve long over the months to come.
Your jam won't set if you didn't cook your jam long enough.
Your jam won't set either if the natural pectin quantity is less in your fruit.
Test if your jam is set after you have cooked it according to the instructions.
If it's still running, continue to cook a little more and repeat the test until it's right.
What is pectin and why do I need it?
In a nutshell, Pectin preserves your jam.
I add lemon juice and the squeezed-out lemon halves to add natural pectin which will help your jam to set faster and better.
This is a homemade raspberry jam recipe without artificial pectin, BUT I do use natural pectin found in fruits.
Another option is to use store-bought pectin sugar instead of regular sugar and the lemon as this will most definitely help in setting your jam.
Yet I do not use pectin sugar because it changes the taste and consistency of your jam and I think the jam appears artificial that way.
Besides, you can make do with regular sugar and pectin rich citrus fruits such as lemons.
Why is my raspberry jam stone hard?
Your jam is stone-hard if you cooked it past the setting temperature.
This would happen to me when I thought my jam wasn't set because jam when hot, still appears liquid.
Hence, why you should test your setting temperature with a thermometer and the setting plate test.
It's not that easy to fix a stone-hard jam!
You can take it back to the heat with water and mix it overheat a bit.
This jam, however, had to be consumed within weeks because it won't preserve that well because you had to add water to dilute it.
You can try to turn your stone hard jam into a fruit leather or other fruit candy too (depending on the consistency and fruit).
Jam canning cleanliness precautions
- Only work in a clean kitchen environment.
- Wash your hands repeatedly and use only healthy fruits.
- Make sure to use only clean sterilized jars and lids.
- You can sterilize your jars and lids by boiling them in water or by keeping them in the oven to kill all germs.
- Drop some rum or vodka into the lid to further kill all germs before closing the jam jar.
- Don't use corroded lids.
- Fill up your jar with jam up to the rim so to create a vacuum when locking the jars and turning them upside down.
These are all European jam canning precautions and they totally suffice.
Anything else, such as further sterilizing filled jam jars, is an extra and not something we do in Europe.
The latter is recommended by the USDA in the US.
How long will my raspberry jam last?
Follow all my steps exactly as described and work in a clean environment and your jam will last for over 10 months.
Store the jars in a dark, dry and cool environment.
Once you have opened the jam, store in the fridge and use up within weeks/a few months.
How to make seedless raspberry jam?
To make seedless raspberry jam, you will need to strain your jam after you have cooked and blend it.
Press the jam through a semi-fine sieve so that the seeds are left behind and your jam is free of seeds, or follow instructions for a seedless Raspberry Jam.
How to make a low sugar raspberry jam?
Sugar helps in setting and preserving your jam and this is why we add so much sugar.
When eating jam we only use about a teaspoon on a slice of bread.
Yet, if you want a low sugar jam you will need to reduce the sugar by half but the jam should be consumed soon.
This is a great option if you plan on preparing a smaller batch of jam to use in cookies and cakes such as Linzer cookies or Linzertorte.
👁️ More berry jams
- Blackberry Jam
- Strawberry Jam
- Lingonberry Jam
- Blueberry Jam
- Mulberry Jam by curiouscuisiniere.com
Dear Reader, did you make this easy Raspberry Jam?
📖 Recipe
BEST Raspberry Jam Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash your raspberries if they are fresh and add to the jam pot with the sugar and mix
- Squeeze out your lemon juice, pour juice over the fruits in the pot.
- Add your two lemon halves to the jam pot.
- Mix and take to the heat.
- Bring your jam to a rolling boil. Mix occasionally.
- Continue to cook your jam so that it gets reduced further. Your jam will turn translucent and it will thicken.
- Test with a candy thermometer if your jam is set. Your jam sets at 210° Fahrenheit/ 105° Celsius. And/or test by dropping some hot jam on an ice-cold plate. Move the plate around to see if the instantly cooled jam is still running. If it runs to continue the cooking process and repeat the test.
- Pick out the lemon halves of your jam and discard.
- You can blend your jam to the desired consistency by using a stick blender.
- Take your jam from the heat and fill up your jam jars with the hot jam up to the rim. Lock with the lid and turn the jam quickly upside down to create a vacuum.
- Turn your jars back and leave to cool down before you label them and store the jars in a dry and cool place away from sunlight.
Notes
- If your raspberries have worms (because garden fresh raspberries tend to have worms) add the berries to water with a dash of vinegar and mix to get rid of insects.
- Use only organic untreated lemon halves in your jam because you don’t want pesticides in your jam!
- 1 Teaspoon = one serving, 50 Teaspoons is about 1 ½ jars (roughly). Recommended use is 1 Teaspoon serving on a slice of bread.
- Can be stored for up to 10 months in a dry and cool place away from sun light. Keep in the fridge after opening the jam and use up within weeks.
