The Marigold Potager – A Zone 3 Prairie Garden

I was looking for a treat to make with my sourdough discard this week, and thought that some kind of raspberry streusel squares would be just the thing.

Our raspberry patch is very new, just two years old, is not yet producing tons of berries, but I was able to gather just about 3 cups of raspberries… enough to make a small batch of jam.

Small batch raspberry jam is quick and easy to make, taste amazingly fresh, very different from preserves. You can adjust this recipe to use up whatever amount of berries you have on hand. A scant 3 cups of fruit will fill 2 jam jars (2 x 250 ml/8oz mason jars). The berries will cook down as they set.

This jam needs no pectin and there is no need to hot water bath the jam. After it cools, you put it straight into the fridge or freezer.

It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare the jars and cook the jam. Easy peasy and hardly any clean up either.

Small batch jams are perfect for those of you who are like me – looking for quick, simple, less sugary and more fresh tasting.

This jam will be a bit less stiff than pectin jams, is a little bit runnier. Tastes so good, you will wonder why you haven’t been doing this all along. I know that is what I was thinking!

To gel (set up) no pectin jams, you want three things…

1. To cook for a longer amount of time, in this case, about 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Lemon juice. With low pectin fruits like raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, use more lemon juice, for medium pectin fruits, some lemon, and for high pectin fruits, no lemon needed.
3. About 60% as much sugar as you have berries.

I had 2 cups of raspberries, so used just over 1 cup of sugar. You can add more sugar if you want sweeter, but not less.

Ingredients & How To

• 2 cups of raspberries
• 1 heaping cup of sugar
• 1/2 medium sized lemon

Put the berries into the pot, add sugar and squeeze in the lemon juice. I used one whole lemon as it was on the smaller size. Remember to put your hand under the lemon as you squeeze the juice into the pot to catch any seeds that may come through … saves you from scooping them out of the berry mixture.

Turn up the temp to a high heat and bring to a boil. Cook on high for the first 5 minutes, stirring often. Skim off any foam and discard or add a dollop of butter. My mom always skimmed, so that is what I do.

Lower to a medium heat and cook jam for an additional 20 minutes, stirring regularly.

To check the set of the jam, drop some jam onto a chilled plate. If it sets up nicely to your liking, does not run all over the plate, it is ready.

Or, you can check for gelling by using a chilled spoon. Put a spoon in the freezer as you begin the cooking. When you are ready to check the set, pull it out of the freezer and dip it into the jam. If the jam drips off of the spoon in drops, it is not yet ready, a single glob means almost ready, but if it sticks and coats the back of the spoon, you are good to go. For looser jam, cook 5 minutes less (I like looser : )

*Optional – use a sieve to remove some of the seeds. I just wanted to reduce the amount of seeds, so I scooped them into a sieve, mashed them about a bit, then discarded the seeds. If you want to get rid of all the seeds, pour the jam into a sieve over top of a new pot, mash it through till you only have seeds left in the sieve.

I like to boil my jars for a bit, to make sure they are sterile, if the jar has been sitting on the shelf for a while. If it is straight from the dishwasher, I don’t bother.

Even though the jam is not going in the pantry, I want to make sure the jars are super clean.

Let the jam cool for 10 minutes, pour or scoop into clean mason jars, leaving 1 cm of headspace. Place in fridge where they will store for 3 – 4 weeks, or place in the freezer for up to 6 months.

*As an Amazon affiliate, if you buy an item(s) from one of the links, I get a small commission to support my blog. It does not cost you any more to purchase through my link than if you went to the link on your own : )

Enjoy your lovely, quick and easy, homemade jam on toast or on ice cream : ) … or make raspberry dessert bars! These Raspberry Sourdough Crumble Bars are a huge hit with hubs and the coffee ladies.