If you love jam on your toast, then you would like this homemade jam recipe. The berries season is in full swing, and they’re in abundance these days. What can you do with all those fresh berries? Well, you can make sweet berry jam for yourself and your kids. They will love this homemade jam recipe.
The recipe is super easy and doesn’t require fancy ingredients. All you need is lemon juice, sugar, and of course, berries. It takes only 30-minutes to make sweet delicious homemade jam.
Do I Need a Pectin?
Pectin is an ingredient that is used to make jam thick, and companies that produce jam uses this ingredient. But you can jam without pectin and jams made without pectin are a soft and bit looser. If you’re able to master this recipe, then you can jam with any fruit that you have on hand.
Let’s talk about the ingredients that you’ll need for homemade jam recipe.
Ingredients
- Fresh berries (blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries) – 1 pound
- Granulated sugar – ½ cup
- Lemon juice – 2 tbsp.
- Salt – pinch
Method
- Cut the berries into chunks and eliminate any damaged sections and leave a few spoons (metal) in the freezer.
- Take a large saucepan and place all the ingredients into a pan, i.e., lemon, berries, sugar, and salt. Place the pan over medium heat. Use potato masher or fork to mash the fruits.
- Cook the mixture, bring it to boil, and make sure to stir the mixture frequently. Continue boiling and keep an eye on the mixture, frequently stir until the mixture becomes thick.
- Now, its time to check the mixture that if it’s done. Remove metal spoon from the freezer, put few drops of the mixture on the spoon, wait for a few moments, and run your finger through the jam. If it leaves a track in a jam, it means your jam is ready, and if it’s runny, keep cooking. Repeat the test for few times for better results.
- When the jam is ready, transfer it into a glass jar, and cool it on room temperature. Set the date on the jar and store it in the fridge.
Usage & Storage of Homemade Jam
The recipe is about jam made with fresh fruits, and it doesn’t use any other ingredients which can increase its shelf life. You can place the jam in a jar and store it in the fridge and use it for up to three weeks. If you want to increase the shelf life of homemade jam, you can freeze it and use it for up to 3 months.
Moreover, you can use the jam as you want. You can use it on toast, biscuits, in peanut butter, fresh biscuits, crackers, and jelly sandwiches. The jam is ideal for muffin batter, pancakes, and fruit pies.
