Wild raspberry jam

**low-1** · 08-01-2011, 04:42 PM

Went out this afternoon to check and see how the raspberries are coming along. The first flush is just getting ripe now, so I picked myself half an ice cream pail.

So now I'm trying my hand at making raspberry jam. Just boiling up and sterilizing the jars right now, I'll be taking some pictures along the way!

Wish me luck, it's my first attempt at making jam. I found a recipe in the Purity cookbook (as well as several online) that are just raspberries and sugar, I don't have any Pectin or Certo.

**frugalfranny** · 08-01-2011, 04:54 PM

Good luck...........you will love it and if it turns out runny.........then you have great ice cream topping.

If all else fails......toss in a pack of jello. (cut back on sugar just a tad.)

**low-1** · 08-01-2011, 05:20 PM

Well, 4 cups of raspberries and 4 cups of sugar gave me 2 jam jars and one pickle jar full. Not sure what the proper sizes are, lol, my Mom gave me some jam, some salsa and some dill pickles, and I had some of the empty jars in the basement ready to go back to her.

The stuff left in the bottom of the pot is pretty jam-like, nice and thick, and oh so tasty! Out of the water bath now, 2 lids have already popped. So far, looks like a success!

**starsapphire** · 08-01-2011, 05:31 PM

Oh yum. If you have any leftovers you can send them my way. (As if!) LOL

**low-1** · 08-01-2011, 06:09 PM

Went out to a place called b-pit, it's an old gravel pit from when they were first building the dams out here back in the 60s. They dug down to the water table, now it's a nice big swimming hole. Had my buddies come out and help me sniff out the raspberries that grow everywhere around here

We found a whole bunch. Looked like they'd already been picked over once a few days ago, but there's still a whole bunch starting to ripen up.

Picked a handful of these guys too, not quite ready, but they will be soon. Wild blueberries:

Picked half an ice cream pail full.

Everything all washed up, and my little buddy ready to give me a hand.

All mashed up and ready to boil.

Jars and lids all ready for filling.

All filled up. Overestimated how many jars I needed, here's what I ended up with

Well, a good start. Now I have to go pick some more!

**pinetree** · 08-02-2011, 01:33 PM

Oh boy does that look good! Great job!

**starsapphire** · 08-02-2011, 01:48 PM

Time to whip up a batch of biscuits so you can test it out.

**starsapphire** · 08-02-2011, 01:49 PM

Time to whip up a batch of biscuits so you can test it out.

**low-1** · 08-02-2011, 02:06 PM

I was actually thinking some fresh bannock would be the ticket, making some up tonight. Gonna go check on the blueberries tonight, maybe try for a few fish as well.

**sarah326** · 08-02-2011, 03:25 PM

Sounds delicious! I have always wanted to make raspberry jam. You have inspired me to give it a try.

**low-1** · 08-02-2011, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by sarah326

Sounds delicious! I have always wanted to make raspberry jam. You have inspired me to give it a try.

It was extremely easy, just berries and sugar. This is the recipe/procedure I used. Old-Fashioned Raspberry Jam Recipe at Epicurious.com

I pressed/mashed the berries into the measuring cup. The times listed were very close, I think once I got the berries and sugar back up to a full boil, it was maybe 6 minutes. I used the "spoon test" they describe, and could pretty easily tell when it was syrup-y enough. My wife was cooking up some sweet and sour meatballs at the time and had the oven at 300F instead of the 250F they list for heating the sugar, so I only had it in for 10-12 minutes, can't imagine it made that much of a difference.

Between "toast samples" last night and breakfast this morning, it's pretty apparent that I'm going to have to go back out and pick lots more!