Recipe Detail Page

1. Combine strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, sugar and lemon juice in a large, heavy non-reactive pot and stir to combine. Let stand for 1 hour or until sugar has mostly dissolved and juices have come out of berries.

2. Place 2 small plates in your refrigerator to chill (ensuring you always have a chilled plate ready).

3. Place pot on the stove over high heat and bring to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally (mixture will begin to foam way up). Turn heat down to medium and continue to boil, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until foam has decreased dramatically (this is one way to tell that jam is near setting point). Remove from heat.

4. Place a small spoonful of jam on a chilled plate and place in the freezer for 1-minute or until jam has cooled to room temperature.Push a finger into the edge of the jam. If it has formed a skin on top it will wrinkle as you push it—this tells you that the jam is done. If it still looks uniformly liquid, return pot to heat and continue boiling for up to 2 minutes longer, checking after every 30 seconds, or until jam has begun to set.
 
5. Remove pot from heat and use a large spoon to skim off any remaining foam. Let jam sit for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to keep fruit from floating to top of jam, then ladle into hot sterilized 1-cup (250-mL) canning jars leaving ¼ inch (5 mm) headroom. Wipe top edge of canning jars to make sure they are clean, then top with prepared 2-piece canning lids. Bring water in canning kettle to a boil. Place filled jars in canning kettle, cover with lid, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove jars of jam from canner and allow to cool. Do not worry if jam still looks very liquid in the finished jar—it should have firmed up within 24 hours.

Tips

1. Always pick flavourful fruit which is firm-ripe and blemish free. Overripe fruit will make your jam degrade faster. A little bit of slightly underripe fruit can be a positive too as it is higher in natural pectin and will help your jam to set more easily. Wash fruit just before using if necessary.

2. It is best to use a wide heavy pot like a large Dutch oven for making jam so that evaporation can happen before fruit overcooks, and the fruit doesn’t scorch while it’s boiling. It is better to make jam in small batches for these same reasons.

3. Watch your jam carefully. The time it takes to reach setting point may vary from year to year depending on the moisture content and the level of natural sugars your fruit contains.