It’s berry-picking season! Capture the flavor of summer all year long by turning your piles of berries into jams and jellies. There are several ways to make jam: You can stick to the traditional route and sterilize your jars and vacuum seal them. Or, you can keep your jam in your freezer and skip a few steps. Even faster, you can cook and thicken the berries into a quick jam that lasts in your refrigerator for three weeks. Review these recipes for everything from peach-rosemary jam to blueberry refrigerator jam for all the information you need to start jamming!
Quick tip: Sometimes your grocers or farmers’ market have extra berries that may not be good for eating but are perfect for canning. These are often available at steep discounts.
Raspberry Jam
The next time raspberries are on sale at your local farmers’ market, buy plenty of extras. Wash the berries well before adding them to a pot along with sugar and fruit pectin. You’ll need to add the cooked berries into sterilized half-pint canning jars to complete this basic recipe for raspberry jam from Better Homes and Gardens.
Peach-Rosemary Jam
Take your jam to the next level by adding in mellow spices for a gourmet taste that also makes for a great gift for friends. This recipe for peach-rosemary jam from Martha Stewart pumps up the sweetness of peaches with the earthy flavor of rosemary.
Caramel Apple Jam
This recipe for caramel apple jam from Taste of Home will remind your kids of a sweet dessert. You can use it to top vanilla ice cream for an after-dinner treat – or as the perfect addition to a piece of toast in the morning.
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Confused about how to sterilize canning jars and how to vacuum seal them? No worries. Instead, try this 30-minute recipe for strawberry freezer jam from Kraft. Keep the jam in the freezer for up to one year and once you’re ready to use it, store it in the refrigerator. Easy peasy.
Strawberry Freezer Jam Without Pectin
Want to make quick jam but you don’t have all the ingredients you need? Try this recipe for strawberry freezer jam without pectin from Barefoot and Bluejeans. You will still need jars for your jam, though!
Blueberry Refrigerator Jam
Here’s another recipe for jam and doesn’t take pectin or a lot of extra steps. Make this blueberry refrigerator jam from Recipe Girl with the help of your kids. Simply simmer fresh blueberries with lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar. Then divide up your homemade jam into jars and place in the refrigerator. The jam lasts for three weeks.
