Low Sugar Natural Pectin Jam Recipes

Steps:

• Place a small saucer in the freezer to chill for later testing of jam thickness. In large deep heavy skillet (preferably NOT non-stick), or your widest heavy-bottom sauce pan, sprinkle cleaned berries or other sliced fruit with 3/4 cup of the sugar. Mash coarsely and let sit 15 minutes to "juice".
• Bring fruit mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Boil 15 minutes - hard enough to bubble but not splatter, stirring occasionally & skimming any foam off.
• Meanwhile, peel, core & grate apples.
• Stir in apples, lemon juice & remaining 1/4 cup sugar & keep boiling, stirring more often now & scraping bottom of pan to prevent sticking.
• Cook this way until thickened, about 20-45 more minutes (depends on ripeness of fruit, altitude, etc).
• Test by placing a small drop of jam on the chilled plate from the freezer and let it sit a minute; when properly thickened, the jam should not run at all when plate is tilted at a steep angle.
• If not thick enough, let it cook longer -- it will get there eventually!
• Ladle hot jam into half-pint canning jars (they're heat-proof) and put the lids on hand-tight. Because this jam has less sugar, it's best to use half-pint (1 cup) or smaller jars, because it may spoil quicker once opened. You can either store the jars as-is in the freezer once cooled, or you may can them by submerging hot jars immediately in boiling water for 10 minutes.
• If you don't have canning jars, let jam cool in the covered pan until room temperature. Ladle into plastic or other containers (1 cup volume each or smaller), and store in freezer.

Steps:

• Cut the stem off the fresh fruit, being careful not to include any green bits along with the berries.
• Rinse the fruit very thoroughly. This will remove any bits of stem, and remove some of the small hair and fibers on the outside of the fruit.
• As you prepare the fruit, it's okay to use very ripe berries.
• They will taste better and make a better jam. In fact, it's better to have nearly over ripe fruit than just barely ripe.
• The berries are softer, sweeter, and have more natural sugars.
• Add the berries and mash them in batches.
• I usually mash two or three cups at a time, just to make sure I don't miss a berry and end up with an outsized chunk at the end.
• Put the fresh berries in a large, tall cooking pot and add the sugar, lemon juice, and water.
• Bring the mix to a roaring boil on high heat, stirring regularly.
• The boil needs to be strong, one that does not diminish when you stir.
• Maintain this level of boil for at least 20 minutes.
• Stir regularly and watch the heat, turning it down to medium-high heat as the jam thickens to avoid burning.
• When your jam begins to thicken and has reduced by nearly half, you can check to see if it's done.
• Total cooking time is over 30 minutes.
• When you're sure it's set, pour it into sterilized jars, or clean plastic storage containers, and let it cool on the counter.
• Be careful not to spill, as it is very hot and will give you a nasty burn.
• The hot water from the pot should be handled carefully as well.