Inga's Raspberry Jam

[Alix]

RASPBERRY JAM

6 cups (1.5 L) raspberries, closely packed 6 cups (1.5 L) sugar, warmed

Place raspberries in a Dutch oven. Bring gently to a boil, mashing berries as they heat. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 2 minutes. Add warmed sugar. Continue to stir and cook over high heat until mixture returns to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Using a rotary beater or lowest speed of an electric mixer, beat for 4 minutes. Pour into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch (6 mm) headspace. Wipe jar rims thoroughly with a clean damp cloth. Seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about 5 cups (1.25 L).

 

[CharlieD]

Wow, interesting.

Here is mine. Equal amounts of sugar and raspberry.
1/4 to 1/2 cup of water, depending on how much raspberry you have.
Poor water in the pot add raspberry add sugar on the top, slowly bring to a boil, do not steer until sugar melts by itself. When starts boiling turn the heat up and cook with a steady boil for about 40 minutes. Steering occasionally, I like the berries to stay intact as much as possible, but make sure the bottom doesn’t burn. Add a little pinch of sour salt, steer and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, done. Make sure to pick that whitish foam forming on the top while cooking, it could be discarded, I actually love it, it is pure sugar. The easiest test to make sure the jelly/jam is done to put a tiny drop on the top of your thumb nail and turn hand upside down if drop stays it’s done if not cook for few more minutes. But it has to be the tiniest drop. It works for any jelly.
While the jelly is cooking I run the jars and leads thru dishwasher, trying to time so the jars are dry by the time jelly is cooked. Poor jelly into still hot jars live it on the counter top until cooled down then you can cover it with leads. For example I cooked the jelly last night and covered with leads only this morning.

 

[Daizymae]

Thank you, CharlieD, for all your info, with details, notes, & your own personal experience and advice. Ach, you lucky man, you have a dishwasher. At this moment I am taking a breather from freezing my strawbs. One year I had so dam* many that I had to give 1/2 of them away. Too much work.

I've never heard of adding sour salt (citric acid) but I use lemon juice, which I guess is the same thing, except maybe less concentrated. I was told this was originally done by commercial jammers to bring the acidity up to a level where various bad bugs couldn't survive. Of course I don't really know.

What is the oddest jam/jelly you ever made? Some people may not consider this odd, but I make jam/jelly out of the fruit of something called "high bush cranberry" which in some years (not this one) grows in greater abundance in the forest than dandelions in the yard.

 

[CharlieD]

Citric acid is a common preservative in lots of foods. As far as dishwasher goes, you do not have to use it, just poor boiling water in your jars and then wipe it dry. I keep kosher and have to kitchens with in my kitchen, I only have one dishwasher on the meat side, so if I make preserves on the dairy side I do not use dishwasher.

I am not very adventures when it comes to making preserves/jams. I make apricot, raspberry, bing cherries both white and red, I make sour cherry when I can get some, this year I did not, I make black currant preserve, Hungarian plum jam. Unfortunately Minnesota is not famous for having a lot of fruits or berries.
I love houndberries</SPAN> (I think that’s the name) preserves, but where am I going to get them here, my grandfather used to make Gooseberry and walnut preserves, yum.

Sometimes I make apple and pear preserves, but not very often. There is only so much I can and should eat of that stuff per year. Kids do not touch it; they love chemicals that are called jam from the store in some squeezable bottle.
I was at somebodies’ house and was treated to carrot preserve, it was total yum, took me a little bit to gather the courage to tasted, but then I could not stop eating it.