This Homemade Mixed Berry Jam recipe is so delicious you’ll want to put it on everything from pancakes and toast to waffles and ice cream. Or eat it right from the jar!
Homemade Mixed Berry Jam
This time of year is one of my favorites! Sweet fresh fruit is in season! It’s become a tradition for our family to pick fresh berries on Father’s Day from the local farms around the area. We have our favorites for different kinds of fruit. One farm in particular has blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and even marion berries all ripe at the same time! That’s why we had to make Homemade Mixed Berry Jam!
With all the strawberries we picked this year (in 90 degree heat, mind you), I made Strawberry Chia Seed Jam. Without any added refined sugar, this stuff is healthy and amazing!
Traditional jam making is so wonderful because you get to enjoy fresh fruit all winter long. My son is famous for making peanut butter sandwiches just about every day for school. And yep, he uses the homemade mixed berry jam to make them extra delicious.
This jam is actually amazing on everything from pancakes and waffles to toast and ice cream. Not to mention yogurt parfaits!
We make a big batch because it’s also great for homemade gifts.
Christmas gifts. Hostess gifts. Teacher gifts. You name it, this jam make a great gift for it 🙂
This year I tried something a little different. I didn’t use pectin. I saw so many recipes that didn’t call for it, so I decided to give it a try. I prefer to keep the sugar to a minimum, so I went with a recipe with a high ratio of berries to sugar.
It turned out perfect. You can totally experiment with different ratios of fruit depending on your preference and what’s ripe at the time.
Having the berries marinate in the sugar prior to cooking really brings out the flavorful fruit juices.
If you’ve tried this MIXED BERRY JAM or any other recipe on Suburban Simplicity, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food, fun crafts + DIYs and what I’m up to on a daily basis!
Homemade Mixed Berry Jam
Ingredients
- 4 cups raspberries
- 4 cups blackberries
- 4 cups blueberries
- 3 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Instructions
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Have ready 6 hot, sterilized half-pint jars and their lids.
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Place the berries and sugar in a large bowl. Gently stir together and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
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In a large nonreactive saucepan, gently stir together the berries and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently and removing any foam, until the jam has thickened, about 15 minutes. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
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Ladle the hot jam into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims clean and seal tightly with the lids.
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Put the jars in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Make sure the jars are covered in water. The sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. If a sealed has failed, store the jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Makes 6 half-pint jars.
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Adapted from The Art of Preserving, by Lisa Atwood, Rebecca Courchesne & Rick Field (Weldon Owen, 2010).
Recipe Notes
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Tips: The fruit tends to bubble up while cooking. Just remove the foam with a spoon. Also, since this is a low sugar, pectin free recipe, it tends to be a little runnier than traditional versions.
Canning Basics
No worries, If you’ve never canned anything before, don’t be afraid to start. Once you know the basics, you’ll be on your way to canning all your summer fruit and much more!
The benefits of Canning:
- Gain control of the ingredients, including organic fruits and vegetables.
- Preserve foods at their freshest point, which locks in nutrition.
- The final product is chemical and preservative free.
- Store-bought brands just can’t match the wonderful flavor of homemade!
This post contains affiliate links. Disclosure policy here.
Basic Canning Supplies:
- Mason Jars – either 1/2 pint or 8 oz jars work well
- Funnel – for filling regular and wide mouth canning jars
- Jar lifter – easily removes hot jars from canner
- Magnetic lid lifter – removes canning lids from hot water
- Bubble remover – for releasing trapped air bubbles
A great resource to get you started with all the basic of home preserving and step by step instruction is The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 350 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes.
I’m, excited, blueberries are just about to come into season, so the canning supplies will be coming out again soon! Did I mention I love this time of year??
Have you canned jam before? What other fruits or vegetables do you preserve?
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I love jam and this looks sotasty
Thanks, Lindi! It just screams summer since it’s so fresh and yummy! I love that I have it all winter long too 🙂
So jealous. It is to hot here in South FLorida to grow a good batch of berries. My dad always use to make grape jelly every September in NY. It is a process that holds some great family memories for me. Maybe I will try your canning directions on a orange marmalade? I always wanted to give canning a try. Thanks for the inspiration.
I can imagine it’s hot! Although fresh berries are the best, you can always try canning with frozen. If you want an easy and healthy jam recipe, you should try this Strawberry Chia Seed jam. https://www.suburbansimplicity.com/homemade-strawberry-chia-seed-jam/
This sounds so good! Canning makes me nervous because of the whole sterilization aspect. But, this recipe looks fantastic! I’d love to have some of this jam in my cupboard!
This looks delicious and seems to have less sugar than is usually called for.
Yes, that’s why I love this recipe, Sarah. It has less sugar than most recipes call for, but still tastes amazing especially if you use fresh berries. Enjoy your jam making!
Hi Erin, I cannot wait to make this delicious sounding Jam !! I made fresh Cherry preserves last week and will be getting fresh peaches in August to can and to make Peach jelly. I love canning , even in our 100+ summer temps here in Phoenix !! Thanks for all the great recipies !!
Thanks, Scarlet! I love making jam and preserves to enjoy all year long. Your cherry preserves sound great! We just picked 50 lbs of peaches off to preserve those! Stay cool!
I make tons of jams & jellies in the summer, they are such a yummy treat and super fun to give as gifts through-out the year! This looks delicious! Stopping by from #FoodieFriDIY to share some love!
Yes, I too give them as gifts throughout the year. They make such yummy and personal gifts. Thanks for stopping by, Debra!
Both these jams got me! Right in the taste buds. YUM! I need to try both versions. I’m really interested in the chia seeds, but the mixed berry combo is my favorite. Decisions, decisions! You’ve really made this hard for me! I can see this on my waffles or pancakes, and ice cream! It’s on!
I thought of you Nikki when I scooped it on some ice cream! Why not add a little super food yumminess to your treats 🙂 I think you should definitely try it on your pancakes and waffles!
Homemade jams and jellies are the best! Pinned it for later. Thanks for partying with us at Merry Monday.
Homemade jam is one of my favorite things about summer! And then you get to enjoy it all winter long!
What happens if you follow the recipe and it is still too runny? What do you suggest was done incorrectly?
Hi Tiffany. You likely didn’t do anything wrong. Since this is a low sugar, pectin free recipe, it tends to be a little thinner than a traditional recipe with tons of sugar. You can try cooking the berries a little longer to see if that helps. Also, it thickens as it cools, so hopefully once it was in the refrigerator, it became thicker.
Any chance you could use frozen mixed berries for this recipe? This time of year in Colorado, budget friendly fresh fruit is hard to come by. Many thanks
Yes! Totally Crissa. That will work!
I just made this jam had a lot of fun . But I’ve noticed after 24 hrs it’s not setting up what can I do
Hi Tresa,
Since this recipe doesn’t use pectin, it is a bit runnier than other recipes. However, it tastes just as good! In the future, you can cook it a little longer and see if that helps.
I love homemade jams. Can I use frozen fruit? I have some in my freezer and want to use it up.
Hi Natalie, yes, you can use frozen fruit. It does tend to have higher moisture, so you jam will be slightly runnier, but it will taste amazing. Enjoy!