This Homemade Mixed Berry Jam canning 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!
And make sure you sterilize your jam jars correctly!
Table of Contents
Homemade Mixed Berry Jam
This time of year is one of our favorites!
Sweet fresh fruit is in season! It’s a family tradition 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 marionberries 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), we 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!
This jam is actually amazing on everything from pancakes and waffles to toast and ice cream. Not to mention yogurt parfaits!
Please note: Since this is a pectin-free jam, it doesn’t set like a jam that uses pectin.
Giving Homemade Jam for Gifts
We make a big batch because it’s also great for homemade gifts.
- Christmas gifts.
- Hostess gifts.
- Teacher gifts.
- You name it, this jam makes a great gift for it 🙂
To make your gift pretty and functional include a tag with the name of your jam and the “made on” date!
How To Make Homemade Fruit Jam
This recipe doesn’t use pectin. We saw so many recipes that didn’t call for it, so we decided to give it a try. We 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 berries depending on your preference and what’s ripe at the time.
Step 1: Get Your Canning Jars Ready
Have ready 6 hot, sterilized half-pint jars and their lids.
Here’s how to sterilize jars for preserving.
Step 2: Marinate Your Berries
Place your washed and dried berries and sugar in a large bowl. Gently stir together and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Having the berries marinate in the sugar prior to cooking really brings out the flavorful fruit juices.
Step 3: Cook Your Berries
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.
*The foam forms because the berries are being filled with a lot of air from the boiling.
Step 4: Place in Sterile Jars
Ladle the hot jam into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace (space at the top of the jar). Remove any air bubbles. Get the lids warming in hot (but not boiling) water. Wipe the rims clean and seal tightly with the lids.
Step 5: Seal Your Jars
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 delicious half-pint jars.
Cooking Notes:
- The fruit tends to bubble up while cooking. Just remove the foam with a spoon.
- Since this is low sugar, pectin free jam recipe, it tends to be a little runnier than traditional versions.
- DO NOT increase or try to double the recipe because the jam won’t “set” (jell, thicken).
- You place jar lids in a pan of hot water for several minutes to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids.
Can you Make Jam out of Frozen Summer Fruit?
Frozen fruit has a higher water content than fresh fruit, so it tends to make homemade jam runnier. For best results, we recommend fresh fruit in this recipe. However, you can use frozen berries if you increase the sugar to 4 cups.
You Will Love These Easy Homemade Jam Recipes:
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Homemade Mixed Berry Jam
Equipment
- canning jars
Ingredients
- 4 cups raspberries
- 4 cups blackberries
- 4 cups blueberries
- 3 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Have ready 6 hot, sterilized half-pint jars and their lids.
- Place the berries and sugar in a large bowl. Gently stir together and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Adapted from The Art of Preserving, by Lisa Atwood, Rebecca Courchesne & Rick Field (Weldon Owen, 2010).
Notes
- The fruit tends to bubble up while cooking. Just remove the foam with a spoon.
- Since this is a low sugar, pectin free recipe, it tends to be a little runnier than traditional versions.
- DO NOT increase or try to double the recipe because the jam won't "set" (jell, thicken).
- You place jar lids in a pan of hot water for at several minutes to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids.
Nutrition
This article was enhanced with more tips and resources in May 2019.
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.
We’re excited, blueberries are just about to come into season, so the canning supplies will be coming out again soon!
Have you canned jam before? What other fruits or vegetables do you preserve?
