No-Sugar-Added Wild Raspberry Jam

First there was the berry picking basket, and then there were the abundant wild raspberries available for picking in my town.

After eating a great number of fresh, tart raspberries and dehydrating another good quantitiy, I decided to try my hand at making the rest into jam. At this point, only about a pound were left. So this recipe made a grand total of one jar, but more diligence could produce others.

You could modify this by adding other berries to it. I chose to just use what was readily available around town.

This is only my second canning experience, so please feel free to educate me in the comments. :-)

Remove these ads by Signing Up

Step 1: Materials and Supplies

What you will need for this recipe. Multiply quantities if you want to make more:

About one pound of berries
Two packets (or two teaspoons) of Stevia powder
One tbsp orange juice
Low/no-sugar pectin
Canning jars with lids
Pots for heating lids, jars, jam, and canning
Other canning tools, like lid magnet, jar lifter, canning basket, funnel

133

caitlinsdad says: Jul 30, 2011. 7:34 AM

Ah, more a no-sugar-added than no-sugar, cautionary for those with diabetic needs.

LingCullen in reply to caitlinsdadAug 8, 2011. 3:17 PM

well.... there really is no way to make jam with real fruit while still removing the natural sugars. No Sugar Jam for diabetics cant be free of natural sugars... can it??

133

caitlinsdad in reply to LingCullenAug 8, 2011. 3:27 PM

It is the choice of fruit to use as explained in many sources out there.

susanrm (author) in reply to caitlinsdadAug 8, 2011. 4:39 PM

You know, it is a good point. I avoid sweets and sugary fruits anyway, though I have excellent blood sugar (maybe that's partly why), but I do have to say this jam is the least sweet jam I have ever eaten. Yet it is fruity and delicious. I would be willing to bet money that it has more fiber and less sugar than these: http://www.heathglen.com/diabetic.html . I have no scientific way of measuring it, but from my body's reaction (I'm very sensitive to carbs/blood sugar spikes and don't like the way they feel), this jam would probably be safe for diabetics.

susanrm (author) in reply to caitlinsdadJul 30, 2011. 9:22 AM

Yes, true. But I suspect the sugar levels are low as it is. The berries and jam are tart and not too sweet. Wish I could test it.

133

caitlinsdad in reply to susanrmJul 30, 2011. 5:16 PM

It's too bad that nowadays there are so many people with conditions or allergies to certain kinds of food that we become so uptight as to making sure things are classified and labeled correctly. I know a few that take things to the extreme and will not touch anything that has sugar - natural or processed, carbs that are not whole wheat, etc. Look up some of the canning ibles to see how they measure sugar content with the optical device, I've seen them do maple sugar syrup with it.

269

sunshiine says: Aug 8, 2011. 3:22 AM

Oh how I wished I had some fresh wild berries! I have had some with hot peppers in it and it was very very good!

susanrm (author) in reply to sunshiineAug 8, 2011. 6:28 AM

I'm hoping my garden produces hot peppers so I can make them into jelly. Right now I'm battling critters for the right to eat the produce. :-)

269

sunshiine in reply to susanrmAug 8, 2011. 11:43 AM

I had planted peppers one year that were so hot I could not eat them! I can eat peppers with the best of them LOL!

Senatom says: Jul 31, 2011. 4:03 PM

I would strongly encourage you to omit the pectin. One of the best things about wild raspberries (aside from the great taste!) is that they are very high in natural pectin already.

susanrm (author) in reply to SenatomJul 31, 2011. 8:20 PM

Why is that? What harm is there in adding the pectin? With the pectin, it turned out well - slightly looser than standard jelly, but a nice preserves consistency.

Senatom in reply to susanrmAug 3, 2011. 6:56 AM

Well, I guess my point was that, in the case of wild raspberries particularly, you already have plenty of pectin in the fruit itself. Your readers, inspired by this instructable, can make great jam without procuring the additional ingredient.

Either way, I'm sure yours tastes as great as mine. For those of us who must live through long cold winters, popping open a jar of your own raspberry jam is a welcome taste of summer.

I hereby withdraw the word "strongly" :)

susanrm (author) in reply to SenatomAug 3, 2011. 2:38 PM

That's a great point. Adding pectin does no harm, though I think with these particular raspberries, it did help a bit. They might be too runny otherwise.

I made mulberry preserves before this, because I discovered I was suddenly allergic to the raw ones, but I love them. The preserves turned out utterly delicious, and that was without any pectin. I did add some sugar, about half of what was recommended by the recipe, which also did not suggest any pectin. Mmmm. I wish I still had more of that!

lisunjacky says: Aug 1, 2011. 1:36 AM

looks great

susanrm (author) in reply to lisunjackyAug 3, 2011. 2:35 PM

Thank you!