Triple Berry Jam Recipe with less sugar
If you would like to give the gift of homemade jam this winter but don’t have any berries in your freezer, this recipe uses a bag of frozen fruit from Costco, is low sugar {without adding sugar substitutes} and was still good enough to win a blue ribbon at the Boulder County Fair in 2012.
My daughter made it for her professors for Christmas this year and it turned out great.
Low Sugar Triple Berry Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups blend of blueberries, marionberries and raspberries, crushed {Costco sells a frozen bag of this blend}
- 1 cup unsweetened apple juice
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp. low sugar pectin
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
Bring a boiling-water canner, 3/4 full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.
Combine crushed berries, fruit juice, and lemon juice into an 8 quart saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Then add the sugar all at once and return mixture to a boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads, cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands on {if using traditional jars, if using Weck jars wipe rims, add rubber gaskets and glass lid and clamp on both sides}.
Place jars on elevated rack in a canner. Lower rack into canner. {Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.}
Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely.
After the jars have cooled, check the seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary. Allow jars to sit, untouched for 12 hours before storing.
Looking for a few more canning recipes? Search my Full List of Canning Recipes
Looking for a good canning book? Here’s a list of my favorites:
- Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
- The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
- Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It
- Food in Jars
- The Amish Canning Cookbook
- Not Your Mama’s Canning Book
Also, check out these tutorials if you’ve never used a canner before:
Tutorial: Hot Water Bath Canning
Tutorial: How to Use a Pressure Canner
Krista says
What size jars and how many jars does this recipe fill?
Thank you!
Mavis Butterfield says
About 6 half pint jars. 🙂
Krista says
Okay another question. 4 cups or 4 pounds of berries?
Mavis Butterfield says
4 CUPS of berries. 🙂
Heather says
Thank you. I need to make this since we still have frozen berries from last year in our freezer. I was looking for a recipe with low sugar.
Susan says
Can I use Splenda instead of sugar?
Dana says
Better yet, can you leave the sugar out completely. I use these berries all the time to make chia jam but I’d like to can some for friends. I don’t usually use sugar or pectin because the chia does the work. If I’m canning can I just leave them out and if so, do I need to process longer??
Thank you!!
Karen says
Just wondering if this would work for freezer jam? I love to can, but freezer jam tastes like the real thing.
Erin says
Hi Karen, I was wondering if you measure the 4 cups of berries then crush or is it 4 cups of crushed berries? Thanks