Quick Homemade Jams

A collection of quick, small-batch jam recipes featuring six summer fruits—apricot, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and peach—for easy homemade preserves.

Recipe Information

Total Time:

Yield:

about eight 8-ounce (250 mL) jars (each flavor)

Ingredients

Apricot Jam

3½ cups finely chopped pitted fresh apricots

⅓ cup lemon juice

5¾ cups granulated sugar

1 pouch (3 oz./85 mL) liquid pectin

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Blackberry Jam

4 cups crushed blackberries

2 tablespoons lemon juice

7 cups granulated sugar

1 pouch (3 oz./85 mL) liquid pectin

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Blueberry Jam

4½ cups crushed blueberries

4 tablespoons lemon juice

7 cups granulated sugar

2 pouches (each 3 oz./85 mL) liquid pectin

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Raspberry Jam

2 cups seeded raspberry pulp

2 cups crush raspberries (including seeds)

6½ cups granulated sugar

1 pouch (3 oz./85 mL) liquid pectin

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Tip: To make 2 cups raspberry pulp, working in batches, push 4 to 5 cups raspberries through a fine sieve. Discard seeds.

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Strawberry Jam

3¾ cups crushed hulled strawberries

4 tablespoons lemon juice

7 cups granulated sugar

1 pouch (3 oz./85 mL) liquid pectin

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Peach Jam

4 cups finely chopped pitted peeled peaches

4 tablespoons lemon juice

7½ cups granulated sugar

1 pouch (3 oz./85 mL) liquid pectin

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Directions

For each of the following six jams, follow the method below, but use the quantity of fruit and other ingredients specified in each jam variation.

Prepare canner, jars and lids by cleaning and drying thoroughly.
In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine fruit, lemon juice and sugar. Over high heat, stirring constantly, bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir in pectin. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot jam. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

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Tip: Some brands of liquid pectin direct you to stir in the pectin after boiling the fruit-sugar mixture for 1 minute. It is advisable to follow the directions given by the brand you are using when preparing these recipes.