Raspberry Jam [confiture]

If you have never made any preserves yourself, this Raspberry Jam is probably ideal to start with. Although the preparation is almost exactly the same as for the Strawberry Jam – which means it will take 2-3 days – somehow I find the raspberry confiture easier to make. Probably it is due to the fact that raspberries have more pectin than strawberries and on the final day of cooking the jam is almost always done after 30 minutes so no need for checking the consistency over and over again.

I love Raspberry Jam for its taste and aroma but it also has some health benefits. Raspberries help in decreasing fever so having a cup of tea with a spoon (or two!) of homemade jam in winter may not only bring memories of summer days but it can also speed up a recovery from a cold.

INGREDIENTS (for approx. 3 jars):

1kg raspberries,

800g sugar,

1.5 lemon (juice and peel).

METHOD:

1. Rinse the raspberries under running cold water, drain well and transfer to a non-metallic bowl and cover with sugar; leave for several hours/overnight.
2. The next day transfer the raspberries with sugar to a pan, add the lemon juice and rind, gently bring to boil; lower the heat and cook for 30 minutes. If there was not a lot of juice when you transferred the raspberries to the pan, you have to bring the jam to boil very gently so the sugar doesn’t burn. You will also have to be very careful when you stir it because the raspberries break easily so you can try to shake the pot instead, or if you have to stir, do it carefully with a spatula.
3. Leave the jam in a cold place for approx. 24 hours.
4. The next day bring the jam to a boil and simmer it on a medium heat for approximately 30 minutes until the Confiture reaches the right consistency.*
5. Remove the lemon peel and pour the Confiture to prepared jars**, cover with lids, seal and put all the jars upside down on a towel, then cover them with the towel tightly. If you spill any of the Confiture on top of the jar, clean it well.
6. Keep the jars covered for a few hours, afterwards you can keep them in a cool place for up to a year.

* This is the way to check, if the Confiture has reached the right consistency:

• Put 1-2 saucers to a freezer for at least 30 minutes.
• After you simmered the jam for 30 minutes (step 4), take one saucer from the freezer, spoon a bit of jam on it and leave it for 1-2 minutes. If there is a skin on top that wrinkles when you touch it, the Confiture is ready. If not, you have to cook it a few minutes longer and re-test.

** There are many ways of sterilizing jars but this is the one I have already used for a few years:

• wash jars and lids very well,
• put them to a big bowl,
• a minute or so before you are ready to put your jam to jars, pour boiling water to the bowl with jars,
• after at least 30 seconds gently take one jar from the bowl and pour in the Confiture.
• The jars will be very hot so you have to use an oven glove to hold them.