Easy Raspberry Jam (No Pectin!)

The deliciously sweet raspberry jam will have you coming back for an extra spoonful. With only three ingredients you can make a sweet and jam that you will want to spread on muffins, biscuits, dessert, and everything!

 

Why We Love Raspberry Jam

• Make Breakfast, Lunch Or Snacks Amazing– A peanut butter and homemade jam sandwich is so delicious with homemade jam, or try some of my favorite peanut butter and jelly hacks. Enjoy your own jam also on toast or homemade biscuits, it’s an easy recipe the whole family will love.
• Enjoy Fresh Raspberry Flavor– Fully enjoy summer fruit flavors when these berries are ripe. Make this small batch jam when raspberries are plentiful at the grocery store or farmers’ market. Or enjoy some fruits in the winter by using frozen raspberries.
• Use Jam To Top Desserts– Make homemade jam as a delicious topping for ice cream, cheesecake and cookies. Try this jam next time with my raspberry jam thumbprint cookies or my raspberry swirl cheesecake bars, amazing!

If this is your first time, second time or 100th time making jam, you will love it! This homemade raspberry jam recipe is easy to make, it will be your new favorite recipe. You should also try my blackberry jam, it’s also delicious!

Ingredients For This Raspberry Jam Recipe

• raspberries fresh or frozen
• sugar
• lemon juice – don’t skip the lemon juice, it helps to activate the natural pectin in the fruit while making the jam gel.

How Many Pints of Raspberries Do I Need?

For this recipe, you’ll need 4 of the 6-ounce containers of raspberries or two of the larger 12-ounce containers of raspberries for this raspberry jam recipe.

One 6-ounce pint of raspberries (also sometimes called a dry pint) is about 3/4 of a cup of raspberries.

This is an estimate as raspberries can vary in size and weight for each berry. Berries do not need to be an exact measure in this recipe. If your berry measurement is not exact by a few berries, your jam will still be delicious.

If you are using frozen berries, you can use two 12-ounce bags of frozen raspberries for this recipe.

A dry pint that I mentioned above is simply measuring the fruit in a pint container “dry” as whole berries rather than a liquid version of the same berries. Learn more about the difference between a dry pint and a liquid pint here.

How To Make Raspberry Jam

• Turn the stove to medium-high heat. In a medium saucepan, combine raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Place the pan on the stove.

• Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently. Allow the fruit mixture to come to a full rolling boil.
• Reduce the heat slightly to allow the jam to simmer. Using a potato masher for a minute can help to speed up the process a little. Continue stirring frequently as the jam thickens until it thickens to your desired consistency. You can also use the drippy spoon technique described in the notes. This should take about 12-15 minutes from the beginning of boiling.

• Remove from the heat and allow to fully cool to room temperature before storing or using for a recipe. Enjoy!

How To Tell If Your Jam Is Thick Enough- The Drippy Spoon Test

The drippy spoon test is one of the easiest ways I know to tell if this delicious recipe is done cooking. Simply dip a spoon into the jam mixture and watch the jam drip off the side of the spoon.

• Light drips– When the jam first begins to become a syrup after boiling, the mixture will drip easily off the spoon and be light in color.
• Drops In Two Drips– As the jam mixture begins to thicken, you’ll notice a small amount of the jam will start to come off of side of the spoon in two drips instead of one.
• Sheet of Drips– Once the jam has become thick enough the hot mixture will drop off the side of the spoon in more of a thicker sheet. Once this happens, the jam has reached the jelled portion where the natural fruit pectin found inside the fruit has thickened, and your jam will be thick enough to spread on toast.

Learn more about the drippy spoon test and how to test if the jam is done cooking by temperature here.

How Much Jam Does This Recipe Make?

This jam makes 24 ounces which will fill three 8 ounce jelly jars meant for canning. An ounce is about equal to two tablespoons of jam. This easy raspberry jam recipe is a small batch recipe.

Is This Raspberry Jam A Freezer Jam?

You can store unused jam from this recipe in the freezer but it is not considered a freezer jam. Freezer jam keeps its bright color easier than a traditional jam. This recipe will get darker in color if stored in the freezer Learn more about how to make freezer jam here.

How Do I Freeze This Jam?

If you choose to store this jam in the freezer, pour your jam in a freezer-safe container or freezer zip-top bag.

Glass canning jars can be stored in the freezer without going through the canning process. Make sure before putting a glass jar in the freezer that you leave at least a half-inch of space in the container at the top under the jar lid when adding the jam.

The jam will expand as it freezes. Leaving room at the top of the jar gives the jam the room it needs to expand.

You can also use these really handy plastic freezer jars from Ball, they are great freezer storage containers.

Can I Home Can This Raspberry Jam?

Yes, you can home-can this raspberry jam recipe and use jelly jars or other small jars for canning. I recommend using a water bath method for this recipe. You can follow the instructions here on how to can homemade jam. Raspberries are acidic enough that there is no need to use a full pressure canning system to can this jam recipe.

If you are interested in home canning, I highly recommend checking out the book The Complete Book Of Home Preserving.My husband and I used to home can when we lived in Atlanta, and this book helped us a lot. It goes into a lot of detail about how to can different items, has a lot of recipes, and gives great instructions for beginners.

For basic water bath canning of jam you will need pint size glass canning jars (Ball makes the best canning jars), metal lids and rings, a large pot and a pair of tongs. A home canning tool kit like this can be really nice to have if you decide to try canning more but is not necessary to get started.

Can I Make This Raspberry Jam Seedless?

Yes you can make this raspberry jam seedless, though the seeds are just fine to leave in also. To make the jam seedless you want to push the jam through a fine mesh-sieve like this one, preferably one that is metal.

As you push the jam through the sieve, the seeds will stay in the top and the rest of the jam will go in a large bowl you place below the sieve. I personally use a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon to push the jam through the sieve.

For raspberry jam you can also use a food mill to remove the seeds, it’s a little easier and less messy to use than a fine mesh sieve. Use the disc with the smallest holes on the food mill before you run the jam through the machine.

How Long Will This Jam Last?

This jam does not have any preservatives in it. You can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 3-4 weeks.

Be careful not to get butter or crumbs in your homemade jam, as they can spoil the jam more quickly.