Description
Festive Christmas jam blends sweet and spicy notes from traditional holiday ingredients. Warm cloves, cinnamon, and cranberries create a delightful spread you’ll cherish during seasonal celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups (250 g / 8.8 oz) cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 cups (250 g / 8.8 oz) strawberries or raspberries, hulled
- 2 cups (400 g / 14.1 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and grated
- ½ cup (120 mL / 4 fl oz) orange juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preparation: Gather cranberries, strawberries, and apple. Select a large saucepan to accommodate the fruity mixture comfortably.
- Initial Cooking: Grate apple and slice fruits. Pour orange juice into saucepan. Heat over medium flame, encouraging cranberries to burst and release their tart essence. Gently mash fruits using potato masher to create a rustic texture.
- Seasoning and Sweetening: Introduce aromatic spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Sprinkle sugar into the bubbling mixture, stirring constantly to prevent scorching and ensure even distribution. Elevate heat slightly, allowing the mixture to reach a gentle boil.
- Consistency Check: Continue stirring, observing the jam’s transformation. Perform cold plate test by dropping a small amount onto a chilled surface. If the jam maintains its shape without spreading, it has reached the perfect setting point.
- Finishing Touches: Remove from heat and infuse with vanilla extract, stirring to incorporate warm, sweet flavor throughout the mixture. Carefully ladle hot jam into sterilized glass jars, leaving minimal space at the top.
- Preservation: Secure jar lids tightly to create an airtight seal. Allow jars to cool naturally at room temperature. Transfer to refrigerator for short-term storage or process in boiling water bath for long-term preservation.
Notes
- Select Seasonal Fruits: Choose peak-ripeness cranberries and strawberries for maximum flavor intensity and natural pectin content, ensuring a more robust and vibrant jam.
- Control Sugar Levels: Adjust sugar gradually while tasting, preventing overwhelming sweetness and maintaining the natural tartness of the fruits, especially for those monitoring sugar intake.
- Master Consistency Technique: Watch jam’s thickness carefully during cooking, using cold plate test to achieve perfect gel-like texture without becoming too runny or overly solid.
- Preserve Safely: Follow strict sterilization protocols for jars and lids, preventing bacterial contamination and extending jam’s shelf life, with boiling water bath processing recommended for long-term storage.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 7
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 24 g
- Sodium: 1 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg