How to Make Cran-Raspberry Jam using Cranberry Juice

I searched and searched to find a Cran-Raspberry Jam recipe that didn’t use whole cranberries to start. Is it such a crazy idea to not want chunks of cranberry in my jam? Or maybe I couldn’t find any cranberries (which was the case when I was making Christmas Jam just after Thanksgiving this year). Or perhaps I had already purchased the cranberry juice without first finding a recipe, whoops! Anyway, I am happy to share this recipe with you in case you find yourself in a similar situation!

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Pick the Raspberries!

First things first, we had a blast picking fresh raspberries from a local farm over the summer. We made some raspberry pie filling and canned it for future use with most of the berries. At that time of the summer, we had been canning a ton of different fruits and veggies and were pretty burnt out. So, instead of trying to make our jam then, we threw the berries into a ziplock bag and put them in the freezer.

We washed the berries and looked through them for any stray bugs before freezing them. If you don’t let them dry completely they’ll freeze into a chunk which can be annoying if you’re trying to measure frozen berries but we just dumped the whole thing into our pot to boil so I didn’t mind. Make sure you measure your berries and label the bag before you put it in the freezer because I PROMISE you will not remember how much is in the bag even if you think you will. When you take them out of the freezer they’ll be labeled and ready to go for your cran-raspberry jam.

To Thaw or Not to Thaw

I know there are some opinions about whether you should thaw your fruit before making jam. Sometimes I think it’s a good idea and sometimes I don’t really think it matters. For example, we made some Pepper Peach Jam earlier this year with frozen peaches and it was really difficult to blend the frozen peaches in my Nutribullet. I wish we had thawed them because we ended up adding more extra liquid than I wanted and it was just more difficult to measure properly. Next time, I’ll definitely thaw them first.

In the case of raspberries, it isn’t a big deal if you don’t thaw your berries first because as they cook they will break down and all the juices and natural pectin will cook in with the raspberries too. I also made strawberry jam like this and there were some bigger chunks in it. If you like strawberry jam with chunks then you’re good to go! If you don’t, maybe let them thaw a little bit so you can blend them or chop them up before starting your cran-raspberry recipe.

Fresh or Frozen Raspberries – Store Bought or Hand Picked

If you’ve never made jam before it is actually much easier than it seems and is a great option instead of buying store-bought. Even if you don’t have local frozen berries that you picked yourself, I still think I would opt to make my own jam out of frozen raspberries rather than buying raspberry jam because I know exactly how much sugar and other ingredients are added and there aren’t any nasty preservatives. So, grab whatever raspberries you’ve got whether they are fresh or frozen, and let’s get our cran-raspberry jam going.

Prepare your Supplies

Get your water bath canner and all your canning supplies ready to go. You’ll need 4 half-pint jars with lids and rings, along with a rag or paper towel to wipe the rims, a funnel, a jar lifter, and an extra pot for heating lids. A set like THIS would be perfect if you are a beginner and don’t have all of the canning supplies yet that you need. I have tried to can without some of these things and it is doable but do yourself a favor and just get the proper equipment, it is so much easier.

Cran-Raspberry Recipe

Prepare your water bath canner and heat the jars and lids. In a large saucepan, combine raspberries and cranberry juice over medium heat until the berries start to thaw. I let them thaw just enough to loosen them up. If you’re working with thawed raspberries, you can go ahead to the next step.

Gradually stir in the pectin and stir as you go so it doesn’t clump. Add butter and bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. The rolling boil should not be able to be stirred down. The reason you add butter is to reduce the amount of foam on the top of your jam. Personally, the foam doesn’t bother me but I add the butter anyways! You can omit it and skim the foam off the top or just leave it! Add the sugar and return the mixture to a rolling boil. Boil while stirring constantly for 1 minute. Take off the heat and get your jars!

Get Ready to Can!

Ladle the cran-raspberry jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space. Wipe the rims and put the lid in the center of the jar. Put the ring on a make it fingertip-tight.

Place the jars in your water bath canner and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Put the lid on the canner and bring the water to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes and then let jars sit for 5 minutes with the lid off. Remove the jars and allow the jam to cool for 24 hours without being disturbed. Check the seals by removing the rings and gently pulling on the lids. Lids should not come off or flex up and down. If the jars are sealed, store them for later use.

Store your sealed jars without the ring so if your jars do decide to unseal on you, you’ll know because they cannot reseal without the ring. After you break the seal, you have to put the ring back on and store it in the fridge. Alternatively, you can get some white plastic screw-on lids and use those. I like them because they are easier to get on and off. Find them here for large-mouth and here for small-mouth lids! Remember, you can’t use these plastic lids to seal your jars.

If you try this recipe make sure to comment below and let me know how you liked it! Tag us on Instagram using @homelyhens or @sam.thatsme. If you’re looking for another recipe to try with your raspberries, give these Berry Bars a go, you won’t be sorry!