Five-Minute Raspberry Jam for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make five-minute raspberry jam? Pick over the harvested berries, removing leaves and twigs. Set aside the pretty, large ones for freezing.

2. Step 2:

   

   For the jam, use the smaller berries and wild raspberries. Be sure to rinse the berries under cool running water — under the shower spray or by cupping the water in your hand. Let the water drain. The moisture left on the raspberries lets you make the jam without adding water, and the berries release their juice more readily.

3. Step 3:

   

   Immediately sprinkle the washed raspberries with 1/3 of the sugar, mix gently, and leave them until the juice appears — about 2 hours. Use that time to prepare the jars.

4. Step 4:

   

   Preparing the jars: Wash them with baking soda and rinse well under running water. While they're still wet, set them neck-down in a cold oven and lay out the lids too. Turn the oven to 300°F (150°C); once it reaches temperature, sterilize 0.5 L jars for 10 minutes and 1 L jars for 15 minutes. This sterilizing method is the most convenient for me — I've used it for years and it's never let me down, but you can use any other method that suits you.

5. Step 5:

   

   Once the raspberries have released plenty of juice, set them over low heat. Let the sugar dissolve completely, stirring gently with a large wooden or plastic spoon and lifting the sugar up from the bottom.

6. Step 6:

   

   Then raise the heat to medium and bring it to a boil. During the boiling and cooking stage, it's best not to leave the jam unattended, or the rising foam can boil over. At a gentle boil, cook for 4–5 minutes. When it boils up vigorously into a foamy cap, stir gently without removing the foam. There's no need to boil it longer.

7. Step 7:

   

   After 5 minutes, take it off the stove, gently swirl the pan to gather the foam toward the center, and skim it all off in 3 or 4 passes.

8. Step 8:

   

   There's a lot of foam to skim off — the jam must end up clear.

9. Step 9:

   

   Add the remaining sugar to the hot, skimmed jam, stirring gently to let it dissolve completely. Leave the jam until it cools completely.

10. Step 10:

    

    Then repeat the boiling step twice more, without adding any more sugar. After the third boil, pour the finished, skimmed jam, still hot, into the prepared jars. The jars should be warm, dry, and sterile. Seal them with sterile lids. The finished jam has a dark, rich raspberry color, with a deep flavor and aroma. The texture is like jelly, but with whole berries.

11. Step 11:

    

    Wipe the jars clean, roll them across the table to check the seal, turn them upside down onto their lids, and leave them until completely cool. Then store them in a dark, cool place. You can make any delicate berry this way — it keeps the most whole berries intact, while the jam stores well and doesn't crystallize. This makes 6 jars of 0.5 L, one 250 ml jar, and a little extra to sample.