Raspberries and redcurrants - What a combination! The slightly tart redcurrants compliment sweet juicy raspberries perfectly in this raspberry and redcurrant jam, giving the jam just the right amount of acidity to really make the flavours zing.
Raspberry and Redcurrant Jam
I am sure you many of you already know that I have been busy making preserves from the fruit on my allotment. This jam is a first for me and it could become my favourite. Ok I know I said blackcurrant is my favourite jam but that was before I tried this one. I like raspberry jam but have always found it slightly lacking in the flavour stakes, it tastes great but it not as good as blackcurrant or strawberry jam.
Jam always seems to intensify the flavour of strawberries in a way that just doesn't happen with raspberries. Blackcurrant jam has a delicious acidity that cuts through the sweetness. But add redcurrants to raspberry jam then something magical seems to happen. The redcurrants not only seem in increase the flavour of the raspberries but also add just a delicate touch of acidity to give the jam a light tang. It's delicious!
A seedy issue
Now I know some people don't like raspberry jam because they find it too seedy. Redcurrants are also very seedy too. Personally I don't mind that at all, but if your prefer you can make a slightly less seedy version of this jam. Simply cook the redcurrants and raspberries separately until softened (add half the quantity of water to each. Then strain the redcurrants through a fine sieve squeezing out as much of the juices as possible and add the juice to the raspberries. It's a little bit more of a faff, but I think you can see in the picture below that there are less seeds though still masses of flavour. I think seedless jams lack both flavour and texture so this is a good compromise
Raspberry and Redcurrant Jam
Instructions
- Wash the raspberries if necessary and place in a large preserving pan.
- Wash and string the redcurrants and add to the pan. Stir in the water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gently simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until the fruit is very tender.
- Add the sugar and heat, gently stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Once all the sugar has dissolved increase the heat and boil rapidly for about 10 minutes or until setting point is reached.If you use a thermometer, boil until the jam reaches 105℃/220°F.
- Pour into hot jars and cover. Label when cold.
Notes
Nutrition
More Jams and Preserves Made Easy
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I am linking this recipe to Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Searching For Spice
Gabriel E. Moody
I have both frozen red and black currants for this recipe! I assume thawing the currants is a must and how do I cook the fruit before driving and how much pulp will be needed?
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
You can use frozen fruit in place of the fresh fruit. Just replace the fresh fruit with the same amount of frozen fruit and follow the recipe. There is no need to thaw the fruit first.
Julia
Just made this with raspberries in the freezer left over from last year (ready to make way for this year's harvest) and this year's redcurrants. I did sieve the redcurrants as you suggested. Very yummy jam - like you I think the redcurrants add a depth to the raspberries. Thanks for that idea.
Valerie
I had my first go at making jam yesterday using just redcurrants from my garden. I used a recipe from elsewhere which used a 1.76 ratio of sugar. (Currants 900gms, sugar 510gms). Yours, however is the same fruit to sugar. Considerably more. What I would like to know, please, is if you lowered your sugar when you removed the skins and pips as you don't say. Also how do you boil jam for 10 mins when as soon as mine reached boiling point it was well on the way to bubbling over.
I have redcurrants & raspberries left to try your recipe now, but I'm nervous about the sugar quantity and boiling time. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
(Btw, yesterday's jam hasn't set)
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
My quantity of sugar to fruit for this recipe is based on a classic jam which will have good keeping qualities (at least a year). I did not reduce the sugar when sieving out the skins and pips from the redcurrants but I did make sure I got as much of the fruit pulp as I could. You could probably get away reducing it slightly if you want 50-100g should be ok but ive not tested that. If you sieved the pips out of both the raspberries and redcurrants you could probably reduce it further I would way the discard and reduce it by that much.
If you make jam with less sugar there are two potential issues. First is it can become harder to get a set ( as you have found) and sometimes you will either need to add pectin or increase boiling time. Increased boiling would evaporate the liquid off more and thus effectively increases the sugar ratio. It also tends to make the jam taste more "cooked" and less fresh tasting.
The other issue is that it will reduce the keeping qualities of the jam - not necessarily an issue if you make a small quanitiy and consume it quickly. You will always get a softer set with a lower sugar jam. My Peach and Pomegranate jam is a good example of the lower sugar softer jam you can see that the "Liquid" part of the jam is quite runny and I accept this as it is such a fresh tasting jam (I love it).
Finally, you ask about the issue of boiling. You do need a large pan for making jam as it will boil up a lot. Some fruits seem to produce more foam than other which can exacerbate the problem. So do use a large pan and make sure you stir the jam frequently to help stop it forming a skin which will cause boiling over. Wider pans will help. Preserving pans tend to slope outwards slightly rather than have straight sides to help increase the surface area which helps prevent this and allow the jam to reach setting point quicker but any large deep pan will do. I hope this helps any other questions do ask and do let me know what you think if you make the jam.
Valerie
Hi, thanks so much for your time and help.
I used your tips and rescued my previously made jam which was just liquid. I reboiled it and added the same ratio of sugar to fruit as you suggested and it worked brilliantly, thank you.
So, here I am ready to try your raspberry and recurrant jam but I've run into another problem.
I decided to salt wash my fruit before starting. It worked really well with the currants. The tiny wiggly things I probably wouldn't have known about. The 3 full sized maggots were definitely better out than in!
I then washed the raspberries. Or rather, I put them into soak with the salt and forgot about them. They're lovely and clean, ha ha, but they taste of salt. I have had then under a tap shaking and thoroughly rinsing them, but they still taste salty. On my Husband's suggestion I have filled a bowl with water and aggitated the colander of berries in that to make sure everything is thoroughly washed but they still taste of salt.
I'm hoping that you, or anyone, please, can come up with a suggestion to rescue my poor fruit.
(We don't have fruit sauces with meat or anything, so I can't use them for that).
Thanks again.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
I'm so pleased you were able to rescue your previous attempt at jam. Sadly I'm not sure you can do much about the salty raspberries. Unfortunately, if they were soaked for a long time some of the saltwater would have been taken into the cells of the raspberries by a process of osmosis (i won't try to explain I'm no scientist) but safe to say no amount of rinsing will help. If they are not too salt the sugar in the jam may mask the flavour but its a risk and you might end up wasting the sugar too. Sorry, I can't be of more help but we live and learn and you won't make the same mistake again. Dont let it put you off trying to make jam again. It is so rewarding when it all goes well 🙂 Jacquix
Valerie
Thanks again for your time and patience.
I had a horrible feeling that would be the end of the raspberries. As you say, we live and learn.
I may well continue as I am in the strange situation of having too much sugar. Not in an overstocking lockdown way, I hasten to add. I just managed to buy a 5kg bag instead of a 1kg bag. I probably shouldn't be allowed in a kitchen on my own, lol. Thanks again for your help & patience. Much appreciated.
Stay safe!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
You are welcome, Happy to help. Jacqui x
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
One other point I forgot to mention if you use preserving sugar (that is a large Crystal sugar with no pectin) or a cane sugar (In the UK Tate and Lyle is cane sugar Silver spoon is beet sugar)you will get less foam/scum forming which will also help reduce the chance of the jam boiling over.
Corina
What a lovely jam! I have to say that raspberry jam is my favourite and I love the idea of adding in some redcurrants too for a bit more of a zing. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Thank you Corina. Try it I am sure you will love raspberry jam all the more!