It’s blackberry season and of course the perfect time to make blackberry jam. Blackberries and blueberries make a great pair since their colors are so robust and the flavor of the berries is so good! The jam was less thick than other jams, which allows for a little more versatility. It’s great mixed in with yogurt or as an ice cream topping, but still works fine on toast.
Making new kinds of jam is pretty easy since there are so many combinations that go well together. I am a big fan of cranberry sauce and I thought it would add a little tartness to raspberry jam. The jam turned out really well! It was not very thick so I could use it for other things besides as a spread on toast. Since it’s more like a sauce than a jam, I’ve been adding this to plain yogurt and really enjoying the results. This definitely has been one of my favorite jams so far.
Jams are fun and easy to make, so I just keep trying new kinds! Jams require an acid component, like lemon juice, so I decided to go with lime juice for something a bit different. The lime zest also amped up the lime flavor of the jam which I liked quite a bit. Oddly enough, it reminds me of strawberry pez. You would think this would be strange on toast but it actually works quite well!
Making jam has been pretty fun and has yielded some great results. The spiced blueberry and mango cardamom jams have been great, and I wanted to try a raspberry jam too. The almond extract was a nice addition to the jam that I had never tried before. The extract has a cherry-vanilla flavor that goes very well with the raspberries. Another option is to add about 2 teaspoons of amaretto liqueur for a stronger almond flavored jam.
I’m on a jam making kick, and I have been liking the spiced jam varieties since they are hard to find in stores. Like the Mango and Cardamom Jam, I wanted to explore the combination of fruit and spices with this recipe. The jam turned out very well and I liked the clove and cinnamon flavors with the sweet blueberries. Next time I might mash up the blueberries a bit more before cooking. I assumed that when the fruit cooked the skins would fall apart but they didn’t. I look forward to having this jam with toast in the mornings!
I wanted to make a really unique tasting recipe for my first experiment with homemade jams. You can make jam without using pectin, but I wanted to give it a try and see what happened. It added a thickness to the jam that was nice. The mango with the cardamom were very tasty together. I left some mango chunks in it for extra texture. It tastes great on toast and even with peanut butter. I look forward to having this with a slice of curried mango bread too!
