Summer Jumble Fruit Jam

Summer is in full swing and the months of July and August always yield many delicious fruits such as nectarines, peached, plums, apricots, cherries and berries. Because there is such an abundance of these fabulous fruits, I always find myself buying more than I can eat.

Because of this, I use the fruits to make various baked goods as well as a new favorite… jam! To some, jam making can seem like a daunting task… I mean, it seems that you must sanitize and sterilize the jars, get a bunch of special jam-making utensils, buy pectin, use copious amounts of sugar and slave over a hot stove for quite some time? Is this the case for the jam recipe I will be sharing with you? Absolutely not.

My Summer Jumble Fruit Jam:

• does not use pectin
• is quick to make
• does not require special utensils or sterilizing jars
• is low in sugar
• allows you to customize the fruit

Winner, winner, chicken dinner, huh? A truly fabulous recipe this is and I am so happy to be able to make such delicious jam with just a handful of ingredients and tools. The secret to thickening the jam to get that perfect consistency is not to fiddle around with pectin, but to use cornstarch instead! This trick works every time and once you try this recipe, you will wonder why you never thought of using cornstarch for jam-making before!

Have fun using this jam in many breakfast foods including oatmeal and yogurt, or spread it on top of crackers paired with cheese and wine, DELICIOUS 🙂

-Chewy

Summer Jumble Fruit Jam

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

No pectin? No problem 🙂 Use this easy, customizable jam on toast, swirled in yogurt or ice cream, mixed into a hot bowl of oatmeal of used to accompany cheese and crackers!

Author: Angela Chu

Serves: One pint of jam

Ingredients

• 4-5 cups of summer fruit, cut into small pieces
• a few tbsp of water
• 3-6 tbsp sugar
• a pinch of salt
• a pinch of cinnamon
• a squeeze of lemon and and a bit of zest
• 1-2 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with water to form a slurry

Instructions

1. Put the fruit, sugar and salt in a soup pot set over medium heat.
2. Add a splash of water and cook the mixture over medium heat, letting it be at a gentle bubble.Make sure to stir the fruit often to avoid burning the sugar or the fruit.
3. After cooking the mixture for 15-20 minutes, it should have thickened slightly and reduced. At this point, add the cinnamon and the lemon juice/zest and add more sugar is desired.
4. Continue stirring and cooking the jam and use potato masher to mash it up some more, if you wish.
5. Once the jam is at a texture and sweetness that you like, add the cornstarch slurry, a teaspoon or two at a time, stirring quickly until the jam has thickened.
6. Now, spoon the hot jam into a clean jar and close it up tightly. Place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours to firm up and set properly.
7. When it is finished chilling, it's time to enjoy the delicious homemade jam you've just created!

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