Raspberry Lemon Balm Jam
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Author Notes: I love to make jam and I love to play around with fruit/herb/floral combinations. I knew I wanted to add a subtle lemon flavor, and considered lemon verbena and lemon thyme. Walking through my garden, I realized my favorite little perennial, Lemon Balm, was just right.
Lemon Balm was a tiny bit challenging, though- since the tender leaves tend to turn black when cooked. My solution was to infuse the herb into the sugar, by allowing the lemon balm to sit in the sugar for a day. - Hilarybee
Makes 5-6 half pints
- 2 pounds Red Raspberries
- 4 1/2 cups Granulated Cane Sugar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 bunch, Lemon Balm, flowers removed
- 12-14 hours before you want to jam, combine the Lemon Balm and the sugar. Rub the leaves and stalk into the sugar, until it is fragrant. Allow to sit for an entire day, covered.
- After the sugar has rested, pick out the lemon balm stalks and any errant leaves that might be in the sugar. Prepare a water bath, and sterilize six jars, lids, and rings (or use Weck rubber seals). Sterilize any other equipment you plan to use- like funnel, measuring cup, etc.
- Pour the raspberries in a large non-reactive pot (I use a 10 quart stainless steel jam pan). Gently heat the fruit on low, pressing the fruit against the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the raspberries are very tender and have released their juices.
- Take 1 full cup of the mixture and pour it through a fine mesh sieve. This filters out some of the seeds- so the jam is lightly seeded. Add the deseeded mixture back into the pan.
- Add the sugar and stir over low heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil rapidly for about 10-15 minutes, or until the jam passes the wrinkle test or reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer.
- Allow the mixture to cool at least three minutes off the heat. Divide mixture into the sterilized jars. Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Raspberries
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almost 2 years ago Hilarybee
Thank you aargersi, sdebrango and Kitchen Butterfly! @aargersi, I find the partial de-seeding really helps with blackberry and black raspberry jams, too. When the liquid boils down, there always seems to be too many seeds- so last year I decided to try filtering some out and it works beautifully. Now it is standard operating procedure for me.
almost 2 years ago aargersi
Abbie is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Love this! I don't have lemon balm so I may revert to lemon verbena, but I pretty much have to make SOME version of this!!! I really like the partial de-seeding too
almost 2 years ago Hilarybee
Lemon Verbena is really nice, I've tried it with the sugar technique and it works nicely. You'll have to maybe use two bunches, since Verbena isn't as strong as lemon balm.
almost 2 years ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Lovely combination of flavors, beautiful jam!
almost 2 years ago Kitchen Butterfly
I love lemon balm. I love this