Tutti Frutti Jam
Last week I was lucky enough to stumble across punnets of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries for 50 pence each so I decided to make Tutti Frutti Jam. Well Strawberry, Blackberry, Blueberry & Raspberry Jam was just a bit of a mouthful really and too much to write on a label! Update, since writing this post I’ve been told this jam is called Bumbleberry Jam in the USA which is a lovely name I think:-)
Truth be told I had intended these berries be used for dessert as I’d also bought some reduced plums. However when I came to make jam the berries won me over and just as well as most of the plums I’d bought were over ripe so we ate as many as we could and composted the rest.
Why is it important to use fresh fruit when making jam?
Ideally you should use fruit that is just ripe as it has higher pectin levels (these berries are however low in pectin to start with) and has the best flavour, over ripe fruit will make a poor tasting jam, there’s no disguising it!
Do you need to use pectin or jam sugar when making jam with low pectin fruits?
You can but I used jam sugar in my first ever jam and didn’t like the stiff set I got. I have never used liquid pectin as so far I have had success just using lemon juice which aids the gel formation (there’s a long scientific explanation which I won’t go into here)! There isn’t any pectin in lemon juice but it is in the skin and pips which is why I added the lemon skins to this recipe to give an extra helping hand.
So what did my Tutti Frutti Jam taste like?
I’m always so nervous when opening up a new pot of jam as first it needs to pass the set test, it can vary between a soft and firmer set but something that is liquid or stiff just won’t do. If jam is too runny you just pop it back in a pan and boil until a better set is reached (re-sterilising the jars of course). I could tip this jam upside down and it didn’t move so I was worried it was too stiff at first but once I got a spoon into it I realised it was just right. My only taste tester, apart from me, was my son as hubby and daughter don’t like seeds in jam. So I plied some bread with my Tutti Frutti Jam and awaited my son’s verdict. He really liked it, phew. Then I tried it and I like the fresh tang that the lemon juice adds to this jam, but it’s still sweet and fruity! It would go perfectly at breakfast or with afternoon tea on a scone etc.
More Berry Jam Inspiration
I hope you try my Tutti Frutti Jam, which is great for using up a glut of summer berries. For more berry combination recipes you might like to try:
Strawberry, Raspberry & Redcurrant Jam
Why not pin for later?
Tutti Frutti Jam
Ingredients
- 250 g strawberries
- 200 g blackberries
- 200 g blueberries
- 150 g raspberries
- 700 g granulated sugar
- 50 ml lemon juice freshly squeezed (about 1.5 lemons) + 2 half lemon rinds
Instructions
- Put 2 saucers in the freezer which will be used to test for set.
- Rinse and dry the berries (I use my salad spinner).
- Hull the strawberries.
- Add berries, sugar, lemon juice and lemon rinds to a preserving pan or similar heavy bottomed pan.
- Place on a low heat and stir with a wooden spoon until all the sugar has fully dissolved (do not simmer).
- Use a potato masher to mash the strawberries and blackberries to the desired consistency.
- Slowly bring the pan to a rolling boil and then time for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Take off take off heat and test a few drops on a saucer by placing in the fridge for a minute.
- Push you finger through the jam and if it forms a crinkle then it’s ready, if not boil for another 2 minutes at a time and retest until setting point is reached.
- Remove lemon halves and ladle into 2 medium sized sterilised jars (see notes) and screw lids on immediately.
- Yields 800 mls.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Sterilise jars by washing in hot soapy water (or take straight from dishwasher), fill with boiling water, empty and then place in oven for 20 minutes at 140°C where you leave them until the jam is ready. Washed lids should be sterilised with boiling water and then left to drain.
Made this but substituted redcurrants for the blackberries. Excellent flavour and good set. My local supermarket often has small packs of berries marked down in price, but I had never thought of making jam from a mixture of them. I think this would be good with any combination of berries. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to cook the blueberries until soft before adding the other berries, as blueberries take longer to cook. Will definitely do again!
Great Celia, glad you liked the recipe:-)
So glad you like it:-)
Blackcurrants are the super pectin of the jam world. By combining high pectin fruits with low pectin fruits, you can create luscious jam without lots of sugar.
I’m sure you could add blackcurrants to this recipe if you wished!
Please use Us measurements when giving recipes .. don’t know and don’t use nunbers like 250 G’ what is it ????? hate recipes like that …
Hi Angeline, I have answered this question a few times and it boils down to the fact that measurements of volume do not convert to the same measurement of weight, this article puts the case for using scales perfectly: https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/09/9-reasons-to-ditch-your-measuring-cups-and-get-a-s.html And 250g is 250 grams, I had to cross over from imperial pounds and ounces as a child to metric, we learned to roughly convert 1 oz to 25 grams (it’s actually 28.34 but if you scale a whole recipe on this proviso then the recipe will work). And if if it makes you feel any better I bought an Australian book as a teen to use in my Home Economics class and as every recipe was in cups I couldn’t use it. Those were the days before we had the internet and I couldn’t Google for a conversion and cups weren’t available in our shops at that time. So I understand your frustration but giving out a bad version of my recipe is not something my readers or you would thank me for. Jam making is a precise science unlike making say a casserole.
Love the look of this jam and it would be so easy to make this now that berries are down in price at last! Might have to dig out my jam pan. Loving the bright vivid photos too!
Thank you Lucy, yes lots of cheap berries around at the moment:-)
This looks amazing. Love the thought of all those fruit flavours mixed together. Victoria sponge with plenty of jam would really show this jam off
Thank you Candace, ooh yes love a nice Victoria Sponge with a good slathering of clotted cream:-)
That looks heavenly Camilla and like you i like the seeds. Just gorgeous Sharing this now!
Thank you Jacqueline, yes we need seeds for roughage:-)
Aah Camilla, you are after my own heart calling this tutti-frutti as that was a favourite ice cream flavour of mine as a young child. It felt so tropical. Lovely combination of summer berries for this jam.
Yes, I recall that too now and were there some sweets?
I can never decide which flavour of jam I want, so this is ideal as I can have them all at the same time now.
There you, problem solved:-)