Wonderful Raspberry Preserves

These delicious raspberry preserves are so wonderful!  It is summer in a spoon. It tastes delicious on toast and biscuits in the morning to jazz them up.  It is fantastic in baked goods like jam thumbprint cookies, as a filling for cakes and cookies and so much more.  This is a super easy recipe and it will exercise your canning muscle.  Perfect for beginners or those taking it up again after years of not canning.

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What Is The Difference Between Raspberry Jam And Raspberry Preserves?

There is a lot of confusion about jam, jelly, and preserves.  First there is jelly.  Jelly is made by squeezing the juice out of the fruit and then using sugar, pectin and the juice to make jelly. It is more clear and does not contain any pieces of fruit.  Jam is the next on the list and jam will have pieces of fruit but they will be very small.  Preserves are thicker in consistency and will have larger chunks and sometimes the whole fruit in them.  

What Are Raspberry Preserves Used For?

Raspberry preserves are used like you would jam or jelly on toast or biscuits but also used in making pastry, thumbprint cookies, homemade poptarts, fillings for cakes and cupcakes, etc.

Are Raspberry Preserves Healthy?

Preserves like jams and jellies are most of the time made with sugar.  You can make a sugar-free or less sugar variety though.

How Long Does Raspberry Preserves Last?

In the refrigerator uncanned it will last several weeks.  Canned and in the pantry (sealed) it should last for over a year.

What You Will Need To Make Raspberry Preserves

• Waterbath canner with grate to protect the jars or steam canner 
• 4 – 1/2 pint glass canning jars
• Canning jar lids and rings or reusable canning jar lids
• Magnetic jar lid lifter
• Ladle
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Pot for making the preserves
• Wooden spoon with a long handle
• Hot pan holders
• Canning jar tongs or jar lifter
• Towels
• Washcloth
• Paper towels or clean lint-free cloth
• Apron to protect your clothes

Raspberry Preserves Recipe

If you are steam canning:

• Make sure the bottom of your steam canner has at least 3 quarts of water in it or up to the jar rack. 
• Preheat the steam canner to 180 F for hot packing.
• Fill the jars with preserves.
• Wipe down the rims and place the 2 piece lids on your jars and tighten them to just tight. Don’t over-tighten because the air needs to get out.
• Place jars into your steam canner.
• Place the lid on top of the steam canner.
• Watch the meter to get to the green zone for your elevation.  
• Begin timing for 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat when done and let sit for 5 minutes to cool
• Remove the hot jars with the bottle lifter / Jar tongs onto a flat surface like the countertop with several layers of folded towels to protect the surface from the heat.  
• Leave a space between each jar and let them cool for 24 hours without disturbing
• Label the cooled jars with date and what it is that is in the jar and store them in a cool, dark place.  The preserves will last over a year.