canning Archives · Jess in the Kitchen

Raspberry Currant Jam

It’s been a summer of rain, rain, and more rain. Which means my berry bushes are producing more and earlier than they have in the past, including my currants! So exciting, right? If you are a gardener like me, you find yourself planting perennial bushes and trees and not getting as much produce as you would like, so you plant more, failing to remember that eventually they will produce SO MUCH FRUIT. Oops. Or maybe you have more foresight than I do. What this means in my garden is that I am finally getting a lot of currants. They are this perfect tart berry that I decided would pair so well with red raspberries for a delightful raspberry currant jam.

This go, I gave low sugar pectin a try and I am digging the results. Perhaps its the combination of berries, but I am giving the pectin the credit. It makes this lovely, not “too jelled” jam that has a near perfect texture and consistency. In addition, less sugar allows the fruit flavor to shine through. Needless to say, I am in love and will be making this for years to come!

While we are here, I will give you all the information you need to successfully can a batch of jam. However, if you are new to canning, you may likely want to gather additional information. My favorite places to learn more are The Ball’s Book of Canning or the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

The Supplies

Waterbath Canner
Canning Tools
Fermentation Tamper for crushing berries, optional
8-9 half pint (jelly) jars, lids, and rings

Your Ingredients

7 cups red raspberries (If frozen, measure first. Then thaw)
3 cups red currants
4 cups sugar
1 package powdered low sugar pectin
¼ teaspoon butter, optional

Your Steps to Raspberry Currant Jam

Begin by measuring out your sugar in a large bowl. Remove ¼ cup of the sugar and mix it with the powdered pectin in a small bowl. It’s important to have all your ingredients prepared before beginning the canning process so don’t skip this step. I also highly recommend reading through the steps more than once before beginning (I know that we are all guilty of flying by the seat of our pants when cooking).

Fill the canning kettle with enough water that the jars will be covered by at least ½” water. More is better in this case so over estimate. Begin to heat over high heat. Place the canning rack so that it is hooked over the side of the canner and put clean jars on it to keep them warm. Note: You don’t have to keep the jars in the rack, although it is helpful to keep them warm. You want the jars warm to prevent breaking when they are being filled.

Set the clean rings aside. I like to simmer my lids on low low heat in a small saucepan. Not necessary, but I like to think it helps them seal better.

Now to Create the raspberry currant Jam

In a large, preferably shallow kettle, smash the raspberries and currants with a potato masher. (I actually really really like my fermenting tamper for this job). Stir in powder pectin with the ¼ cup sugar. Add butter if desired. It will decrease foaming while the jam is cooking, but is not necessary. The foam isn’t bad. It just makes the jam a little less pretty.

Heat berries and pectin over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Once it is close to a boil, stir constantly until you cannot stir down a rolling boil. On more than one occasion, I have thought I reached this point only to go a little longer and see what a “real rolling boil” looked like.

Once a rolling boil has been reached, quickly stir in the sugar. I find a strong whisk is helpful to make sure there are no clumps of sugar in the jam. Continue to heat over medium-high heat until a rolling boil is reached again, stirring constantly. Once the roiling boil is reached, time for EXACTLY one minute. Remove from heat.

TIme to Can

Ladle hot jam into jars using the canning funnel, leaving ¼” head space. Wipe rims of the jars as you go, top with a lid, and put on a ring so that it is fingertip tight. Fingertip tight means you know it’s tight but you aren’t sealing it so much so that it wouldn’t leak on its side, if that makes sense. (Any leftover jam can go in a small container and get placed in the fridge to be enjoyed immediately)

Place jars in JUST about boiling water bath canner. Cover and raise heat until a rolling boil is reached. Cook jam for 10 minutes (adjusting for your altitude…under 1000 feet, you’re good. Over? Add 5 minutes for every 1000 feet). Once the time is complete, remove the canner from heat and remove the cover. Allow the jam to sit in the canner an additional 5 minutes. Then remove and place on a towel on the counter.

Afterward

Listen for the ping as the jars seal and just let them be for 24 hours. I know it will be hard to let them be because you’ll be so proud, but it’s recommended to make sure you get a good seal. Any jars that do not seal can be refrigerated and enjoyed right away. Note: It is recommended to store canned goods with their rings removed so that you can know if a false seal occurs. I generally just loosen them as loose as they can go.

Raspberry Currant Jam

In this homemade low sugar raspberry and currant jam, the sweet and tart flavors of the berries unite to create an irresistible fusion of taste.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Canning

Servings jars

Equipment

Water Bath Canner
8 Jelly Canning Jars with lids and rings
Canning Tools

Ingredients

7 cups raspberries
3 cups red currants
4 cups sugar
¼ teaspoon butter optional
1 package powder pectin

Instructions

Prepare your water bath canner. Fill the canner with enough water so that once the jars are in the canner, they will be covered by at least one inch of water. Cover and begin to heat over a medium-high heat.
Measure out sugar. Remove 1/4 cup of sugar and combine the 1/4 cup with powdered pectin in a small bowl.
Place the raspberries and currants in a large, non reactive kettle. Crush them with potato masher. Add ¼ teaspoon of butter, if desired, to reduce foaming.
Sprinkle and stir in the pectin and 1/4 cup sugar mixture. Cook over high heat until a rolling boil is reached, stirring consistently.
Once a rolling boil is reached, slowly stir in remaining sugar.
Continue to stir until you reach another rolling boil that can not be stirred down. Once a rolling boil is reached, cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Ladle jam into prepared jelly jars, wipe the rims with a damp cloth, add lids, and tighten rings to fingertip tight. Put into the water bath canner. When the canner has a steady boil going, time and process for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude (if you are about 1000 feet, add 5 min)
Once the jam is done processing, remove the canner from heat and let jars rest in the water for an additional 5 minutes. Finally, remove jars from the canner and allow to cool for 12-24 hours before moving.

Notes

Make sure you are using powdered pectin rather than liquid pectin. They do not set the same.
If you have never canned, you can reference the instructions within the pectin box for additional, more detailed directions.
Sealed jars are shelf-stable, meaning they can be stored on a shelf unrefrigerated. If your jars don’t ping (a sign that they have sealed), they are still good. You will just need to store them in the refrigerator.
Most sources recommend removing the rings from jars for storage so that you will know if they unseal for any reason. I generally just loosen them as much as I can without removing them.

Keyword Canning, currants, Jam, Jam Recipes, preserving, Raspberry, raspberry jam, raspberry recipes, red currants

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July 19, 2024July 18, 2024

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Pressure Canned Venison Stroganoff

I’ll be honest, if you would have asked Jess if she would be canning meat 10-15 years ago, I would have laughed in your face. In fact, 15 years ago, I had never canned a thing in my life. Fast forward to now, and I am pumped to share a new way we are processing our venison: pressure canned venison stroganoff.

A number of years ago, we grew so many green beans we couldn’t keep up. When I reached out to the facebook world for recommendations, someone told me we should pick up a pressure canner; that’s how it started. Now, we primarily pressure can venison in a variety of ways:

However, I have taken to using my pressure canner as my waterbath canner and have dabbled with using it as a steam canner. In addition, I made a big shift in how I can by using a Cadco hot plate as my burner. I was hesitant to spend the money on a good hot plate, but wanted to protect my new glass top stove. I ADORE the set up as it gives me the stove top as a work space and I would recommend both (using only a pressure canner and the hot plate) to any canner, especially one with limited work space.

But I digress.

Back to the pressure canned venison stroganoff. The recipe is extremely simple: cubed raw venison, a seasoning mix of salt, pepper, garlic, and onion, raw onion and garlic, dehydrated mushroom (or freeze dried), and venison or beef stock. That’s it.

The seasoning mixture is something we keep on hand for all canning of meat. It’s one part each of: black pepper, dried minced garlic, and dried minced onion; then two parts kosher or canning salt. Typically, I measure it with a quarter cup of the pepper, garlic, and onion with a scant half cup of salt. It’s a great base for so many things so I would mix a large batch. We season every 5 pounds of meat with anywhere from ⅛-¼ cup of seasoning, depending on how I am feeling.

Tools of the Trade

Normally, I put this at the end of a post, but with a pressure canner, I feel as though I should put it at the beginning. I love using my weighted pressure canner. It doesn’t stress me out and I can create so many great things with it. I also think a canning funnel is a must here. Finally, I added the mushrooms I ordered. I wanted small pieces to make sure they didn’t rehydrate to giant pieces, but feel free to use whatever you’d like!

Before you start this process, make sure you read the general directions to your own pressure canner. They may differ from what I am sharing, and you should always follow those directions first. Also, if you are a beginner canner or even advanced, it is always a great idea to check out the National Center for Home Preservation Site for more information!

What goes in the jars?

For each jar of pressure canned venison stroganoff, you’ll need:

1 ½ cups raw cubed venison (stew meat)
½ cup diced onions
¼ cup dried mushrooms, diced small-ish (if you use the link I shared, you don’t need to dice)
1 garlic clove, minced
Beef stock (I adore Orrington Farm’s)

For 7 quarts (the number I can fit in my pressure canner), you’ll need approximately 5 pounds of cubed venison and 16 cups of beef stock.

Let’s Pressure Can Venison Stroganoff Base

Begin by preparing your canner and jars. Wash and sterilize quart jars, rings, and lids. Keep warm. Check the seal and center vent of your lid of the canner. Set aside.

Heat beef broth just to boiling, and then reduce to a simmer. You can be heating this while you fill the jars. It will be ladeled over the meat and vegetables.

Season prepared meat with seasoning mixture mentioned above (2 tablespoons per 2 ½ pounds of meat). Using a canning funnel, stuff jars with 1 1/2 cup of raw meat each. Add ½ cup diced onion, ¼ cup dried mushrooms, and 1 minced garlic clove.

Ladle simmering beef broth over the meat and vegetables, filling the jars just to the bottom of the rim. The meat itself will create its own broth as it cooks. I have found that if you over fill the jars with broth, siphoning occurs. Just to the bottom seems to be perfect (see the picture below).

Wipe rims with a damp cloth, center the lid on the jar and adjust the band to fingertip tight.

Place jars on the rack of a prepared pressure canner (mine needs 3 quarts of hot water plus a splash of vinegar).

Canning Time

Once the weight starts to jiggle (indicating it has reached the appropriate pressure), begin timing. You will need to process pint jars for 75 minutes and quart jars for 90 minutes. Once the timer has gone off, turn off and remove the canner from heat. Allow the pressure to drop on the canner all the way (read specific canner instructions for the indicator). Remove weight and allow to cool an additional 10 minutes. Remove jars from the canner; do not retighten bands. Cool for 12 hours, then check their seals, label, and store jars.

Let me reiterate, this is what works for my pressure canner. I HIGHLY recommend reading and then rereading your own pressure canner directions. They aren’t hard to use, but you also don’t want to dedicate this time and effort to have something not work out.

Ready to eat that Pressure Canned Venison Stroganoff? Here’s how we prepare it!

Your Ingredients

¼ cup butter
¼ cup all purpose flour
½ cup dry red cooking wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
⅓ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Cooked egg noodles

In a large pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the flour and whisk continually to create a rue, cooking for about 4 minutes. Stir in cooking wine, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Continue to whisk. Add cream cheese and sour cream (or Greek yogurt) as well as red pepper flakes. Once everything is well combined, open the jar of stroganoff base and slowly stir in the broth. Do this in parts, waiting for the broth to thicken before adding more. Once all the liquid has been added, gently add the meat, mushrooms, and onions.

Cook until hot and serve ladled over the cooked egg noodles.