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Place the fruit, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a large pot and stir to mix.
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Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until the fruit starts to release juice and the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes.
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Add the butter and stir to mix.
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Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, skimming the foam as needed, until the jam thickens slightly (it will still be fairly loose) and reaches the setting point (see Know-how, page 304).
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If preserving the jam, sterilize three 1-pint heat-tempered canning jars (see Know-how, page 291).
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For refrigerator jam, let cool slightly and refrigerate in airtight containers until ready to serve, or for up to 1 month.
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For preserved jam, pack the hot fruit in the sterilized jars and seal using the hot-pack method (see Know-how, page 291).
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Let cool to room temperature, check the seal, and store in a cool, dark place until ready to serve, or for up to 6 months.
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Refrigerate after opening.
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The following are some of my favorite seasonal combinations.
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Spring: Strawberry and rhubarb
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Summer: Mixed berry (any combination of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, and strawberries), peach
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Fall: Plum, pear, or apple
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Winter: Pumpkin marmalade, orange or tangerine marmalade
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A little bit of butter is often added to berry jams, but not for the reason you might expect.
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More than adding a hint of richness, the butter helps keep the jam from foaming, thus reducing the need to skim the jam as it cooks.
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I love the straightforward taste of simple fruit jam, but when Im feeling more adventurous I like to play off of the fruits sweetness by adding less run-of-the-mill seasonings.
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A 1/4-cup splash of balsamic vinegar deepens the flavor of strawberry or mixed berry jam, while a sprig or two of fresh thyme or rosemary imparts an elegant grassy end note to blackberry or plum jam.
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Jams like these have complex flavor profiles that make them better suited for cheese and crackers than PB&Js.
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More than just sweetening the pot, the sugar in jams helps preserve the fruit and enables the mixture to set up properly.
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Therefore, it is important to maintain a recipes ratio of sugar to fruit if you want the finished jam to have the recipes intended consistency.
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(Of course, if you are more interested in flavor than texture, by all means reduce the sugar to taste; the jam will just be a bit runnier.)
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Another way to get nice, thick preserves with less sugar is to use fruit pectin of some kind, which, like the sugar, also causes the preserves to set, but without adding any sweet flavor.
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If enough pectin is present, the sugar can be reduced to taste.
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Apples, pears, and quinces are good sources of natural pectin, but if you want to take a more precise approach or avoid introducing those flavors, you can use store-bought natural pectin, such as the Pomona brand.
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This fruit-derived powdered pectin is added to the fruit while it cooks, allowing you to reduce the amount of sugar.
