Raspberry Jam...For My Gramma!

This summer I took up a new hobby...canning! People have been canning, pickling, and preserving food for a very long time. When my boyfriend (#thesweetest) gave me Paul Virant's cookbook, Preservation Kitchen, I decided I was going to can as many things as I could this summer. This way I will have flavorful produce all winter long. (All miserable, Chicago winter, long)

Among my pickled ramps, asparagus and giardinera, my favorite thing I have canned is jam! After grape, blueberry and rhubarb, I decided it was time for my favorite, raspberry! I'm a sucker for toast and jam just like my Gramma Yvonne was! In fact one of my last memories of her was back in Texas as she sat at our kitchen counter drinking her tea and eating toast with jam. It was raspberry, one of her favorites.

Gramma Yvonne in front of The Indian Ocean

While making jam today, I wished more than anything I could send her a jar. Receiving a jar of fresh jam may be the best gift you could give because it is made with love and fresh ingredients! I used Mick Klug raspberries from Green City Market. Here is an easy recipe for my raspberry jam!

Mick Klug Raspberries

 Raspberry Jam for Gramma Yvonne

4 cups raspberries
4 cups sugar
1 lemon
4 half pint mason jars

Bring raspberries, sugar and juice of one lemon to boil. After mixture reaches a boil, reduce to simmer. Simmer until mixture coats the back of a spoon. (About 20 minutes)

While the raspberry mixture is simmering, process your jars. Bring empty mason jars to a boil in a tall pot. When the jam is ready and the jars have come to a boil, fill the jars with the jam leaving about a 1/2 in space at the top of the jar. Put the lids on the jars just tight enough so they stay on, you don't want the lids too snug. Put the jars in back in the boiling water. Make sure the water covers the tops of the jars. Boil for about ten minutes. Remove the jars and let cool. Soon you will hear the snap of the lids. This means the jars are sealed! Let them rest for a day, then enjoy!