Golden Raspberry Jam

If you’re lucky enough to have an abundant harvest of golden raspberries, turn them into a delicious jam! Golden raspberry jam is an easy canning project even for total beginners. In this recipe, I’ll teach you how to preserve your homemade raspberry jam by water bath canning! It’s easier than it seems.

What are golden raspberries?

Golden raspberries are a special variety of raspberries that tend to be yellow to a pinkish salmon color. They are slightly less tart than raspberries and have a lovely, flavor. Golden raspberries make an amazing homemade jam with a slightly peachy flavor.

They can grow in zones 2-10 and if you can’t find them near you, get some plants to grow in your own garden!

I live in Western Washington, and berries grow prolifically here. I was fortunate enough to find 2 seconds half-flats of golden raspberries for a great price from a local farm.

For $24, I got 12 half-pints of the berries. Since they were a little older, I had to pick through the berries to remove moldy spots and damage.

How do you use golden raspberries?

Use golden raspberries the same way you use red raspberries. They’re all from the same family; golden raspberries are just a different color.

I love freezing raspberries for baking and smoothies. You can dry raspberries, although the seeds might make them a bit crunchy. Sprinkle some over your yogurt and granola for a perfect summer breakfast!

Can I can golden raspberry jam?

Absolutely! The tricky part is to know how to can them safely. As a lower acid berry, I recommend canning these following the same recommendations for other low acid berries: add lemon juice.

Red raspberries are more acidic and can be canned without adding lemon juice. To be on the safe side, I recommend adding lemon juice to this recipe.

However, this is just for canning. What if you want to freeze this jam or make a small batch for the fridge? You have way more flexibility with those storage methods! You can skip the lemon juice if you are not canning your jam.

What do I need for water bath canning?

If you’re new to water bath canning, there are a few items you’ll need to have. Don’t worry – you likely already own some of them. If you don’t, it’s worth investing in the basic tools for water bath canning as you’ll be able to use them again and again.

• Mason jars
• New lids
• Bands
• Pectin
• Dutch oven or pot for cooking the jam
• Tall stock pot for canning
• Funnel
• Jar lifter
• Headspace measuring tool
• Clean towels

It’s important to make sure everything is completely clean and sanitized. Take a little time to prepare for canning before you start cooking! It’s important to make sure you have everything you need in the appropriate quantities.

Golden Raspberry Jam Ingredients

Typically, we adapt recipes based on the amount of berries that we have. I started with the low sugar base recipe from the RealFruit Ball pectin label to make sure I was using an appropriate amount of sugar and pectin.

For every 2 half pint jars you need:

• 1 1/3 cups of berrries (mashed)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 1/2 TBS of Ball RealFruit pectin
• 3 tsp bottled lemon juice

Since I had an entire flat of golden raspberries, I washed, cleaned, and mashed all of the berries. I had enough berries to multiply that recipe by 6.

• 9 cups of fresh raspberries (mashed)
• 6 cups of regular sugar
• 9 TBS pectin
• 6 TBSP of bottled lemon juice

Equipment

• Potato masher
• Stock pot for cooking the jam
• Water bath canning tools (see above)

Golden Raspberry Jam Recipe

1. Wash, dry, and mash your raspberries in a large bowl. Keep track of how many cups of raspberries you have to adapt the recipe as needed.
2. Add the mashed golden raspberries and lemon juice to a dutch oven or stock pot. Add the sugar and sprinkle the pectin on top.
3. Heat the mixture over medium heat and stir occasionally. Skim off any foam from the top of your jam.
4. As the jam is cooking, fill up your tall stock pot with water to boil. Set up a small pot with water over medium on a back burner and simmer your new lids and rings for 10 minutes. Sanitize your jars by boiling them in water for 10 minutes.
5. Cook until the mixture starts to thicken. To test if the jam has set, conduct the gel test and the wrinkle test.
   • The gel test: Scoop a small amount of jam onto a cold saucer (or stick it in the freezer for a minute). Run your finger through the center of the jam. If your finger leaves a clean trail and the jam stays on either side of the divide, it’s ready.
   • The wrinkle test: On the same plate, tilt the plate sideways. When the jam starts to move down with gravity, wrinkles should appear on the surface of the jam.
6. Set your sanitized jars on a clean towel. Add your canning funnel to a clean jar and pour in enough jam to fill the jar except leave 1/4 inch for headspace. Use your headspace measuring tool to make sure your pour was accurate. Continue filling your jars until you’ve used all of the jam.
7. With a wet, clean towel, wipe off all the rims of the jars to make sure there is no residue that could disturb the seal.
8. Remove the jar lids from the small pot where they were simmering. Dry them off and place them on the jars. Close with a band. Tighten the lids as well as you can.
9. Add the jars to your tall stock pot or boiling-water canner. Make sure there is something between the bottom of the jars and the pan like a metal rack or kitchen towel.
10. Add enough water to cover the top of the jars with at least one inch of water. Turn up the heat until the water begins to boil.
11. Once the water is boiling, set a timer for 10 minutes. If you live above sea level, you will need to add more time based on your area. This timing is meant for half-pint jars only. You will need to process the jam longer if you use larger jars.
12. When the 10 minutes are up, turn down the heat and allow the jars to sit in the pot for about 5 minutes. Then remove them to a clean, dry towel on the counter.
13. If you were not able to fit all of your jars in your first round of canning, run the next round following the same instructions.
14. Leave them to cool completely for 12-24 hours. After that time, remove the bands from the jars. Test your seal by pressing on the center of the jar. It should stay down when pressed.

FAQs about Making Golden Raspberry Jam

Do I need to add lemon juice to golden raspberry jam?

Boy, isn’t this the question!? I’d always heard that golden raspberries were lower in acid than red raspberries. There are so few golden raspberry jam recipes out there that I couldn’t find good information about this topic. Some recipes for water bath canning do not include any lemon juice or citric acid and I followed those when I initially made this recipe.

After doing a little more research, I think it’s best to add lemon juice. It’s hard to measure the pH of the golden raspberries and I’m a big believer in being safe than sorry. By adding lemon juice, you can be sure that your jam will be safe for long-term storage.

If you don’t add lemon juice, consider storing the jam in the fridge instead of the pantry.

What if my jam doesn’t seal right?

If your raspberry jam comes out of the hot water bath and hasn’t sealed properly within a few hours, store it in the fridge and eat it within 3 weeks.

Properly sealed jam should be labeled, dated, and stored for approximately 1 year.

Your jam will likely last longer than a year, but the seals are made to last that long.

Do I have to use pectin?

There are definitely raspberry jam recipes that do not use pectin. This recipe requires that you use pectin, though. I recommend using the Ball brand pectin to ensure your results as just like mine.

It’s not always easy substituting different brands of pectin. Learn more about different thickeners for canning here.

Can I use this recipe to make red raspberry jam?

Absolutely! This is a great raspberry jam recipe and can be used with either red or golden raspberries.

If you use red raspberries, you do not need to add lemon juice according to the recipe from the Ball pectin label.

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Golden Raspberry Jam

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Preserve the harvest of your delicious golden raspberries with this golden raspberry jam recipe! This makes a great gift for others…or yourself.

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Canning 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Baking, Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 38 tablespoons

Calories 24 kcal

Equipment

• Potato masher
• Stock pot for cooking the jam
• Water bath canner
• Mason jars with new lids
• Canning funnel
• Headspace measuring tool
• Jar lifter

Ingredients

  

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• 1 1/3 cup fresh raspberries, mashed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 TBSP pectin, Ball RealFruit pectin
• 3 tsp bottled lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Wash, dry, and mash your raspberries in a large bowl. Keep track of how many raspberries you have to adapt the recipe as needed.
• Add the mashed raspberries and lemon juice to a dutch oven or stock pot. Add the sugar and sprinkle the pectin on top.
• Heat the mixture over medium heat and stir occasionally. Skim off any foam from the top of your jam.
• As the jam is cooking, fill up your tall stock pot with water to boil. Set up a small pot with water over medium on a back burner and simmer your new lids and rings for 10 minutes. Sanitize your jars by boiling them in water for 10 minutes.
• Cook until the mixture starts to thicken. To test if the jam has set, scoop a small amount of jam onto a cold saucer (or stick it in the freezer for a minute). Run your finger through the center of the jam. If your finger leaves a clean trail and the jam stays on either side of the divide, it’s ready.
• Set your sanitized jars on a clean towel. Add your canning funnel to a clean jar and pour in enough jam to fill the jar except leave 1/4 inch for headspace. Use your headspace measuring tool to make sure your pour was accurate. Continue filling your jars until you’ve used all of the jam. With a wet, clean towel, wipe off all the rims of the jars to make sure there is no residue that could disturb the seal.
• Remove the jar lids from the small pot where they were simmering. Dry them off and place them on the jars. Close with a band. Tighten the lids as well as you can.
• Add the jars to your tall stock pot or boiling-water canner. Make sure there is something between the bottom of the jars and the pan like a metal rack or kitchen towel.
• Add enough water to cover the top of the jars with at least one inch of water. Turn up the heat until the water begins to boil.
• Once the water is boiling, set a timer for 10 minutes. If you live above sea level, you will need to add more time based on your area. This timing is meant for half-pint jars only. You will need to process the jam longer if you use larger jars.
• When 10 minutes are up, turn down the heat and allow the jars to sit in the pot for about 5 minutes. Then remove them to a clean, dry towel on the counter.
• If you were not able to fit all of your jars in your first round of canning, run the next round following the same instructions.
• Leave them to cool completely for 12-24 hours. After that time, remove the bands from the jars. Test your seal by pressing on the center of the jar. It should stay down when pressed.

Notes

The yield for this small batch recipe is two half-pints.

How to tell if your jam is ready for canning:

• The gel test: Scoop a small amount of jam onto a cold saucer (or stick it in the freezer for a minute). Run your finger through the center of the jam. If your finger leaves a clean trail and the jam stays on either side of the divide, it’s ready.
• The wrinkle test: On the same plate, tilt the plate sideways. When the jam starts to move down with gravity, wrinkles should appear on the surface of the jam.

Be sure to process half pint jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. Add an extra minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1tbspCalories: 24kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.05gSaturated Fat: 0.001gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.02gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.003gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 7mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 1mgIron: 0.05mg

Keyword golden raspberry, golden raspberry jam

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