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This vibrant Mixed Berry Jam with pectin is a thick, spreadable jam. It uses four berries and is the perfect balance of tart and sweet, ready in 20 minutes! This recipe can be made in a small batch or scaled into a large batch and it will be perfectly thick every time!
Easy mixed berry jam has a bit of lemon to highlight the natural berry flavors so you can keep it thick without adding too much sugar! Spreadable, bright, and dependable, I love this jam. I always have a few jars alongside my peach preserves recipe (no pectin), easy strawberry jam, these easy cherry preserves, and apple butter in my refrigerator.
Use mixed berry jam on toast, in muffins, on blueberry scones, in Italian meringue buttercream, on yogurt, in jelly donuts, on vanilla ice cream. This jam in particular is excellent on thick slices of traditional Irish soda bread with raisins or baked into thumbprint cookies.
Table of Contents
- Why this is the best mixed berry jam recipe:
- Professional Tips for quick jam:
- What is mixed fruit jam made of?
- Substitutions
- How to keep pectin from clumping in jam?
- How to Make Mixed Berry Jam
- Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
- How to use mixed berry jam?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Mixed Berry Jam Recipe
- Before You Go
Why this is the best mixed berry jam recipe:
- The natural berry flavors shine! Since we use pectin in this recipe, we don’t need to add too much sugar. Packed with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, you get summer fruit in every bite.
- A gentle lemon zing. Lemon pulls out fresh fruit flavors and makes this the best jam you’ve ever tasted!
- Simple, tested ingredients. A professional pastry chef has tested and re-tested the ratios in this recipe so that it comes out thick, spreadable, and perfect every time!
Professional Tips for quick jam:
- Be careful not to overcook. If you cook it too long, the sugars will caramelize. The resulting jam will not be a beautiful bright color and the flavors will be subdued.
- If time allows, macerate the berries. Letting the sugar and berries sit together overnight will make this jam even better! It isn’t necessary though.
- Making a larger batch will increase the cook time. Just watch it and stir occasionally!
- If foam forms on top, skim it with a ladle. For bright, clear homemade jam, you must skim foam from the top of the cooking berries. I use a small ladle for this.
What is mixed fruit jam made of?
- Strawberries: Fresh, in-season strawberries make the best mixed berry jam. They have a lower moisture content and more concentrated flavor. Frozen strawberries will work.
- Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries here!
- Raspberries: Fresh or frozen raspberries work. I like to buy them at the market and then freeze them myself!
- Blackberries: Fresh or frozen blackberries can also be used. It goes without saying that in-season produce will make the most flavorful jam.
- Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Citric Acid
- nH Pectin: nH pectin is a very strong and consistent pectin that contains calcium. Classic pectin is thermoreversible. This means it can be heated and then cooled while retaining its thickening properties. This is useful when baking with the jam or for nappage or mirror glaze. You can also use apple pectin in this jam.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Berries: This berry ratio was carefully tested in small and large batches with the exact amount of pectin. You can substitute more or less of one particular type of berry! However, it will affect the thickness of the jam. For example, more blueberries will require less additional pectin because blueberries naturally have a lot of pectin.
- Citric Acid: I love the neutral acidity of citric acid but you can certainly omit it or add a bit more lemon juice. There is enough acidity in the lemon juice to help the pectin gel.
- Pectin: If you cannot find or do not want to purchase nH pectin, then you may use an equal portion of high quality apple or citrus pectin. Every brand and variety is different. It might take a bit of experimentation to find the right ratio for yours.
How to keep pectin from clumping in jam?
- Add it with sugar: I always whisk a portion of the total sugar in the recipe with the pectin before adding it to hot jam. If using extra pectin for some reason, be sure to add it in with sugar.
- Whisk it in a bit at a time: While whisking constantly, sprinkle the pectin sugar mixture over the surface of the bubbling mixed berry jam. Allowing each addition to whisk in before adding the next. The jam will thicken almost instantly, so you want to work quickly and efficiently especially when adding a lot of pectin.
- The steam can also cause the pectin to clump. Keep the pectin mixture out of the steam between additions.
How to Make Mixed Berry Jam
Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Wash, hull and remove the stems of the strawberries. Cut in half or quarters depending on how large they are. Combine strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and citric acid in a medium pot or saucepan. Stir to combine.
Taste the berry mixture and add more sugar or lemon juice as needed. Fresh berries vary greatly in their sweetness, so be sure to taste before you cook!
Step 2: Cook over medium low heat until the berries begin releasing their juices and then increase heat to medium. Cook over medium heat until the juices begin to thicken. Stir occasionally. You can use a potato masher to speed this process along.
If you want a seedless jam, immersion blend the hot jam and then pass it through a fine mesh sieve. Return the seedless jam to the pot to continue to cook.
Step 3: In a small bowl whisk pectin and 1 teaspoon sugar. Once the jam has reached your desired thickness (about 10-15 minutes), gradually whisk the pectin mixture into the pot.
It is ready for the pectin when the jam will hold a line in the bottom briefly before filling in. Sprinkle it into the cooking mixture while stirring constantly. Continue cooking, watching carefully, and stirring more frequently to make sure it isn’t burning.
Step 4: Let the mixture come to a full rolling boil for at least 1 minute and then either pour into clean, sanitized canning jars with cleaned lids or pour out to cool before storing.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
Cooling is just as important as cooking when it comes to jam! If you aren’t going to properly can the jam then pour cooked jam into a large bowl or baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap with a few holes poked in for steam, and then cool completely. Once room temperature, pour into clean mason jars or airtight containers. Store in the fridge.
How to use mixed berry jam?
- Use as you would store-bought jam. In peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, on warm blueberry scones with clotted cream, dolloped on lemon poppyseed muffins, or mixed into overnight oats!
- Here are some unexpected uses from my pastry chef playbook! Use it to make a berry glaze on these strawberry scones (immersion blend and strain it first)! Spread or swirl it into no bake blueberry cheesecake bars made with a graham cracker crust or even strawberry rhubarb cheesecake bars!
- Use it as a flavoring. You can add it to yogurt for filling these dark chocolate crepes, mix it into a berry compote for topping lemon ginger panna cotta cheesecake, or incorporate it into a bourbon caramel ice cream!
- Use it as a filling or topping. Use it to fill linzer cookies or mix it with homemade whipped cream to top a lemon berry pavlova cake! Layer it into your favorite lemon berry trifle, or spoon it on top of chocolate ice cream. Try it swirled into sourdough pancakes or drizzled on top of fluffy coconut flour waffles!
- Use it as a plating sauce. Add a little extra lemon juice (or don’t!) and use a spoonful of this mixed berry jam as a sauce for flourless chocolate torte, lemon meringue cheesecake, ginger orange almond biscotti, or a rustic blueberry nectarine galette!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store mixed berry jam in clean, airtight containers for up to 6 months refrigerated. You can also freeze this jam for over a year. If storing for longer than a week, be careful not to contaminate the jam by dipping a dirty spoon inside or using your fingertip to clean the rims of the jar. If you see visible mold on top, it was contaminated and should be thrown out.
Absolutely! It will be less thick than mixed berry jam made with pectin but it will still be thick and spreadable. When making this jam without pectin, you will want to stick to the ratio of strawberries to other berries. Strawberries have a high moisture content and make a runny jam without pectin. See my Strawberry Quick Jam for the result!
While this mixed berry jam can easily, and quickly, be made in a small batch, it can also be scaled up into as large of a batch as you would like! The largest batch that I have made with it was 4.5 kg or a little under 10 pounds! The reason it works in a large batch is because of the specific ratio of berries and the pectin. Berries have varying levels of natural pectin, so if you change my ratio, then you will either need more or less added pectin to achieve the same consistency. In a small batch you might not notice the difference, but scale that up by a few kilos, and you’ll have yourself a sticky situation!
Frozen berries make great jam! Try to use higher quality frozen berries that don’t have added sugar or preservatives. Don’t bother thawing your berries, but do be aware that it might take a bit longer for your jam to cook since they’ll be releasing a lot of liquid along the way.
Traditional jam has a 1:1 ratio of sugar to fruit, which helps keep the jam preserved and thick. However, this recipe is a low-sugar jam with 70% fruit and 30% sugar, which is why I use a bit of added pectin to get the same thickness!
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Mixed Berry Jam
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup strawberries quartered if large
- 1 cup blueberries
- ⅔ cup raspberries
- ½ cup blackberries
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice about half a lemon
- ¼ teaspoon citric acid
- ¼ teaspoon nH Pectin or apple pectin
- 1 teaspoon sugar to mix with pectin
Instructions
- Wash, hull and remove the stems of the strawberries. Cut in half or quarters depending on how large they are. Combine strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and citric acid in a medium pot or saucepan. Stir to combine.
- Cook over medium low heat until the berries begin releasing their juices and then increase heat to medium. Cook over medium heat until the juices begin to thicken. Stir occasionally. You can use a potato masher to speed this process along.
- In a small bowl whisk pectin and 1 teaspoon sugar. Once the jam has reached your desired thickness (about 10-15 minutes), gradually whisk the pectin mixture into the pot.
- Let the mixture come to a full rolling boil for at least 1 minute and then either pour into clean, sanitized canning jars with cleaned lids or pour out to cool before storing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested jam recipe. Check out our other jams, jellies and preserve recipes or dive into all our sweet dessert toppings & sauce recipes!
