Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam

Weary of the same old jam on your morning toast? This Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam is a delicious alternative! Make a batch in less than an hour with plenty for yourself and enough to give away (and you'll love the free printable labels)!

Scott asked me one day a while back if I was "going to run out of ideas for jam and jelly recipes". We do have a pretty exhaustive collection with typical breakfast options like Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Peach, etc., appetizer choices like Balsamic Fig Jam and Pumpkin Jam, all sorts of pepper jellies as well as lots of marmalades. But I replied, "Not any time soon", as it seems there's always some fun and interesting new idea that comes my way like this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam.

The inspiration for this one came from a little online gourmet jam company called Brins and a trip to Sam's Club. I saw that Brins made a Strawberry Lemongrass Jam and the idea intrigued me. The same day, I was shopping at Sam's Club and saw a big beautiful package of bright red strawberries. I generally pass on strawberries at the grocery store during the off-season because they're usually hard and white inside and quite flavorless. But these berries were just too pretty to pass up. When I got them home and tried one, I was amazed at how sweet and delicious they were.

I decided to take the lemongrass idea from Brins and run with it a bit. I used a combination of my delicious strawberries and a bag of frozen raspberries. I  keep lemongrass paste in the freezer so I used a good squeeze of that along with some fresh ginger and a splash of fresh lime juice. I wasn't sure if this crazy combination would be blog-worthy but one little taste assured me that I would definitely be sharing it. So fresh, vibrant and SO delicious!

Comes together in less than an hour

The most difficult thing about making this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam is crushing the strawberries which is really no big deal. I use a potato masher, but you could also pulse them a few times in a food processor. The goal is not pureed strawberries, just coarsely crushed. Once you've crushed and measured out the berries, the rest is super simple. Bring the fruit and pectin to a boil and time it for one minute. Then add the sugar and bring the mixture back to a boil. Set your timer again for 1 minute and you're pretty much done. All that's left is to ladle the beautiful crimson jam into jars and wait for it to cool to take the first fabulous taste!

If you decide to process the jam with a hot water bath, that's an additional step that will take a bit more time but again, it's not difficult and instructions are given for both methods.

So reasonable compared to store-bought jam!

Want to know another fabulous thing about this recipe? It's super economical to make. I got 7 10-ounce jars from my batch and calculated that, with the cost of the ingredients (even though grocery prices are soaring), each jar of my pretty jam came out to $2.14. Brins charges $10.00 per 7.5-ounce jar - plus $7.50 for shipping. Even an average jar of jam (like Smuckers) from my local grocery store costs $3.59 for a 12-ounce jar. See what I mean? SUPER economical!

So many reasons to make your own jam!

Okay, one last tout for making this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam... or any type of homemade jam. You know exactly what goes into it. I checked the ingredient list on a jar of jam recently and this is what it said:

Strawberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid.

No thanks! I'll stick with fruit, sugar and pectin and jam that's made in my own little Carolina kitchen!

What to do with this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam

Besides eating this jam with a spoon right out of the jar, there are lots of fun things to do with this sweet, delicious confection. Here are a few:

• Enjoy it on toast, biscuits, English muffins, scones or focaccia bread.
• Use it on pancakes or waffles instead of syrup. Slice a few fresh strawberries to go on top.
• Spoon it over ice cream.
• Drizzle it on yogurt and top with granola,
• Sub it for the raspberry jam in this Raspberry Jam Shortbread Tart.
• Use a scoop of this jam as a garnish for this Lemon Curd Shortbread Tart.
• Make a batch of these Ridiculously Easy Brioche Rolls and serve them warm with butter and a jar of this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam (pictured below).

A beautiful gift!

As you can see in the pictures above, we've created a pretty little label to make your jam easy to identify in the pantry or freezer or to dress up the jars for gifting. If you'd like to receive a PDF for free printable labels, just scroll to the very bottom of this page and you'll see a comment box. Let us know that you'd like to receive the labels and we will email them to you, along with instructions on how to use them.

So if you're looking for something delicious, unique, fun, perfect for gifting and that will bring lots of rave reviews, pick up the ingredients for this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam and whip up a batch! It will definitely take the ho-hum out of ordinary breakfasts and so much more!

Café Tips for making this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam

• This recipe calls for 1 12-ounce bag of frozen raspberries. You can substitute fresh raspberries if desired. You'll need 2 cartons of fresh raspberries.
• This recipe calls for fresh lemongrass. You can also use lemongrass paste, which is found in the produce section of many larger grocery stores. I keep a tube of this paste in my freezer. When I need it, I simply allow it to thaw for 10 minutes, squeeze out as much as I need and then pop it back in the freezer. Ginger also comes in these tubes and can be subbed for finely grated fresh ginger in an equal amount. I use both the lemongrass paste and the ginger paste for this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam recipe.
• It's important when making jams and jellies to understand the terminology. One of the classic terms is to bring the fruit/sugar mixture to a "full rolling boil". This means a boil that continues to bubble furiously, even when you give it a good stir.
• Another thing that's important is to pay heed to the time that's indicated in the recipe. In this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam, the instructions say to allow the fruit/pectin/sugar mixture to come to a "full rolling boil", then to boil for exactly one minute. Set a timer! This will ensure successful results.
• As mentioned above you can either preserve this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam, using a hot water bath, making it shelf-stable OR simply ladle it into jars and store it in the refrigerator or freezer.
• If you chose the canning method, here is a great guide from National Center for Home Food Preservation.
• If you chose to not use a hot water bath, it's fine for the jam to sit at room temperature for several hours. The sugar in jam/jelly/marmalade recipes acts as a preservative so there's no need to worry. Just keep it in the refrigerator or freezer for longer storage..
• This recipe calls for 1 box (1.75 ounces or 49g) of powdered fruit pectin. I use SureJell. SureJell is available at most larger grocery stores and online. If you can't find it at your local grocery store, check with the front desk or manager as it's stored in different places at different stores. There are two types of SureJell, regular and low-sugar. You want the regular or original variety for this recipe.
• In order to ensure success with this Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam, don't try to alter the ingredients. Lots of people are concerned about the amount of sugar in jam and jelly recipes. The sugar is not only a sweetener but it also helps with the set and it's a preservative, as mentioned above. There are low sugar pectins on the market and it would be better to go with a recipe specifically designed for low sugar than to try to alter this recipe. Plus you only consume a small amount of jam at a time so each serving is not that much sugar.
• I often get asked if you can substitute dry and liquid pectins. The answer is no. The proportion of fruit to sugar often varies, depending on whether the recipe calls for dry or liquid pectin. To ensure success, it's best to stick with the type of pectin that the recipe calls for.
• Measure carefully when making jam or jelly with pectin. The proportion of sugar to fruit is important and if you use more or less than what's called for, the set can be affected.
• Many jam/jelly/marmalade recipes call for measuring the sugar into a separate bowl, then adding it to the fruit. Why? It's easy to lose track and add too much or too little and risk the results. I don't do this but I do count out loud so I'm sure about how much sugar I'm adding.

Thought for the day:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:13

What we're listening to for inspiration:

Agnus Dei / King of Kings

If you enjoy any of these recipes, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.

5 from 5 votes

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Strawberry Raspberry Lemongrass Jam

Weary of the same old jam on your morning toast? This Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam is a delicious game-changer! Make a batch in less than an hour with plenty for yourself and enough to give away (you'll love the free printable labels)!

Author: Chris Scheuer

Course: Jams & Jellies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Raspberry Strawberry Lemongrass Jam

Prep Time: 40 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Servings: 128

Calories: 49 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 quarts fresh ripe strawberries or frozen berries without sugar
• 1 12- ounce bag frozen raspberries thawed
• 1 box 1.75 ounces or 49g powdered pectin (I use SURE-JELL)
• ½ teaspoon butter
• 7 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh lemongrass or an equal amount of lemongrass paste
• 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger or ginger paste
• finely grated zest from 1 medium lime
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the prep for jam that will be stored in the refrigerator or freezer:

1. Wash your jars and lids with hot, soapy water or run them through the dishwasher.

For the prep for jam that will be processed and stored at room temperature:

1. Bring a boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.

For making the jam:

1. With a potato masher, crush the raspberries in a medium size bowl. Stem the strawberries and add them to the bowl, one layer at time, crushing them with a potato masher as you go.
2. Measure exactly 5 cups of the crushed fruit into a large saucepan or stock pot.

3. Stir the pectin into the fruit mixture in the pot. Add the butter (helps to reduce foaming). Over high heat, bring the fruit mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) and boil for 1 minute.

4. Stir in the sugar, lemongrass and ginger. Return to a full rolling boil and boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam with a spoon. Stir in the lime zest and lime juice.

5. Ladle into the prepared jars, filling to ½ inch from the top. Wipe jar rims and threads and cover tightly.

For finishing jam that will be stored in the refrigerator or freezer:

1. Allow the jam to sit at room temperature for 24 hours then refrigerate (two to three weeks) or freeze (for longer storage).

For finishing (processing) jam that will be stored at room temperature:

1. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if needed.) Cover and bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely.
2. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lids with finger (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary).

Recipe Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

Adapted from Kraft - My Food and Family

Calories 49kcal

Fat 1g

Saturated fat 1g

Trans fat 1g

Polyunsaturated fat 1g

Monounsaturated fat 1g

Cholesterol 1mg

Sodium 1mg

Potassium 27mg

Carbohydrates 12g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 12g

Protein 1g

Vitamin A 3%

Vitamin C 9%

Calcium 3%

Iron 1%