Homemade Cranberry Jam

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Sweet, acidic, slightly tart, and extra fragrant homemade cranberry jam for your holiday dinner, morning toast, or a refreshing addition to your baked goodies.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Preserving Time25

Total Time55

Servings 1 cup

Calories: 75.1 kcal

Equipment & Tools

1 Kitchen scale
1 Strainer medium
1 Spatula
1 Canning jar 270ml (1 cup)
1 Spice bag
1 Cooking pot medium
1 Dessert plate
1 Jar funnel optional

INGREDIENTS

Metric - US Customary

445 g cranberries (fresh or frozen, not thawed)
122 g clementine juice and zest (~ 3 clementines)
100 g brown sugar (muscovado)
100 g sugar (unrefined, granulated)
1 vanila bean (Tahitian; split in half; seeds scraped)
2 tbsp Grand Marnier

SPICES

10 cardamom pods (green)
1 cinnamon stick (Ceylon)
1 tsp cloves (whole)

INSTRUCTIONS

PREPARATION

Gather all the ingredients.
Wash the canning jar and place in the oven at 100ºC (212ºF) to dry and sterilize. Place a small plate in the freezer.

COOKING THE JAM

Add all the ingredients except the spices into a cooking pot.
Cut the vanilla in half, scrape the seeds and add the seeds and the bean to the pot.
Place all the dry spices in the spice bag, if using. Else, add them as is to the cooking pot. Stir to combine.
Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until the jam is thick and there is no more liquid left in the pan - Note 1.
Take the spices out from the jam.
(Optional) Strain the cooked mixture through a fine sieve or process in the food processor if you want more smooth texture.
Ladle the jam into a sterilized jar - Note 2.
Close tightly and let it cool to room temperature.

STORING THE JAM - SHORT TIME PERIOD

The jam can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.

(OPTIONAL) PRESEVING THE JAM - LONG TIME PERIOD STORAGE

Using a large stainless steel pot place a canning rack on the bottom. See note if you don't have a canning rack - Note 3.
Carefully place the filled jars on the canning rack.
Add hot boiling water to the pot so that the jar is almost submerged. The water level should be about 1/4in below the lid.
Turn the heat on to medium to achieve a very slow simmer. Simmer for at least 10 minutes.Turn the heat off and let the jars cool a bit before taking them out. Approximately 15 minutes. Take the jars out on a cooling rack and let cool completely - Note 4.
With a cloth wipe the water marks from the jar and store in a cool place.

NOTES

Cranberries will release a lot of water once they start to cook. Adjust the heat while cooking and make sure the jam does not burn. Toward the end of the cooking process, as the liquid evaporates, increase the frequency of stirring. An excellent and fast way to test if the jam is cooked is to smear some hot jam onto a plate from the freezer, wait for 5-10 seconds and taste it. If you push the jam with a spoon, it should form ribbons and not be runny.
Ensure there is no jam on the rim of the jar, as this will prevent it from sealing tightly, allowing for more air to circulate and reducing the shelf life. The easiest way is to use the jar funnel.
If you don’t have a canning rack for the pot, use kitchen cloth. It is important for the jars not to be directly on the heat source. Just fold the kitchen cloth so that it covers the bottom of the pot and it is folded at least 4 times. If it is too small for 4 folds then use two cloths. Make sure that when you place the jars they are leveled and not tilted to the side.
The jam is properly preserved if the top of the lid is convex or indented inward and pressing on it does nothing. If it is concave and when you press it, it indents inwards then you should reseal the jar and repeat the preserving process since the jar did not seal airtight. Or just consume this jar first.

NUTRITION*

* Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.