Cranberry-Apple Jam with Honey Recipe

Cranberry-Apple Jam is one recipe I make every fall/winter. I love making jam, it’s so easy and it’s a great gift. It’s fun to preserve different fruits throughout the lovely seasons we have in Minnesota. One issue I have with jam is all of the added sugar and that’s why I have adjusted this recipe to only use half of the usual amount of sugar by substituting the rest with local honey.

Yield: 9 jam jars

Ingredients:

• 8 Cups of peeled and diced apple (which is 8 regular sized apples, or 6 large apples).
• 4 Cups of whole fresh cranberries
• 3 Cups organic sugar
• 2 Cups of honey (1 pint)
• 2 Lemons, zest and juiced
• 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp Ground Cloves

 

Combine cranberries, diced apples, sugar and honey in a heavy bottomed pot, stir well and bring to a boil. I use any kind of apple because I like the chunkiness of the apples, therefore I am not concerned with using a soft apple. Dice the apples up in whatever size you prefer them. I typically chop them up in about 1/4-1/2″ chunks. Continue to stir while jam is boiling so it does not burn.

Cook for about 12 minutes, until the apples are soft and the cranberries have begun to pop.

Add spices, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir well and continue to simmer the mixture until the sauce begins to thicken (5-10 more mins). Feel free to take a little spoonful out to taste test and determine if you want to add more spices. Get creative! Other spices you might consider adding are ginger, nutmeg or allspice!

This recipe can be canned using the water-bath processing method or it can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months.

The deep red color and cinnamon flavor makes this the perfect holiday jam!

Enjoy!

All products used in this post were generously provided by Lakewinds Food Co-op.