Yummy Raspberry Freezer Jam

I love fall! Don’t you? It’s my favorite season and I always wish it would last so much longer! Fall in New Mexico is fabulous. We get some much needed precipitation and relief from the unrelenting summer heat. Then, there are the raspberries! And don’t forget about Balloon Fiesta, or all New Mexicans favorite, chili roasting time! It’s all so wonderful!

A couple weeks ago, a friend and I made the trek to my all time favorite raspberry ranch in Mora, up in the northern part of New Mexico. A wondrous place called Salmon Raspberry Ranch. www.salmonraspberryranch.com It’s one of the highlights of my year. This year, the day we chose to go was cold, rainy and misty and we loved it! I did a bad job of remembering to take photos, so I only have a few and most of them I borrowed from my sweet friend, who went along with me. We had such a good time, stopping for coffee along the way, picking raspberries in the mud and rain, then topping it off by a lovely lunch there at the ranch. It was a fantabulous!(I choose to believe that this is a real word) Here are a few pictures. Then I will share what I did with my treasure the next day!

Beautiful raspberry fields!

The fall colors had just begun.

The beautiful view from the cafe.

Storrie Lake, near Las Vegas N.M.

Now on with what I did with all my treasure!

This is treasure we enjoy all year round, (that is if I pick enough!)

Time to make the easiest jam in the world! (and in my opinion, the best)

Of course it all depends on the quality of the raspberries and these are really good.

I’ll show you how I make it.

It’s super simple.

First, gently rinse your berries.

Then you need to mash them all up. (about 2 pounds)

Here they are all mashed, don’t use anything electric, they need to be mashed by hand I use a little masher I have.

Isn’t it pretty? Next in a separate bowl combine 1 and 1/3 cups of sugar and 4 tablespoons of pectin. Then add the sugar mix to the mashed berries and stir well.

Once it’s well stirred, it’s ready to be put into containers. I’m an old fashioned gal, so I like my jars. If you use jars make sure you have new tops for them and they’re clean. You can use plastic storage containers too if you like.

I use a funnel and a soup ladle to fill my jars about 3/4’s of the way full. (You can’t fill them to the top or when you put them in the freezer the glass will break.)

Now, isn’t that a pretty sight?

This is 8 pounds worth of berries. Lastly, put them in the freezer! We use quite a bit of raspberry jam, it’s a great treat on toast, ice cream topping, scones, pancakes, biscuits and so on!