Clean out the freezer and stock up on seasonal fruit. It’s time to make some jam!

Now that it’s late spring, my jam cupboard is nearly empty. It will be several weeks before my favorite jam-making fruits – blueberries, apricots, cherries, and peaches – are ready to harvest, and even longer for plums, pears, and apples. The strawberries are ripe, but I don’t care for strawberry jam. So, I turned to the freezer.

Usually I still have some frozen peaches, but not this year. But I found a big bag of cranberries hiding under cauliflower rice and an unexplainable number of frozen peas. I love all things cranberry. Cranberry sauce. Cranberry chutney. Cranberry relish. Dried cranberries. Cranberry bread. Cranberry muffins. And cranberry jam. Every winter I make this spicy Cranberry Christmas Jam. So, it was time to make a spring version.

To offset the cranberry tartness, I added some sweet mango, and boosted the flavor with orange juice. This recipe went together quickly, but it does spit – so be sure to use a large cooking pot. Use the jam on toast or muffins, as a dinnertime condiment, or thin it out with vinegar for marinade – I bet it would be perfect with pork chops or chicken or tofu cutlets.

Cranberry Mango Jam

To offset the cranberry tartness, I added some sweet mango, and boosted the flavorwith orange juice. This recipe went together quickly

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Servings 7 (1/2 pint) jars

Ingredients

  

• 5 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 3 cups chopped, ripe mango
• 1 1/2 cups orange juice
• 5 3/4 cups granulated sugar

Instructions

 

• Add all ingredients to a large Dutch oven or other cooking pot.
• Rub butter along the inside pot lip. This will reduce the chance of the mixture boiling over!
• Slowly bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat,stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
• Turn the heat up a little and cook rapidly, stirring often to prevent sticking, until the jam reaches the gelling point.
• Use the plate method to check for gelling or use a digital thermometer. Gelling is reached at 220 degrees or 8 degrees above the boiling point of water.
• Spoon the hot jam into prepared jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace.
• Wipe the lip of each jar with a damp paper towel. Top thejars with a lid and lid ring.
• Process the jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes.Remove and let cool completely.
• Makes about 7 (1/2 pint) jars.

Looking for even more unique jams? Check out my collection of favorite jam, jelly, and other preserves recipes – Creative Jams and Preserves.

Buy a copy today and start making jam!