Go Back
berries in a bowl next to a chocolate covered cake.
Print Pin

Chocolate Berry Jam

Chocolate Berry Jam is a low-sugar cooked jam made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener. Chris Wilson of LunaGrown Fine Gourmet Jam, who created this wonderful recipe, says: “This jam is great for a romantic picnic. It makes a wonderful pairing with Swiss cheese, a sharp white cheddar, or a feta goat cheese. It can also be accompanied by fresh pears and apples, served with a Cabernet and some brown bread. The flavor of the chocolate will increase as the jam sets, so depending on your palate you might taste only a hint at first.”

Ingredients

  • 1 pound blueberries about 3 cups
  • 1 pound raspberries about 3 cups
  • 2 1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice About 4-6 apples if juicing your own
  • 4 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice bottled
  • 3 cups sugar divided
  • 4 teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder mixed with sweetener
  • 2-3 Tablespoons organic chocolate flavoring we like Flavorganics brand.
U.S. - Metric

Instructions

  • Before You Begin, prepare calcium water.
    To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.
    Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
  • Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Wash lids and bands and set aside.
  • Pour apple juice into jam pot. Do not skim off foam or strain.
  • Add rinsed fruit to jam pot. Add calcium water and lemon juice and mix well.
  • Measure 1 cup of the sugar into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sugar. Set aside.
  • Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Skim off foam. Add pectin-sugar mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Skim off foam.
  • Add the remaining 2 cups of sugar, stirring well as you add.
  • Add chocolate flavoring and stir well.
  • When mixture returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat and skim any foam
  • Important Note: If you have skimmed foam along the way, there should be very little on the top of your batch. If you continue to stir with your ladle once heat is turned off, any foam (jam bubbles) will dissipate on its own.
  • Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with (marmalade/jam/jelly), leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
  • Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, bring the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
  • Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then, remove jars from canner. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed, then store properly. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.

Notes

Chris’s advice: always boil an extra jar!
If you have skimmed foam along the way, there should be very little on the top of your batch. If you continue to stir with your ladle once heat is turned off, any foam (jam bubbles) will dissipate on its own.