Food

Delicious Jam, Jelly and Preserve Recipes

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
Updated April 11, 2020

See how easy it is make homemade jam, jelly and preserves with recipes like Baked Strawberry Preserves, Blueberry Chardonnay Jam and Quick Citrus Jam. 

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Baked Strawberry Preserves

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Kissed with lemon and ginger, this easy freezer jam from the cookbook Savory Sweet: Simple Preserves from a Northern Kitchen calls for minimum sugar. It has a looser texture than traditional jams—all the better for spooning over oatmeal or ice cream!

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Nanking Cherry Jelly

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This prize-winning recipe comes from Beverly Anhorn, a North Dakota state fair competitor since 1980. Bev gets the most flavor from tart Nanking cherries by simmering-not boiling-them for juice. "It's one of the few cherry trees we can grow here," says Bev who lives near Max.

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Blackberry Preserves

Credit: Blaine Moats
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At Kansas’ Elderslie Farm, chef Katharine Elder includes this jam on charcuterie boards for eating with cheese. It's also perfect for toast, oatmeal, yogurt, waffles or pancakes.

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Blueberry Chardonnay Jam

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The jam doesn't taste boozy; wine just deepens the flavor, like red wine in a stew. This recipe comes from the Glass Rooster Cannery cooking school and farm store in Sunbury, Ohio.

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Carrot Cake Jam

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Slather this jam on toast with cream cheese, and your breakfast will taste like a dessert.

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Sweet Cherry Jam

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To remove pits from the dark sweet cherries used in this recipe, try a cherry pitter (available from cookware shops or catalogs). Otherwise, halve the cherries, then pry the pits out with the tip of a knife.

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Strawberry-Lemon Marmalade

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Strips of lemon peel give this tangy preserve a delicious bitter edge.

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Plum and Port Jam

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This simple three-ingredient freezer jam from the cookbook Savory Sweet: Simple Preserves from a Northern Kitchen gets wonderful depth and complexity from the addition of wine. It's sublime with vanilla ice cream.

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Quick Citrus Jam

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You could serve the zingy Quick Citrus Jam on its own with buttered bread or English muffins, but for special occasions, try an extra-indulgent breakfast combo of melted chocolate on bread with the jam. The jam itself takes only about half an hour to make and does not use pectin.

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Strawberry Marmalade

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Strawberries lend sweetness to this preserve, though enough classic marmalade bitterness remains to satisfy purists. The recipe comes from the Glass Rooster Cannery cooking school and farm store in Sunbury, Ohio.

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Peachalope Jam

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Lemon, nutmeg and walnuts add layered flavor and texture to this unusual jam. This recipe comes from the Glass Rooster Cannery cooking school and farm store in Sunbury, Ohio.

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Tomato-Basil Jam

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This recipe is for the home canner. Any variety of ripe tomato can be used for this sweet and tangy spread. Try it on sandwiches, as a topping for fish or meats or as an accompaniment for a gourmet cheese board.

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Garden Salsa Jam

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This savory jam pairs well with crackers and cheese. It calls for marinated cactus—look for that in the Mexican food section of grocery or specialty food stores.

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Peach Chutney

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This recipe from the Peach Barn Cafe in Alto Pass, Illinois, makes just 2 1/4 cups, but if you have an abundance of peaches, you can make multiple batches of this recipe and can them.

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Freezer Jam

Credit: Scott Little
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This irresistible jam makes a sensational topping for vanilla ice cream, waffles or a simple breakfast parfait of Greek yogurt, granola and honey.

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