Spiced Christmas Jam
This spiced Christmas jam is sweet and tart with a delicate hint of spice, and looks absolutely gorgeous!
It's the perfect way to put some extra fruit to use, and great as a homemade holiday gift too- just like my fig compote. Best of all, you don't even need pectin to make this jam- you need just a few basic ingredients and under 5 minutes of prep.
This year, I've been trying out a lot of fruit preserves in specific. My homemade fig paste and blueberry sauce have both received so much love, and it only inspired me to try more of such recipes.
A few days back, I bought a big bag of fresh cranberries, and used up some of them to make honey fermented cranberries, but still had some leftover. So of course I just HAD to use them up to make a jam!
Quick Look
- 🔪Prep time: 5 min.
- ⏲️Cook time: 15 min.
- 👪 Servings: 8.
- 📋Main ingredients: Cranberries, strawberries, orange juice, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg.
- ♨️Cooking method: Chop berries and fresh ginger 🡢 transfer to a saucepan with remaining ingredients 🡢 cook until thick and jammy 🡢 cool and store.
- ⭐Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣Serving ideas: Spoon some of the jam into your leftover turkey sandwiches for some extra yumminess. Try my spicy tomato jam too- it tastes fantastic with sandwiches and cheese!
Jump to:
What's So Great About the Recipe?
- It's ridiculously easy to make- just like my spiced pear butter. No fancy tools or equipment or complicated cooking procedures for this one!
- You don't need pectin to make it! If that's the only thing that's been holding you back from making your own jam from scratch, you're going to love this recipe- and my peach jalapeno jam recipe too!
- It's a great gift for the holidays! Batch make it over the weekend and store it for a couple of days before you give it as a homemade gift.
Recipe Ingredients
Berries: Fresh strawberries and cranberries! Make sure you choose good quality, ripe organic berries for the best flavor!
Whole spices: I used a mix of fresh ginger, cinnamon and some nutmeg. If you can't find fresh ginger, you can use dried or powdered ginger too. I like using some of my Air Fryer dried ginger here.
Orange juice: For that citrusy flavor and to help the jam get the right consistency.
Brown sugar: For that deep, caramel-like sweetness, and also to help the jam set.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you don't have brown sugar, feel free to use white sugar instead. For a deeper flavor, you can add a bit of date sugar or date syrup into it along with the white sugar.
- For extra citrusy flavor, you can also add freshly grated orange zest into the mix.
- For a deeper flavor and extra sweetness, mix in some lemon infused honey towards the end, after you have taken the jam off heat.
How to Make Spiced Christmas Jam
Step 1: Add the berries and ginger to a food processor.
Step 2: Blitz for a minute until they get chunky.
Step 3: Transfer to a saucepan along with the orange juice, brown sugar and whole spices.
Step 4: Cook on high for about 7 minutes, then turn down the heat and cook until the mixture reaches a jam-like consistency.
💭Top Tip
If you're worried about the texture of the jam, you can add an apple into the mix along with the berries. Apples have a high natural pectin content which will help the jam set.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Blitz the berries just a bit- until they're chunky. You don't need to blend them into a paste.
- Got some extra strawberries? Use them up to make oven roasted strawberries that are perfect as a ice cream topping!
- Remember that since this jam is made without pectin, it will not have that incredibly thick consistency- it will still be spreadable though. If you want it to be thicker, you can add some pectin into it during the final 2 minutes of cooking time.
- Make sure you stir the jam every few minutes to keep it from burning. Once it starts boiling, turn down the heat and continue cooking for 5 minutes.
- For a deeper flavor, use dark brown sugar- I used it to make my apple cider caramel sauce and gingerbread syrup it turned out SO good.
- Allow the jam to cool down completely before you transfer it to a container.
How to Serve Spiced Christmas Jam
This Christmas jam is a versatile condiment that works wonderfully as both an accompaniment with both sweet and savory dishes. You can enjoy it as an alternative to the classic cranberry sauce with your Thanksgiving turkey or as a spread with your breakfast toast or scones.
I love featuring this jam on a holiday charcuterie board with my pickled cherries, orange marmalade, some crackers and bread, an assortment of cheeses, some cream cheese stuffed dates, and a nice olive tapenade.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
Your leftover cranberry strawberry jam can stay fresh for up to 2 weeks, if not longer. Just refrigerate it in a clean, glass jar and you're sorted!
Yes, you can! You don't even need to thaw them first- just make sure you cook them for a little extra time to get them to the right consistency.
You actually can't! Sugar is what helps the berries break down and sets the jam without you needing to use the pectin, so it's a must.
More Holiday Recipes to Try
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this spiced Christmas jam or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Spiced Christmas Jam
Ingredients
- 1 cup cranberries
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1 orange juiced
- 1 cinnamon
- 1 nutmeg
- 1 inch ginger
- 1.5 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Add the berries and ginger to a food processor.
- Blitz for a minute until they get chunky.
- Transfer to a saucepan along with the orange juice, brown sugar and whole spices.
- Cook on high for about 7 minutes, then turn down the heat and cook until the mixture reaches a jam-like consistency.
Notes
- If you're worried about the texture of the jam, you can add an apple into the mix along with the berries. Apples have a high natural pectin content which will help the jam set.
- Blitz the berries just a bit- until they're chunky. You don't need to blend them into a paste.
- Remember that since this jam is made without pectin, it will not have that incredibly thick consistency- it will still be spreadable though. If you want it to be thicker, you can add some pectin into it during the final 2 minutes of cooking time.
- Allow the jam to cool down completely before you transfer it to a container.
