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Autumn Olive Jam
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Autumn Olive Jam

Autumn olive jam is a delicious way to preserve wild foraged autumn olives in season.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Canning Time (optional)10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Author: Ashley Adamant

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs autumn olive fruit about 10 to 11 cups fresh fruit, to make 6 cups pulp
  • 3 cups water for cooking fruit
  • 1 to 4 cups sugar see note
  • 1 box 1.75 oz low sugar pectin (such as sure jel low sugar)

Instructions

  • Place the autumn olives in a pot with a bit of water. Use 1 cup of water per pound of autumn olives, or for the full recipe, 3 cups water and 3 lbs autumn olives (10-11 cups fruit).
  • Bring to a boil and then cook the fruit with water for 1 to 2 minutes, until it falls apart.
  • Strain the fruit through a fine mesh strainer, working the fruit with a spatula to push the pulp through but keep the seeds in the strainer. You should have about 6 cups pulp.
  • Place the strained fruit back into a jam pot, bring it to a boil, and add the powdered pectin. (Don't add the sugar yet.) Boil the fruit pulp and pectin for 1 minute, stirring to incorporate.
  • Add the sugar, stir to incorporate, and return to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and ladle into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
  • If canning, process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes (15 minutes above 6,000 feet in elevation).
  • Cool jars completely on a towel on the counter, and check seals. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator for immediate use. Sealed jars will keep on the pantry shelf. Refrigerate after opening.

Notes

Sugar

For a "low sugar" sweet/tart jam, go with 1 to 2 cups sugar. I used 2 cups sugar, and it was just right for my low-sugar tastes. Tart, but not too tart.
A "full sugar" jam would be more like 4 cups and will come out very sweet.  Either way, you're using pectin which will set regardless of the amount of sugar used.
(Don't use "regular" full sugar pectin, which requires a 1:1 ratio of sugar to fruit, and autumn olives are already quite sweet.  That'd be 6 cups of sugar, and that's crazy sweet.  Similarly, liquid pecin would require even more, at 7 to 8 cups sugar.  I don't recommend those for autumn olive jam.)
Autumn olives are already quite sweet, so keep that in mind.

Shelf Life

It's perfectly fine to make this autumn olive jam recipe as a refrigerator jam (or a freezer jam).  It'll last several weeks in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer. 
If freezing, be sure to leave plenty of headspace and use freezer-safe jars.
Properly canned and sealed jars of autumn olive jam will maintain peak quality on the pantry shelf for around 18 months.  Past that, they're still good, provided they're sealed, but the quality will start to decline. 
Refrigerate after opening.