It’s harvest time in the Wholefood Harmony garden! We have been enjoying delicious macrobiotic blackberry jam…

Regular fruit pectin requires your jam to be 55-85% sugar in order to set firmly.  We have found a great product we like to use for our jam making – Pomona’s Universal Pectin.  Its jelling power is activated by calcium and not by sugar content.  It contains 100% citrus pectin and contains no additives, preservatives or sugar.  Therefore the jam can now be sweetened to taste with any type of rice syrup, agave, fruit juice concentrate or any other sweetener.

Pectin is soluble fibre that is extracted from the dried peel of lemon, lime and orange, after the fruit has been juiced and all the oil has been pressed out of the peel.

The pectin is then activated by calcium and jells the fruit with low amounts of sugar.  The calcium powder that comes with this package is made up of two minerals, calcium and phosphorus.  The food industry uses it as a yeast nutrient in baking, an additive in baking powder and a mineral supplement.

Ingredients:
4 cups blackberries (or other berries of your choice)
Half to one cup of a sweetener of your choice
1 pack of Pomona’s Universal Pectin (makes 2-4 recipes)
Jam jars

Preparation:
- Put ½ teaspoon calcium powder and half a cup of water into a small clear jar with lid
- Wash and rinse jars – bring water to boil and let stand in the hot water
- Remove stems, wash 4 cups of blackberries, mash and place into pan
- Shake calcium water and add 2 teaspoons of calcium water from jar into pan, stir well
- Measure sweetener (half to one cup depending on taste) into a separate bowl.  Thoroughly mix 2 teaspoons of pectin powder into the sweetener
- Bring the fruit to the boil and then add the sweetener/pectin.  Stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes while cooking to dissolve the pectin.  Return to the boil and remove from the heat
- Fill jars to within a quarter of an inch from the top and screw on lid.  Put filled jars in boiling water to cover.  Boil for 10 minutes and then remove from water.  Let jars cool and lids should be sucked down.  Lasts about 3 weeks once opened
- Enjoy!