How To Make Small Batch Strawberry, Raspberry Preserves

The weather has been cold, gray and dreary…just dreadful. It’s no secret I’m not a big fan of winter, I long for the warm sunny days to spend outside in the garden. It is however, perfect weather to stay indoors and get warmed up cooking something delicious to eat. If I can’t be outside, my second favorite pastime? Cooking up something yummy! Berries were on sale this week so I grabbed some to make a small batch of Strawberry Raspberry Preserves. If you are a regular follower of Nature Way you probably know that I bake an awful lot of bread. Those freshly baked loaves are just begging to be slathered with some soft butter or some freshly made preserves! These preserves are the perfect easy to make, homemade confection that you can easily whip up anytime you have some ripe berries on hand.

Jump to Recipe

If you’ve always shied away from canning and preserving this easy recipe will get you on the preserving band wagon. This method makes a small batch, so you won’t need to purchase an inordinate amount of fresh berries, and makes it economical to make. It’s a refrigerator preserve, which means you won’t need to pull out or purchase any canning supplies. A funnel comes in handy, but you can make do without one. If you save glass jars like I do, you’ll have just about all the supplies you’ll need to make your very own homemade preserves. It’s so very easy to make, uses just 4 ingredients, and produces the most delicious preserves; much better than anything you can buy at the market. If the thought of canning or preserving fruit has always intimidated you, this is the perfect recipe to try for your first foray into preserving.

Start by rinsing berries under cold running water. Allow excess water to drain off.

Prepare strawberries by removing stems and cutting them into small pieces.

Place the chopped strawberries, raspberries and sugar in a saucepan.

TIP: Berries in the winter are not always as sweet as the ones you can get in the summer months. If you like a sweeter mixture add an additional 1/4 cup sugar.

Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to combine. 

Cook until the berries break down and release their juices. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer mixture for 10 minutes. 

Use the back of a spatula to smash the strawberry pieces on the side of the pan to help break them down.

Continue to simmer over low heat until the mixture thickens.

Use a spoon to skim off and discard any foam that forms on the surface. You can skip this step if you choose. It’s merely for cosmetics and doesn’t affect the flavor. The finished product will have more clarity if you skim off the foam.

Add lemon juice.

Simmer for an additional 3-4 minutes.

Remove from heat. Mixture is thickened when you run a spatula along the bottom of the pan and it leaves a trail and no longer immediately runs together. Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes. Mixture will thicken further as it cools.

Spoon cooled mixture into clean glass jars and top with lids. A funnel makes it easy to transfer the preserves into the glass jars with little mess to clean up.

Allow preserves to cool completely to room temperature.

Once cooled, store jars in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Oh my gosh, these preserves are absolutely delicious! It’s so easy to make and uses just four common ingredients! I love that I control the amount of sugar and that there are just fresh wholesome ingredients in it. No preservatives, no unhealthy, unpronounceable chemical additives either! It keeps for up to three months in the fridge, but I guarantee it won’t last that long. Good thing it’s so easy to make, since you’ll be making it often! It has become a staple in our fridge. Go on and give this recipe a try. It’s so easy to make and you are going to love the excellent results you will get. Trust me, you’ll be licking the spoon just like me.

This fruit preserve is absolutely phenomenal on these, quick and easy to make homemade Buttermilk Biscuits. Go ahead and slather them with homemade preserves. You’ll think you’ve died and gone to food heaven! Freshly baked Buttermilk Biscuits slathered with butter and homemade fruit preserves…nirvana! Forget the cake, just give me some warm, freshly baked biscuits topped with homemade preserves, please and thank you!

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Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

John 6:35