Raspberry jelly with agar-agar for the winter

Step 1

Sort the raspberries, rinse, drain the remaining water through a colander, add sugar to a large saucepan with a thick bottom, mix gently and leave for 2 hours at room temperature.

Step 2

Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the raspberries and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for exactly 5 minutes. Do not cover.

Step 3

While the raspberries are cooking, prepare the agar. Pour about 100 ml of hot syrup from the saucepan into a separate bowl, add 10 g of agar-agar, and stir thoroughly until completely dissolved. The agar-agar should be added dissolved, not powdered, to ensure even distribution.

Step 4

After boiling for 5 minutes, pour the dissolved agar-agar into the saucepan with the raspberries, stirring with a whisk or wooden spatula. Cook over medium heat for exactly 3 minutes. This will activate the agar. If you cook longer, the agar will lose its potency.

Step 5

You can leave the hot raspberry mixture as is, with the berries slightly softened, or lightly puree it with an immersion blender. The latter option will produce a smoother result. Choose your preferred method.

Step 6

Immediately pour the hot raspberry agar-agar jelly into pre-sterilized jars and seal with sterilized lids. Turn the jars upside down and let them cool at room temperature. Once completely cooled, store them.

Step 7

It's best to store jars in a cool, dark place—a pantry or cellar. The jelly will keep well until the next harvest, without losing its color or aroma. After opening, keep the jar in the refrigerator and use it within two to three weeks.

Raspberry jam with agar-agar is a wonderful alternative to gelatin-based jam. Many fasting people don't realize that gelatin is an animal product, but responsible vegetarians keep an eye out for this ingredient. Agar-agar, a natural thickener derived from seaweed, solves all these problems. It's just as strong as gelatin, but read the packaging carefully. Like gelatin, agar comes in varying gelling strengths. Some manufacturers mix agar with maltodextrin. It's better to use pure, 100% agar-agar. Our raspberry jam recipe requires less cooking time and less sugar, yet it produces a beautiful color and a pleasantly thick consistency.

Raspberries are a delicious and incredibly healthy berry. They can be preserved in a variety of ways. The most common is preserves such as jam, marmalade, or jelly. The second most popular method is freezing. Raspberries keep well frozen. And they can be used just like fresh ones—made into compotes and sauces, added to baked goods, porridges, and drinks, made into mousse cakes, mashed with sugar, or simply eaten.

Raspberry jelly with red currants is the perfect dessert for those with a sweet tooth who craves something sweet all day but tries to limit their calorie intake. While this dish does contain sugar, it's fat-free, so if you don't overdo it, the scale won't tip. We took the liberty of adding a tablespoon of vodka to the raspberry jelly for a more vibrant flavor, but this isn't absolutely necessary. However, be sure to keep the following note in mind! When making jelly, use ripe currants alongside fully ripe raspberries: they contain a lot of pectin, so the quality of the finished dessert will be significantly higher.

How does raspberry jam made with honey and agar-agar differ from regular jam? First and foremost, it's the presence of a gelling agent. In this case, it's agar-agar. This is a natural product made from seaweed. Thanks to it, the jam doesn't require long simmering. Preparing raspberries for cooking also has its own peculiarities. It's not recommended to wash the berries. If they contain debris, do so as gently as possible. Place the raspberries in a colander and lower the colander into a pan of water. Then let the liquid drain and dry the berries. To avoid large seeds, strain the raspberry puree through a sieve. This jam is good not only as a standalone dessert, but also as a filling for buns, a layer for shortcakes, or as a decoration for biscuits and cookies.