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Jams, Jellies + Fruit Butters

Homemade jams, jellies, and fruit butters are one of the sweetest ways to preserve seasonal fruit. In this section you'll find tested recipes and step-by-step guides for making spreads like classic berry jams, fruit jellies, slow-cooked fruit butters, and other small-batch preserves.

These recipes focus on simple ingredients and reliable methods so you can confidently turn fresh fruit into shelf-stable pantry staples. From summer berries to fall apples and pears, these preserves capture the flavor of the season and make it easy to enjoy it all year long.

  • Glass jar filled with homemade Christmas jam made from cranberries, strawberries, and oranges, surrounded by fresh fruit and a cinnamon stick on a dark rustic surface.
    Homemade Christmas Jam Recipe (Cranberry, Strawberry & Orange)
  • A close-up of a jar filled with silky, golden lemon curd, with a wooden spoon resting on top, dripping with the rich, smooth curd. A second jar, fresh lemons, and eggs blur softly in the background, creating a warm, moody, and inviting kitchen scene.
    Perfect Homemade Lemon Curd Recipe for Easy Canning
  • A rustic glass jar filled with homemade strawberry preserves, sweetened with honey and infused with vanilla. A black spoon rests in the jam, surrounded by jars of honey and sliced strawberries on a dark wooden surface with moody, warm lighting.
    Strawberry Preserves with Honey + Vanilla
  • Close-up of homemade vanilla bourbon peach butter in a glass jar with a spoon on top, perfect for canning or spreading on toast.
    Vanilla Bourbon Peach Butter (Easy Recipe for Canning or Freezing)
  • Homemade vanilla cardamom pear butter in glass jars with fresh pears, vanilla beans, and lemon slices on a rustic wooden counter.
    Vanilla Cardamom Pear Butter (Easy, No-Pectin Canning Recipe)
  • Homemade apple pie jam in canning jars with fresh apples, cinnamon sticks, and warm spices on the counter.
    Apple Pie Jam (Easy Canning Recipe for Fall)
  • Jars of homemade cranberry sauce ready for canning with fresh cranberries, cloves, and cinnamon on the counter.
    Canning Cranberry Sauce (Jellied or Whole Berry)
  • Ladling homemade peach bourbon jelly into a glass Weck jar with fresh peaches and bourbon in the background.
    Homemade Peach Jelly (for Canning or Freezer)
  • Homemade apple butter in a glass jar with a spoon, surrounded by fresh apples and canning jars on a rustic wooden table.
    Easy Apple Butter Recipe for Canning (Stovetop, Crockpot, Instant Pot)
  • A spoonful of deep purple bourbon vanilla blackberry jam dripping into a glass mason jar, with fresh lemon slices and blackberries in the foreground
    No-Pectin Blackberry Jam with Bourbon and Vanilla (Small Batch Canning Recipe)
  • Close-up of homemade raspberry jam in glass jars with fresh raspberries and a halved lime on a dark linen background.
    Homemade Raspberry Jam: A Simple, No-Pectin Recipe
  • Blueberry jelly in jars surrounded by fresh blueberries
    Blueberry Jelly That Tastes Like Summer (Easy, Low Sugar & Canning Safe)
  • Jars of low sugar strawberry jam on a counter surrounded by fresh strawberries
    Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam (That Actually Tastes Like Summer • No Pectin Needed)
  • Jars or orange marmalade on a counter with fresh oranges
    Sweet Homemade Orange Marmalade Recipe
  • Canning Pepper Jelly
  • Jars of fresh apricot preserves on a counter surrounded by ripe apricots.
    Brandied Apricot Preserves
  • Jars of cranberry jam on a counter with fresh cranberries.
    Easy Spiced Cranberry Jam for Canning
  • Jars of wine jelly on a counter surrounded by wine corks.
    Easy Four Ingredient Wine Jelly Recipe

About

Elle McCoy, author of The Rustic Elk, with long wavy hair reflected in an ornate vintage mirror, sitting at a candlelit vanity with makeup brushes, perfume, and dried flowers.

I'm Elle,

the voice behind The Rustic Elk. I believe every place has a story and every season has something worth noticing. This is my journal of food, travel, books, photography, and a life spent looking a little closer.


→ Meet Elle

Currently...

📖 Reading: We Used to Live Here
🎵 Listening: Church Bells + Cicadas
🍸 Savoring: Fresh Peach Margaritas
🌿 Growing: My Curiosity
🗺️ Planning: Salem, MA
📺 Watching: Oddity

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The Journal

  • Smoked barbacoa shredded beef on a black platter with lime wedges, corn tortillas, and chipotle braising juices
    Best Smoked Barbacoa Recipe
  • Fresh peach margaritas made with real peach puree and reposado tequila, served in coupe glasses with Tajín rims and fresh peach garnishes.
    Fresh Peach Margarita (Made with Real Peaches)

Recent Favorites

  • Slewfoot by Brom
  • Maeve Fly by CJ Leede
  • Company of Liars by Karen Maitland
  • The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

Listen with Me

"If we are not remembered, we are more than dead, for it is as if we had never lived." Karen Maitland

Found Along the Way

An On-Brand Coffee Mug

Apparently, my entire personality now fits on one coffee mug. Magic. Coffee. Cats. I can't really argue with it.

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