Do you grow whitecurrants? Ever wondered what you can make with them? Discover the sweet and tangy delight of whitecurrant jam with this easy-to-follow recipe.
Whitecurrant jam has a pretty peachy colour and tastes divine.
Seedless jam
The bush on my allotment was planted because white currants look so pretty. Sweeter than red currants, they are hardly ever offered for sale in shops, so growing my own seemed to be the best option to get these exquisite looking berries.
While a few sprigs of whitecurrants look pretty on a pavlova or decorating a tart or cake cake, if you grow your own and get a good crop could have mean baking a lot of bakes and desserts to use them up.
So, making jam or jelly is one of the best options to make the most of this seasonal berry
Whitecurrants have a lot of seeds and if you use them whole, the resulting jam would be very seedy and I suspect not very nice. Making a clear jelly (similar to redcurrant jelly but sweeter) would mean carefully straining the juice to get a clear unclouded jelly and a lower yield and I can be a little lazy and I like my recipes easy!
So, instead, I opt to make this easy seedless whitecurrant jam, made the same way I make my easy blackcurrant jelly.
The fruit is cooked with little water until soft. It is strained through a sieve and then placed in a preserving or large saucepan with the sugar to boil and make the jam.
The resulting whitecurrant jam is a beautiful pale peach colour and tastes absolutely delicious. Similar to redcurrant jelly but sweeter. It is delicious spread on jam or try it as a filling in cakes.
Frozen Whitecurrants
If like me you grow your own and don't have time to make jam when you harvest the them, white currants freeze really well. Place them on a tray in a single layer. Open freeze and then put into a freezer-proof container.
The jam can be made using frozen currants straight from the freezer. No need to defrost frist.
Ingredients
Whitecurrants – White currants are small, translucent berries that belong to the same family as red and black currants. They are pale, almost translucent berries and have a sweet and slightly tart flavour, which is milder than red and black currants. Their taste can be described as delicate and somewhat similar to that of a mild grape. Fresh or frozen whitecurrants can be used to make this jam.
Granulated sugar – I use regular white granulated cane sugar for this recipe. Cane sugar will produce less foaming/scum when boiling the jam than granulated sugar made from sugar beet.
Butter – will disperse any scum that does form.
Step by step whitecurrant jam
Step 1
Strip the currants from the stem and place in a saucepan with the water.
Step 2
Cook until tender.
Step 3
Strain through a sieve to remove skins and seeds
Step 4
Place the fruit pulp in a large saucepan or preserving pan and add the sugar.
Step 5
Bring to a rolling boil.
Step 6
Test for setting point - the jam should wrinkle when pushed
Step 7
Stir in a knob of butter. Cool slightly.
Step 8
Pour into sterilised jars. Seal. Allow to cool and label.
How to sterilise jars
There are several effective ways to sterilise your jam jars:
- Run jars and lids through a hot dishwasher cycle.
- Sterilise them in the oven on a tray. (See below for details)
- Microwave the jars (with a little water inside) and boil the lids separately.
- Boil both jars and lids in a large pot of water.
Whichever method you choose, the key is to let everything air dry without touching the inside surfaces. Even the slightest contact can compromise sterilisation. I mostly use the second method unless I have a full wash to do in the dishwasher at the same time.
To sterilise in the oven
- Wash the jars in warm soapy water and rinse well. Do not dry.
- Place the wet jars on a tray, heat the oven to 140℃ (120℃ fan)/275°F /gas 1 and put the jars in the oven to dry completely.
- Sterilise the lids (and rubber rings if using Kilner style jars) in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes.
I always sterilise one or two more jars than I think I will need, to ensure I have enough.
How to test for a set
- Before you start making your jam or preserve, place a couple of plates in the fridge to chill.
- When you are ready to test for set, remove the pan from the heat. Drop a little of the preserve onto a chilled plate and return to the fridge for about 2 minutes. Gently push your finger into the mixture and see if it mounds and wrinkles. If so, the setting point has been reached.
- If not, return the mixture to the boil for few more minutes and retest. Repeat again as necessary until setting point is reached.
See my preserving tips for more jam making hints and tips.
Do I need a water bath to make the chutney?
In the US and some other countries, it is common to use a water bath after potting, while this is necessary with some preserves especially low sugar or low acidity preserves, it is not common practice in the UK. This recipe follows the UK style of preservation which relies on acidity/ sugar concentration to prevent spoilage and is a method of preservation that has been used for centuries.
Tips, hints and variations
- While you can leave the currants on the stems, however it doesn't take long to strip them and I think it makes straining them easier.
- Straining an acidic fruit through a metal sieve can result in the fruit reacting with the metal and giving the fruit pulp a very unpleasant metallic taste. For this reason most recipes that require straining fruit suggest that you do so through a nylon sieve. My sieve is stainless steel and does not react with the fruit acid but if you are not sure I highly recommend that you get a nylon and save for the purpose.
- Use a course sieve and push as much fruit pulp through the sieve as you can. You should end up with about 1 litre of fruit pulp.
- If you have less fruit than the recipe suggests then you can still make the jam. Measure the resulting fruit pulp in a measuring jug and for each 100ml of pulp add 100g of sugar.
- You can use this method to make seedless redcurrant jam.
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If you can get your hands on some whitecurrants, then do give it a try, and if not, you could always try making the jam with red or blackcurrants instead.
Homemade whitecurrant jam
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- wooden spoon
- nylon or stainless steel sieve
- large saucepan or preserving pan.
- jam jars
- jam funnel optional
Ingredients
- 1 kg whitecurrants (2¼lbs)
- 500 ml water (18floz)
- 1 kg granulated sugar (2¼lbs)
- small knob butter
Instructions
- Wash 1 kg whitecruurants, shake dry and strip the berries from the stem. Place in a saucepan with 500ml water. Heat gently and cook until the berries are very tender about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Strain through a nylon sieve or stainless steel sieve (see hints, tips and variations) pressing out as much fruit pulp as you can. Discard the seeds and skin.
- Place the fruit pulp in preserving pan or large saucepan and add 1kg sugar. Heat gently, stirring frequently until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Once all the sugar has been dissolved, bring the mixture to a rolling boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached. See below. This should take about 6–10 minutes.
- Add a small knob butter to the pan and stir to disperse any froth.
- Pour into sterilised jars, cover and seal immediately. Label when cold
Notes
- To test for set – Chill a couple of saucers before you start. After about 6 minutes boiling turn off the heat. Place a small amount of jam on the chilled saucer and allow to cool for a minute or two. Gently push with your finger tip. If the surface crinkles then setting point is reached. If not return the mixture to the boil and boil again for a further minute or so then test again. Repeat until setting point is reached
- To sterilise jars – Wash your jars and the lids in hot soapy water. Rinse and place upside down on a roasting tray while they are still wet. Place in a preheated oven at 160-180ºC for about 10 mins.
Sheree Runion Hyde says
This is the first recipe I found for white currents. We have a bush growing in the back yard and I usually let the birds have them as I have never seen them before. This year I noticed that the birds have planted a wild black raspberry bush growing inside the current bush. My daughter helped me pick berries today. She is blind so the currents ended up with the blackberries in the bowl. I plan to make your jam except with some black raspberries in too. Hope it works alright. Thank you for your recipe. White currents are rare in Ohio. Sending hugs!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
ohh good luck with the experimenting let me know how it goes
Helen Lishmund says
Thank you for this recipe. This is the prettiest jam I have ever made and came in very handy when my husband brought gooseberries, redcurrants (both of which I have lots of recipes for) and whitecurrants into the kitchen this morning.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Glad you liked it. Enjoy all that summer fruit:)
Denise says
I made this recipe last year and am about to do it again this year. My currant bushes have a bumper crop. I loved the jam, it tasted wonderful and was easy to make. I gave it out as gifts too!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thank you Denise Im so glad you enjoyed it and great news about this years bumper crop.
Sam says
Well, gave it a try and ended up with white currant toffee. Think I overboiled it as I only had 600 grams of berries and added 600 grams of sugar and once it boiled I think I should have hard boiled for 4 minutes. Will try again next year, maybe I'll have more berries also.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
The boiling time required will be influenced by quantities so this will indeed affect the set so it is likely you boiled the jam fort too long.
Shannan says
This is the 3rd year I've made this jam. I cook it with 4 pieces of star anise, which I remove before jarring. It's lovely on baguette with goat cheese! (I think of it as my fancy jam.)
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
I just love that you call this your fancy jam that really made me smile. A little star anise sounds a nice addition.
Anna says
So good! Thank you!
My mom gave me a half gallon of white currants from her bushes, so I’m thrilled to have run across your recipe! It was simple to make, and the results were excellent!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Glad you enjoyed it Anna
Dave says
I always thought jam making was a dark art requiring all sorts of paraphernalia. Armed with 1kg of white currants from my bushes I attempted this and was rather pleased with the result. It was really simple to follow. I kept to the full sugar content but didn’t sieve the fruit to keep some texture and to make it look more jammy. The result is pretty good and not ridiculously sweet.Some of the larger berries kept their shape so the jam had a nice fruity texture and tang. I boiled it for around 12 minutes in the end as the saucer test was a bit runny until then. It set nice and firm. For a first-time jam maker I think it’s pretty good and have given a jar to my thrifty mother-in-law who hates wasting anything and so will have to try it. Hoisted by her own petard!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
I'm gald you enjoyed the jam and I hope this will encourage you to give jam making another go it really is nt that difficult as you have found out and the results are so worth it even if you do have the odd disater along the way.
Like you I don't mind my jam being a bit seedy so love that you were prepared to vary slightly to suit your tastes.
Rebecca Lightfoot says
Followed this recipe but only had 750g of fruit so reduced to same amount of sugar. Big success! It is sweet, like honey was the verdict, but jam is supposed to be sweet so no complaints in this household!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Good to hear. Yes jam is sweet that is what makes it so yummy (and last of course)
Laura says
I would like to ty this jam. I am wondering I can put the filled jars in a water bath for 10 minutes. Thoughts?
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Hi Laura
I am wondering why you would want to put the jars in a water bath. This jam has a high sugar content and so keeps well anyway.
Angie Rayappan says
Dear Jacqueline,
I decided to try your recipe this year and tweaked it a little. After removing all the stalks, I left all the skins and seeds in the jam as they are good source of roughage and antioxidants.
The water was reduced to 350mls and sugar was reduced to 500gms. The result was rustic, grainy and tasted lovely indeed. Thank you for your recipe.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Glad you liked it. I don't mind seeds in my jam at all but I know some people don't like them. Just be a little careful with the reduced sugar as it may not keep quite so well, You may need to keep it in the fridge. just eat it quickly and that won't be an issue anyway 😉
Pam says
I added some pink gooseberries and had to boil for a little longer but lovely fruity flavour!!!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
I like the sound of that. The gooseberries would add a bit of tartness to the jam.
Jayne says
Very pleased with the results of this simple jam (but had never heard of adding a knob of butter before?!)
I harvested 750g ish of currants from my garden and used just slightly over half the suggested amount of sugar.....its great to be able to taste white currants without it being dominated by sugar.
I will be keeping my jar in the fridge and telling the other 2 lucky recipients of the remaining jars to do likewise!!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Glad you liked it Jayne.Keeping the jam in the fridge is a good idea as the reduced sugar will affect its keeping quality but given that it tastes so nice its unlikely to last too long anyway! Sadly my whitecurrant bush as only produced a few currants this year (I think I over pruned it) but I have a bumper crop of blackcurrants.
Annie Laurie says
This is a nice clearly written recipe. I have a very prolific quite current bush in my garden and decided to try to make this white current jam. It is easy to make and steps very quickly and easily. But boy is it sweet! Even though are used only 800 g of sugar instead of 1 kg It is probably too sweet for any of us to eat. Also it has very little flavour so just before it set I infused lavender flowers in it which imparted a delicate lavender taste to the jelly which improved it.
I might try this recipe again next year using only about 300 g of sugar to a kilogram of fruit and see how that goes.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Sorry to hear you found it too sweet. while I agree it is a sweet jam I was a little surprised that you said they had little flavour while not as tangy as red or blackcurrant jam I still felt there was plenty of flavour in this jam. Beware of reducing the sugar too much. If you add only 300g I think you will struggle to get a set and it won't be a jam so will not keep. It might work as a freezer jam ie if you kept it frozen and used it straight from frozen. If you do give it ago pop back and let me know ho you got on.
Jenn Disheau says
My kids and husband loved this recipe. We are fortunate enough to have our own white currant bush at home and the yield this year is great. I used about half of the harvest to make this jelly. I used a food mill and followed the ingredients as suggested. Turned out great and I look forward to making it again! Best part of all was that there is no added pectin!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Really pleased you like this recipe. Its great having a white currant bush isn't it, apart from anything else they are such a pretty berry.
Carolyn says
That was easy, and promises to be a nice jam. I discovered white currant bushes at a nearby community harvest garden. Unlike the artichokes, the currants were not harvested. After finding this recipe and many for the laborious Bar-le-Duc, I chose this one!
I followed the suggestions of others and reduced the sugar by half. Mindful of spoilage concerns I also processed the small jars for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath. I also used a food mill to separate out the solids, super easy!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
What a fabulous find in the community garden. yes a food mill is a great time-saving gadget if you have one. I hope you enjoy the taste of the jam when you try it. As you have reduced the sugar Keep even the un opened jars in the refrigerator.
Jean Marsh says
This is a very easy recipe and the colour of the finished jam is great, it will remind me of sunny summer days when we eat it in the winter.
The setting point was reached in about 7 minutes so no standing around for ages , what’s not to like ! Will certainly make again. Thank you
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Oh Im so pleased you enjoyed making it. The colour will darken over time but the flavours very summery.
Rose says
Made this lovely jam today and it tastes delicious! I didn't add as much sugar as you recommended, as I like my jam to be slightly tart and I find the fruit is already very sweet. I only added 50g for every 100ml of pulp and it is has set perfectly and tastes gorgeous! Omce opened, I will keep it in the fridge, but i only made two small jars, so I'm not expecting it to last long! . Your timings are spot on. Many thanks. Hopefully this will be a recipe I can make again next year.
Jacqueline A Bellefontaine says
Hi Rose,
So glad you liked it, It is rather delicious and a little unusual. Its a good idea to keep it in the fridge if you have reduced the sugar as it may not keep quite so long but as you say if you havent made tons then thats not really a problem. Good luck for next year I assume you grow your own.
Dany says
Easy enough to make (my 1st ever jam and it was dead easy) but far too sweet.
Will empty the jars tomorrow and reheat adding 500g of white currants and 1 bramley apple.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Hi Dany,
Glad you found the recipe easy. I agree it is quite a sweet jam partly because the white currants them sleves do not have much acidity to counter balance the sweetness although I personally do not find it too sweet. Adding the Bramley apple may help I would be interested to know what you think once you have tried it. However do bear in mind that by adding the extra fruit you will effect the keeping quality of the jam as it is the sugar that is the preservative. You may find that it goes mouldy or does not keep as long. For this reason I would suggest that you keep it in the fridge and consume as quickly as possible.
Dany says
I put half the jam I had made into a saucepan and added about 250/300g of fruit (softened in a tiny bit if water) + 1 small cooked Bramley apple (picked from my own tree in early august, so not ripe and probably still quite sour).
I brought all that to the boil for a few minutes and then put in small jars (smaller than last time).
Thought it was still too sweet at the time but had some this morning (2 days later) on toast and it is rather nice. I might now do the same with the other half of the initial batch.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
So glad you managed to adapt it to suit your tastes. I didn't get a very good crop of white currants this year so didn't make white currant jam,although i had enough to add to some raspberry jam which worked very well. Hopefully i will have enough next year to make it again and I shall try adding some apple to it at the making stage and will then update it as a tip for those who like a less sweet jam. So thank you.
Fiona says
Only one bush - and this was the first time there were enough berries to be worth picking - used this recipe - only got one small jar - it is delicious
Have got more redcurrants so am going to do the same with them
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Are glad you like it. It has taken a couple of years for them to settle in but all my current bushes did well this year. Last year it was only the white currant that produced enough fruit to do anything with. Redcurrants will work a treat in this recipe too less faff than making jelly but lots of lovely flavour.
Helena says
This recipe for white currant jam jelly was spot on. Mine is delicious. It sets quickly so be careful
Thank you
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thank you Helena, So glad you like it. Jx