AutumnBerry Jam Recipe and Why You Should Make It

This story progressed from my interest in a simple jam recipe to the tale of a disease-fighting super fruit. I was first drawn to the recipe for Autumn Olive because I’d never heard of this fruit before. The fruit is also known as AutumnBerry, which is a better, fruity berry name for it.

AutumnBerries are  native to China, Korea and Japan and was originally brought to North America in 1830. You can find wild plants primarily in the northeastern states, upper Midwest and some western states.   The red berries ripen in September and October and have a sweet-tart taste. The flavor has been described as having a taste ranging from currants and cranberries to peaches.  Because the AutumnBerry plants grow and spread quickly, there have been a lot of efforts directed toward destroying this plant.

But then something amazing happened! An employee at the USDA analyzed the AutumnBerry and discovered it contained 17 times more lycopene than tomatoes. Lycopene has powerful antioxidant properties. It’s a phytonutrient and is thought to prevent or fight cancer of the mouth, throat, skin & prostate and reduces cardiovascular disease. The berries also contain high levels of vitamins A, C, E and flavonoids and essential fatty acids. Suddenly this AutumnBerry interloper became an attractive Super Fruit!

With the discovery of the health benefits, people are looking at AutumnBerries in a new way. Now certain varieties are available commercially. There are also AutumnBerry supplements and power bars. One thought is to attempt to control the rapid growth of the plants, since they can expand their area rapidly and overtake other plants and foliage. Then existing AutumnBerry plants can be harvested in the Fall. At the same time the berries can be developed as a nutraceutical ~ a food that has medicinal benefits.  The other side of the coin is that AutumnBerries make REALLY good jam, jelly and preserves.

You Can Buy AutumnBerry Preserves

One option is to buy AutumnBerry preserves…

[easyazon_link asin=”B00H2XH05Q” locale=”US” new_window=”yes” nofollow=”default” tag=”herandoilhub-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”yes”]If you’d like to sample autumnberries, check out the Food For Thought – Wild AutumnBerry Preserves from Michigan HERE[/easyazon_link]

Or You Can Make AutumnBerry Jam which is where I started this story. In this article, Janet shares her recipe for Autumn Olive or AutumnBerry Jam. She cooks down the AutumnBerries in water with a couple of under-ripe apples for pectin. After processing the mixture down to 4 cups of juice and pulp, she further cooks the juice and pulp with sugar and lemon juice. She explains how she works this mixture until she has a thick jam that can be canned and put through a water bath. She also provides a source where you can buy Autumnberries.

Janet calls this Autumn Olive Jam but I still like the name AutumnBerry better.  Visit the AutumnBerry Jam Recipe and Why You Should Make It link below to see her complete recipe.

AutumnBerry Jam Recipe and Why You Should Make It