Deliciously tart yet sweet this rowan berry jam recipe is super easy and quick to make. The perfect foraging treat to add to a cheeseboard, serve with roasts, add to sandwiches and so much more.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Making rowan berry jam is easier than the classic rowan jelly as there is no dripping overnight, it’s a quick and easy jam!
- Foraging is FREE so my rowan jam is a very economical recipe.
- You won’t find rowan jam in the supermarket so you are making something a bit different that makes great foodie gifts too.
Rowan berries are one of the fabulous fruits of Autumn and something I look forward to gathering every year.
While I make my rowan berry jelly every year and also my rowan and redcurrant jelly, I thought this time I’d be a bit different and go for a simple rowan jam recipe. No letting the fruit drip overnight and resisting squeezing out the last dregs of juice, no, this rowan jam is an all-in-one-day easy recipe!
Rowan berries
The rowan tree (Sorbus Aucupria) grows all over the UK and overseas as well. Widely known for it’s magical properties and connection to folklore rowan trees were once planted beside houses to ward off evil.
In Scotland, it has always been considered taboo to cut down a rowan tree as this could bring dreadful bad luck.
For lots more information on rowan trees then check out the British Woodland Trust.
Foraging for rowan berries
Never pick all the rowan berries on one bush/tree. Leave a good percentage of berries for the birds.
Don’t pick rowan berries from beside a busy main road. These trees are packed with pollution from all the traffic, pick your rowan berries in the countryside. Even in parks trees may well be sprayed with insecticides etc.
Got the foraging bug? Then check out my Foraging Recipe Section for loads of great ideas for your foraged finds.
Ingredients for rowan jam
There are only 4 ingredients in this simple rowan berry jam recipe so not much for you to worry about.
Rowan berries – when you are foraging for rowan berries make sure they are bright red which means they are fully ripe and ready to use. If they are orange in colour they aren’t yet ready.
Sugar – use plain white granulated sugar to make this foraged jam, if you use brown sugar of any type you will get a strong caramel-type taste which just doesn’t work with this rowan berry jam.
Lemon – this works as the setting agent in your rowan jam. There is NO need for pectin in this recipe. In fact I never use the stuff.
Apples – I just use standard-eating apples for this recipe. Their sweetness counteracts the sourness of the rowans perfectly. Any eating apples will do here, whatever is lurking in the fruit bowl.
How to make rowan berry jam
This is such an easy recipe. The first thing you want to do is pick over the rowan berries removing the little stalks and give them a rinse to remove any dust and insects.
There is no need to peel the apples, just chop them roughly and chuck them into a pan along with the rowan berries and some water.
Bring this to the boil then let it simmer for about 30 minutes till everything is soft and cooked through.
Use a potato masher to squish down the cooked apples and rowan berries.
Now pour these into a wire sieve and press with the potato masher or a wooden spoon to get the puree through and either straight into a pan. I’ve just used a white bowl in the above photo so you can see it better.
You will discard the seeds, skins and remaining pulp in the sieve and be using just the lovely rowan and apple puree you have in your pan.
Add the sugar and lemon juice and bring this to a boil and let it bubble for about 15 minutes till it has reached that magical 105C setting point.
See my article on jam making and testing for setting points and you can’t go wrong.
Finally, ladle your rowan berry jam into sterilised jars and you are finished.
How much does this make?
Since I was only using 500g of rowan berries here (I was making other goodies with my haul from the hedgerows) I got about 500g of rowan berry jam.
How long does this keep?
Your rowan jam will keep for up to a year in a cool cupboard and like all jams once opened should be stored in the fridge and used up within a month.
Please Note – We do not usually do water bath or other canning methods here in the UK. Our preserves keep perfectly well without this.
How to serve rowan jam
You can serve this rowan berry jam just as you would the classic rowan jelly.
Add this gorgeous rowan jam to a cheeseboard or charcuterie platter. Here I’ve reserved a dollop on top of toasted baguette slices with homemade cream cheese.
Add some rowan jam to gravy and stews to add a real depth of flavour.
Serve rowan jam alongside roast chicken, pork, beef or game. It goes well with turkey too, of course, so makes a nice addition to your holiday table instead of just traditional cranberry sauce.
Add some rowan jam to sandwiches and wraps that contain strong meats.
I also use this rowan berry jam as a glaze for roasting meats.
Looking for more fabulous foraging recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;
Want to really get into foraging? Then check out my Foraging Recipe Section for loads more feasting fun.
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Rowan Berry Jam
Ingredients
- 500 g rowan berries
- 500 g apples standard eating apples
- 250 ml water
- 400 g sugar plain white granulated sugar
- 1 lemon Juice only
Instructions
- Pick over the rowan berries to remove stalks and rinse to remove any dust and insects, chop apples (no need to core or peel them)
- Boil rowan berries and apples in the 250ml water for about 30 minutes till fruit is tender
- Use potato masher to squish the fruit to pulp then press this through s wire sieve and into pan.
- Add the sugar and lemon juice and heat gently till sugar has dissolved then raise heat and boil till it reaches setting point at 105C (15 minutes for me)
- Ladle into sterilised jars
I have a very prolific rowan tree in my garden by the sea. I also happened to have four apples in the fridge, so this recipe appealed to me. Easy to follow until I had to strain the fruit, I ended up putting it in a Lidl produce bag and squeezing it. I reduced the sugar to 300 grams as I used pink lady apples. The timings were all spot on, although I checked with a jam thermometer.. the result was a lovely 500gram jar of beautiful sticky jam.. we had it with our lamb chops tonight.
Hi Justine
Glad yoou liked the recipe so much and it went well with your meal.
K