One of the things I love about aronia berries is that they have insignificant seeds and skin - I most often use them raw, blitzed in the food processor with a little honey or maple syrup. This simple concoction gets served to my bed and breakfast guests over waffles, goat cheese and brie for the duration of Aronia season. But it might be nice to have some of those berries to eat when the harvest season has past.
My good friend, neighbor and fellow Soil Sister Betty Anderson helped some local farms with their aronia harvests this year, in exchange for berries. This is her suggestion for a unique, easy way to preserve these super fruits for winter eating. She got the recipe from blazerfarmz online, but says you can reduce the sugar even more, if you like. Enjoy!
Another great source for Aronia recipes is the quite excellent cookbook recently published by the Midwest Aronia Association. Look for it on Amazon, or ask our neighbor and the source of our berries, Roberta Barham of Barham Gardens to get you one. You can also buy more berries from her!
ARONIA LIME JAM
- 4 1/2 cups crushed aronia berries
- 1 package of fruit pectin (1 3/4 oz.)
- 5 cups sugar
- 1 (tbs.) of grated lime peel
- 1/3 cup of fresh lime juice
Directions: Wash fruit and cover with water, simmer 15 minutes. Pour measured amount into a 6-8 quart non-reactive kettle such as enamel or stainless steel. Add lime juice and peel, pectin and stir. Bring to a boil, add sugar, stir, and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil exactly two minutes. Skim and pour into clean, hot jars. Seal. Yields: 4 pints of Aronia Lime Jam.
