Decadent and luxurious this is a really neat recipe for the winter pantry.

I was flipping through my favourite recipe book for ideas on how to preserve some of the raspberry bounty and this recipe jumped right out at me. I had never thought about canning something with chocolate in it before.

This is not a low sugar, low calorie treat but around here we are ok with indulging in sinful treats once in a while. I'll admit, the odd spoonful on some toast or frozen yoghurt sounds like a good idea to me.

I didn't follow the instructions exactly and it turned out really nice so I'll walk you through the recipe I came up with. The recipe is based on one from a book called Mes Confitures. The French method of canning often involves inverting the jars to seal them and I don't do that. I seal my jars using a water bath. I'll share instructions for canning with the recipe.

The recipe also suggested cooking the raspberries and running them through a food mill. I know a lot of people don't have one handy so I adapted the recipe to accommodate every day kitchens. You can use an every day mesh strainer and spoon instead!

Chocolate Raspberry Jam Recipe

Ingredients

2-3/4 lbs raspberries
3 - 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
Juice of one lemon
9 ounces bitter-sweet chocolate (65% cocoa or higher) chips or grated

Instructions

• For the best flavours use raspberries that have been freshly picked that morning. Avoid rinsing them and instead carefully pick over them to make sure you don’t have any debris. Rinsing them will diminish their fragrance.

• Wash your jars with hot water and soap and set aside. Prepare your canner and heat it up. Place a saucer in the freezer.

• Combine the raspberries, raspberries, sugar and lemon in your preserving pan and simmer until soft.

• Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and rub and stir the pulp until all you have left in the strainer are seeds.

• Add the mixture to a clean pan and stir in the chocolate. Cook on hight heat for 10 minutes (careful not to burn). Stir gently but frequently. Check the set and cook longer if necessary.

To check the set, remove the plate from the freezer and spoon some of the jam onto the plate. Wait a minute or two and then run your finger through the jam. This will show you the consistency you should expect when it sets.

• When you are happy with the consistency of the ham ladle the mixture into your jars leaving 1/4" head space, wipe the rims clean, place the warmed lids and the rings on the jars and carefully set them into the canner.

• Following your canners instructions process the jars for ten minutes. Turn off the heat and carefully remove the lid. Let the jars cool for 10 minutes and then using a jar lifter carefully lift them and place them on a cutting board or towel to cool completely.

• Once the jars have cooled for 24 hours, check their seal. You should hear the occasional pinging sound as they are cooling that gives you an auditory confirmation that your jars have sealed. If you look at the lid of the jar, you should notice that there is a small bump in the lids. This bump depresses as the jars seal “sucking it down”. All of the lids should be sucked down. If you press on the center of the lid and that bump pops up, they are not sealed properly. If you should have an issue with a jar not sealing, refrigerate it and eat within a few weeks.

• Remove the metal rings and wipe the lids and jars with a damp clean cloth. Store the jars without the rings or replace them but don't tighten and keep in a cool dark place.

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