Make a delicious jam using fresh or frozen maypop fruit! It tastes light, tangy, and tropical, and can be stored in your freezer. (No canning required!)

jar of maypop jam with fresh fruit and flowers — *A jar of tasty maypop jam!*

Identifying Maypops

Maypops are the green, egg-shaped fruits produced by our native passionflower (passiflora incarnata).

Be sure to check out our article:

Growing & Foraging Passionflower & Maypops

to learn how to identify passionflower and maypop fruits, plus other useful ways to enjoy the plant!

Preparation:

You’ll need several maypop fruits for this jam- or enough fruit pulp to fill one cup. It’s hard to give an exact number, since the fruit size can vary widely, but the fruit from about 8 to 10 larger maypops roughly fills a one cup measuring cup.

While many recipes use the entire fruit, rind and all, this one only uses the goopy, sweet, tangy fruit from the insides of the maypops.

Ripe fruits can be collected and stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days until you can process them. Or, you can go ahead and tear open the fruits as you collect them, take out the insides, and freeze them as you go, collecting the fruit pulp in a measuring cup.

When you’re ready to make the jam, pull out the cup, and plonk the entire cube of frozen fruit into the saucepan. As everything heats, use a fork to break it up, and proceed with the recipe as written.

Preparing Maypop Fruit – You will need:

1 cup of ripe maypop fruit, separated from the green and white rind
1/2 cup water
Medium-sized saucepan
Strainer
Cheesecloth

cup of maypop fruit pulp, ready to use or freeze — *1 cup of maypop fruit, without the rinds*

Instructions:

Prepare your fruit, if you haven’t already, by collecting the ripe insides of the maypops in your measuring cup and discarding the outer green and white parts.

Place the fruit and water into your saucepan, and place on a burner turned to medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Once boil point is reached, reduce heat closer to medium, and boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Once fruit finishes boiling, use the strainer to strain off all the juice into a container. You’ll be left with a mound of seeds and pulp. Scoop this up into several layers of cheesecloth, and use your hands to squeeze out as much juice and pulp as you can. Discard remaining seeds.

Measure the results. Add extra water to bring the pulp/juice up to 1 full cup, if required.

Now just follow the instructions in the recipe card below to make your own delectable jam!

Maypop Jam

Make a delicious jam using fresh or frozen maypop fruit! It tastes light, tangy, and tropical, and can be stored in your freezer. (No canning required!)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 25

Servings: 3 four-ounce jars

Course: Jams & Jellies

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

To make the fruit pulp juice:

1 cup ripe maypop fruit (abt 8 to 10 maypops), without rinds
1/2 cup water

To make the jam:

1 cup maypop fruit pulp juice, from above
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 packet low to no sugar pectin (13 g)

Method

To make the fruit pulp juice:

Remove the fruit from inside of the maypops. (Don't use the rinds; they can be composted.)
Once you have one cup of fruit, place it in a saucepan with the 1/2 cup of water.
Place the saucepan over a burner turned to medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally as it heats.
Once boil point is reached, reduce heat closer to medium, and boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Use a strainer to strain the juice into a container.
Next, gather up the remaining pulp and seeds in several layers of cheesecloth, then use your hands to squeeze out as much pulp and juice as possible, leaving the seeds behind.
Measure the results and add enough water to make 1 cup of juice and pulp.
Place the 1 cup of juice/pulp in a heavy duty saucepan.

To make the jam:

Measure out 1 cup of sugar in a bowl and set aside, close to where you'll be cooking the jam.
In a separate bowl, combine the 1 tbsp sugar with the 1/4 package (13 g) of pectin. Mix to blend well.
Combine the pectin/sugar mixture with the 1 cup of cooked fruit juice/pulp in the heavy duty saucepan.
Place that saucepan on a medium-high burner and heat the mixture to a rapid boil.
Boil for 1 minute.
Add the sugar, stir well.
Return to a rolling boil, stirring all the while.
Boil for 1 more minute.
Remove from heat immediately.
Pour into heatproof jars or freezer containers. This recipe almost fills 3 four-ounce jars, depending on high you fill them.
When cool, cap, label, and store in your fridge for 2 to 3 weeks, or freeze for about 6 months.