Blackberries can be truly termed as a versatile fruit as they can even be whizzed up in a blender to create milkshakes, can be baked in muffins, made into fruit pies or can be even used in salads. Blackberries make a delicious jam. In fact, blackberry jam is a favorite among those who enjoy making their own sweet treat because of its sweet, rich flavor and appealing deep purple color. Preparing your own blackberry jam is also quite simple. All you need to do is to follow the instructions and tips mentioned below and you won’t be facing any problem in making blackberry jam at your home.
Complexity Level: Basic
Time Required: 30-40 minutes
Resources Required:
- Whole blackberries
- Pot
- Sugar
- Pectin
- Canning jars
- Jar lifter
- Towel
- Cloth
- Colander
- Potato masher
Instructions:
1. Wash the blackberries
- First of all, you need to make sure that the blackberries which you are going to use for the purpose of making jam are free from dust, dirt, larvae, beetles and grubs.
- Take a large plastic tub and fill it with water. To every gallon of water add one cup of salt. In order to make 6 cups of jam, you have to use 8 cups of blackberries. Soak these berries in the water for at least one hour. You must also remove mushy and overly ripe berries.
- While the berries are being soaked in water, wash the jars in which you are going to store jam. After cleaning the jars, drop them into hot water and keep them hot until they are filled with jam.
2. Measure sugar and pectin
Jam obtains its characteristic thickness with the help of pectin whereas, the purpose of sugar is to provide sweetness. To 1/4 cup of sugar, add pectin. Other than this, put aside 4 more cups of sugar for the jam.
3. Boil the mixture
- You also have to decide whether you want to retain or remove the seed of berries. If you want to retain them in your jam then you can use a potato crusher to crush them along with the pulp. However, if you want to remove the seeds then make the use of a food mill which will separate seeds from pulp.
- Now drop these berries in a pot containing 5 quarter of water and place this pot over heat. Bring the contents of the pot to boiling and add the sugar-pectin mixture into it. Keep stirring the mixture for the next one minute and then add the 4 cups of sugar into it. Keep stirring the mixture for another minute and then remove the pot from the heat.
4. Pour the jam into the jars
- Now, carefully pour the hot contents of the pot into the pre-heated jar. After the jar has been filled with jam then tighten the lid over it and place this jar into a pot containing boiling water. Boil for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the jars from the pot and allow them to cool.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How to measure whole blackberries for jam?
The easiest way to determine the amount of whole blackberries for making jam is from the amount of crushed blackberries that you will be needing. Simply consult your recipe for the amount of crushed berries and double this number to determine the amount of whole blackberries. For instance, if you require 2 cups of crushed berries then you must use 4 cups whole blackberries.
Quick Tips:
- Make sure that all the ingredients required for making jam are present with you before you begin.
- For best flavor, select the ripest of the blackberries.
Things To Watch Out For:
- You need to make sure that the jar and the lids don’t get cooled prior to their use.
- Do not add more blackberries to the recipe.
