Blackberry Preserves Recipes

BLACKBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Mash blackberries in a saucepan with a potato masher. Stir in sugar until juices form; place about 1 tablespoon blackberry juice in a small bowl and stir in cornstarch. Pour cornstarch mixture into saucepan.
• Bring berries to a boil, stirring often, until jam is thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and allspice. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Transfer jam to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled. Stir in lemon juice.

BLUEBERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Rinse the blueberries in cold water without soaking them.
• Place blueberries in preserving pan with the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer.
• Pour simmering mixture into a ceramic (or glass) bowl. Cover with parchment round and transfer to refrigerator. Refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, transfer mixture to a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring gently.
• Continue to cook over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring and skimming as necessary.
• Check set (mixture should reach 221 degrees).
• Pour the jam into sterilized jars, filling to the fill line. Repeat process with remaining jars. Put lids and rings on jars and tighten; do not overtighten. At this point, jam may be kept refrigerated up to 1 month.

SEEDLESS BLACKBERRY JAM

Steps:

• The night before you make your jam, layer the blackberries and sugar together in a large bowl, then cover and set aside at room temperature.
• Place the berry mixture, lemon juice and thyme in a large saucepan and heat the contents slowly until the sugar has dissolved.
• Remove the thyme sprig, if you used it.
• Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Preferably, use a sugar thermometer. Your aim is for the mixture to reach 105°C/221°F, which is the setting temperature.
• Remove from the heat and let a small dollop cool off on the cold saucer. Push it with your finger. You want it to go wrinkly. If it doesn't, return the saucepan to the heat and boil for another 2 minutes before removing from the heat again and testing it. Repeat until you get the desired result.
• Once the jam is ready, leave to cool for 15 minutes.
• Sieve the jam and place in a sterilised jar. Store in a cool dry place and refrigerate once opened. Enjoy!

BLACKBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Place the berries in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a full boil over high heat, mashing the berries with a potato masher as they cook. Add the lemon juice and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring and mashing constantly.
• Add the sugar and return the mixture to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to look syrupy and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and test for doneness: a candy thermometer should register 220 degrees F and the mixture should coat the back of a spoon. Run a finger--or a clean object about the width of a finger--through the coat of jam. If the jam does not run and fill the gap, it is done. Otherwise, return the pan to the heat for another 1 to 2 minutes and test again. Be careful not to let the mixture get too thick--it will thicken as it cools.
• When the jam is done, transfer it to a heatproof jar and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate. The jam will keep for up to 2 weeks.

LOW SUGAR BLACKBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Juice blackberries, either with this attachment for your kitchen aid, using a food mill or other juicer, or by hand. The easiest way to juice them by hand is to let them cook down for about 15 minutes in a bit of water. Then run the juice through a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Juice can be frozen for later use.
• Prepare jars. Wash in hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly. It is no longer recommended to sterilize jars. Just start your canning pot heating. It can take up to 45 minutes to heat the water. Let the jars sit in hot water until ready to fill.
• Place washed lids in a small saucepan and cover with boiling water. Let sit until ready to use. I also add my ladle and funnel to this pot to sterilize them.
• Add juice and water to a large, heavy bottom pot. Heat over high heat.
• Meanwhile, mix low sugar pectin with 1/4 cup of sugar to keep the pectin from clumping, Add the mixture to the pot. Stir constantly, after pectin is added.
• Bring blackberries to a boil and add pectin/ sugar mixture. Bring to a full boil (one that can't be stirred down).
• Add the rest of sugar all at once. Again, bring to a full boil and boil for 1 full minute
• Fill jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Wipe rim of jars with clean, damp paper towel and place lid on. Add band and tighten to fingertip tight.
• Place filled jars into canning pot and bring to boil. Low boil for 10 minutes.
• Turn off heat and allow to sit in water for 5 minutes. Remove them to counter and let them cool.
• After 24 hours, check lids by pushing down in center. If lids flex up and down, the jar is not sealed and should be refrigerated.
• Jars that have sealed should be stored in a cool place for up to a year. (If it lasts that long!)
• This recipe makes 2 half pint jars jam.

BLACKBERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• 1. Bring large canning pot half full with water to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water and rinse in warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in boiling water until ready to use. Drain well before using.
• 2. Using a potato masher I crushed the fruit a little and removed most of the seeds. I like my jam with bits of fruit in it.
• 3. In a dutch oven put measured out fruit and 1 box of pectin on high heat and bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Stir in measured sugar and bring back to a full rolling boil, boil exactly 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
• 4. Ladle preserves quickly into jars, filling 1/8th inch from the tops. Wipe jar rims and cover with 2 piece lids. Screw bands on and place in water bath of boiling water carefully. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Process jams 10 minutes and remove to towel to cool completely. After jars cool check seals by pressing down in center of lid with finger. (it should not bring back,it means it's not sealed and needs to be refrigerated) Let the jars stand 24 hours. Can be stored in cool dark place for up to 1 year.

HOMEMADE BLACKBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Place the fresh berries and sugar in a bowl for a few hours (or overnight). During this time, the berries will macerate, and the sugar begins to dissolve - thus needing less time to cook before the sugar fully dissolves, allowing the berries to stay more in-tact.
• First, mash the blackberries and add with the lemon juice to the pan. Simmer for a few minutes to break the fruit down, and then press through a sieve or jelly bag into a bowl. Then simply place 2-3 spoonfuls of the seeds back into the jam or remove the seeds entirely for more of a blackberry jelly recipe (which uses the blackberry juice only).
• Start by very lightly mashing the blackberries in a bowl (or the pan) using a potato masher or similar tool.
• Then, in a medium heavy-based pan, add the sugar, blackberries, lemon juice, and pectin. Heat on low-medium heat, stirring constantly, to completely dissolve the sugar. This will eliminate the risk of grainy/sugar crystal formed jam later on.
• Bring the mixture to a boil (a rolling boil that can't be stirred down) at high heat for five minutes, without stirring. Use a spoon to make sure the jam isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan. If it is, then you can mix a couple of times and reduce the heat slightly.
• To check that the jam has reached setting point, either use a thermometer or the saucer test*. If using a thermometer, the temperature needs to be 105ºC/220ºF.
• Skim off any of the excess foam on top of the pan, for a clean jam. You can also add in a small amount of butter right at the end and stir to help disperse the rest of the foam/scum.
• Remove from heat and leave the jam to cool for 10-15 minutes. This will allow the berries to settle so that they don't sink to the bottom in the jars.
• Meanwhile, sterilize the jars you will be using for the jam and then place it in the oven for 10 minutes at 160ºC/325ºF to completely dry.
• Place the jar onto a wooden surface (or other heat proof surface) and transfer the jam to the jars. This process is easier with a canning funnel, but not necessary.Wipe away any spillage on the outside of the jar with a damp cloth and then seal the jars. Be careful not to touch the lip or inside the lid if you're hoping to properly 'can' your jam.
• If you plan to use the blackberry jam reasonably quickly and don't intend to properly 'can' it then It will last in the fridge for up to three weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
• You can also use the hot water bath method (see notes below) if you want to properly store your jam for long-term storage. That way, your jam will last up to 2 years in a cool, dry, dark location.

BLACKBERRY JAM RECIPE WITHOUT PECTIN

Steps:

• Add blackberries, sugar and lemon juice to a saucepan. Be sure there are several inches of headspace to allow for foaming.
• Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer the jam until it reaches gel stage, stirring to keep the bubbles down. In this low sugar batch, it should take 20-30 minutes for a low sugar jam. (increasing the sugar will cause the jam to gel faster and result in a higher yield)
• Test for gel stage on a plate in the freezer.
• Pour jam into prepared canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Store in the refrigerator, or process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.

BLACKBERRY PRESERVES RECIPE

Steps:

• Rinse 7 clean freezer containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly.
• Cook blackberries and sugar in large saucepan on medium-low heat until sugar dissolves and blackberries release their juices, stirring occasionally while being careful to not crush the berries. Bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil 5 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
• Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 min. Add to blackberry mixture; cook and stir 2 min. or until completely blended.
• Ladle berry mixture immediately into prepared containers, filling to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours or until completely set. (To ensure berries are evenly distributed evenly throughout the preserves, gently turn the containers over every 15 min. for the first hour or until mixture thickens enough to keep the berries in suspension.) Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. (If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before using.)

BLACKBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Measure out your ingredients. My blackberries were small wild ones, so I did not crush them first, but if you have larger berries or do not want discernible pieces of fruit in your jam, crush them first with a potato masher or a similar tool. You should yield 5 cups of crushed fruit from 8 cups fresh berries.
• If you are planning to water bath can this recipe, make sure you prepare all of your equipment and jars for canning ahead of time. I link to the method I like to use in the notes below.
• Add the berries and the pectin to a large heavy bottomed stock pot and stir to combine. Make sure your pot is relatively tall, as the mixture will expand and sputter when it comes to a boil.
• Bring the berries and pectin to a rolling boil. This means that the boiling does not go down when you stir it. You may notice foam forming on top, you can either ignore it or skim it off with a spoon and discard it.
• Once the mixture has come to a rolling boil, add the sugar and stir to combine everything well.
• Bring everything back up to a rolling boil, and pay careful attention to it once it gets to that point. Continue to boil for exactly one minute more, and then remove from the heat.
• Fill your jars (again, refer to the instructions linked below if you are planning to can this jam for longer term storage), cap them, and either proceed to water bath can them, or leave them to cool at room temperature until they are cool enough to transfer.
• If you did not water-bath can your jam, keep it in the fridge for up to 1 month, or the freezer for up to 1 year.