The other day Connor & his friends came home from a walk in the woods with a bountiful amount of blackberries & blueberries. Berries can be expensive at the store and you just can’t compete with the flavor of fresh berries. Connor suggested I try my hand at making jam. I knew I wanted to include lemon juice as it helps brighten the berries and give the jam depth with the acidic touch, but I had to do some researching before I started. I read that fresh blackberries already contain pectin so it’s not necessary to use as much (or any at all) added thickener. I also found that you need to let the jam cook to a temperature of 220°F to confirm that it will set once cooled. Excited to try something new, I set out experimenting. This recipe made enough to fill a 12-ounce jar. After bottling the jam, I continued with the canning process to ensure that it will stay fresh up to a year and a half, but it will never last that long on our shelves, it’s too tasty!
Makes: Jam to fill a 12-ounce jar +/- – Cooktime: 1 hour +/-
INGREDIENTS:
Homemade Blackberry Jam:
- 3 Cups +/- Blackberries
- 8 Ounces Granulated Sugar
- 1 Lemon, Juiced
- 1/2 Lemon, Zested
- 1 Tablespoon Pectin
DIRECTIONS:
1.) To a medium saucepan, add 3 cups blackberries, lemon juice, and zest. Mash berries until most of them are crushed.
2.) Place saucepan on medium heat and add sugar and pectin. Stir to combine. Let mixture cook until boiling, stirring occasionally to prevent sugar from sticking to bottom of pan. Set timer for 5-7 minutes and check the temperature to confirm the jam has reached 220°F. Remove from heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
3.) Add jam carefully to a jar. If you plan to eat within the next week, cover jar and place in fridge. To keep jam fresh for up to a year and a half, complete the canning process. See below for details.
CANNING PROCESS:
- Boil water in a large pot. Make sure pot is big enough and water level is high enough to cover your jar by 2-inches.
- Any jar will suffice as long as you have a cover. I wash and reuse all jars I purchase from the store. Old jam jars, pasta jars, cherry jars, you name it, they all work great.
- Once water is boiling, sterilize by dipping jar and lid quickly into water. Make sure all surfaces of the jar has been touched by the boiling water. Remove from water with tongs and let sit on a heat-safe surface, such as wood, pot holder, etc. **Careful on this step, I’ve burned myself several times when dipping my jar in the boiling water. The air bubble from water rushing into the jar can cause scalding water to jump out of the pot**
- Once jars have been filled with whatever you please, seal jars and carefully place into pot with boiling water. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Once time is up, remove with tongs and set aside to cool.
Dinner w/ the Dugans 