Sunday, August 15, 2010

Seedless Blackberry Jam


"Quickberry! Quackberry! Pick me a blackberry!"

 Can you name that book?  It's Jamberry, by Bruce Degen. I only read it hundreds of times when my boys were small. It sure came back to me yesterday when I saw the rows and rows of loaded blackberry canes stretched out in front of me, loaded with plump ripe berries.

Twelve pounds I picked. One dozen pounds of shiny purple berries. And I had a hard time stopping at that! On my way back to my car I kept seeing berries I had missed, berries that I just couldn't leave on the canes. But I did. Just so there would be some left for you. So you could make this.




I picked my berries with the idea of making jam with no added pectin, but when I got home with my gorgeous haul, I read that slightly under-ripe berries were the ones I needed. Not enough pectin in the fully ripe ones. (I guess I should have researched a little bit before hand, but that would have been too logical.)

Looking further, I found a lovely recipe that uses fully ripe berries but adds a little bit of tart apple to supply enough natural pectin. It set perfectly! Not only scrumptious for your morning toast or scones, it would also be a lovely filling for your favorite layer cake or thumbprint cookie.




Seedless Blackberry Jam (no added pectin) printable recipe here
Recipe from Fancy Pantry by Helen Witty, and found on astray recipes
yield: about 6 half pint jars

Ingredients
6 cups ripe blackberries, washed
2 1/2 cup tart apples, coarsely chopped- include skins and cores (I used small "not quite ripe" apples from our tree) The pectin is found mainly in the skin and the core of the apples.
1 cup water
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I doubled this)
5 cups sugar (approximately)

Directions
  • Prepare jars and lids (per manufacturer's instructions) for canning- 6 half pints
  • Put half of the blackberries in a large pot and crush with a potato masher. Add the rest of the berries and crush. Add apple pieces and water to the crushed berries.
  • Cook mixture over medium heat until apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Stir often to prevent sticking. You may add another 1/2 cup of water if the mixture gets too thick.
  • Once fruit is very soft, run through a food mill or press through a fine sieve, using a large spoon or spatula. Discard the skins and seeds that are left.
  • Rinse out your pot. Measure the fruit pulp and put it back into the pot. You should have about 5 cups.
  • Add enough lemon juice to make the mixture pleasantly tart. Heat over medium high heat, dissolving sugar.
  • Increase heat and cook rapidly, stirring often. Cook until mixture reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the mixture falls in a sheet off of your spoon. You can also try putting some of the mixture onto a cold dish to see if it is jelling.
  •  Once mixture is ready, remove from heat and ladle into hot prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headroom at the top of each jar. Position lids and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from boiling water bath and set aside to cool and seal.
 This post is linked to:
TwoforTuesdays@girlichef

    62 comments:

    1. I do so love blackberries. Here we revel in the yearly crop of Marion and Chester berries and look forward to cobblers and crisps as well as jam. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

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    2. I love anything blackberry! Your jam is gorgeous, I've never heard of the apple trick but I will make note of this. I also absolutely adore your glasses. WECK is the company my mom in Germany uses for all of her canning. Can I ask where you found them?

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    3. Susi,
      I love the jars too- the shape is so elegant! It makes everything in them look beautiful. I initially found a couple of boxes of them at a local thrift store (yay for thrift stores!) and loved them so much I ordered more. The website is:
      www.weckcanning.com
      You can either phone in your order or print an order form and mail it in. I'd love a whole pantry full of these!

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    4. Absolutely beautiful! Jam thumbprint cookies sound so good:@)

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    5. I adore jam thumbprint cookies...especially when I can use homemade jam. This looks like a delicious recipe, and I will be making it as soon as I track down some blackberries.

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    6. lovely marmelade, j lioke very much this fruits.compliments

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    7. Gorgeous jam!! I love this recipe and am saving it to use...love that it uses the pectin in apples! And I LOOOOVE your jars...they're so cool (where can I find some!?). =)

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    8. I make several kinds of jam, but I never tried to make blackberry jam. Me who loves blackberries it's inconceivable that I have ever done!!! Now that I have your recipe to make, it certain that I'll do it! I'll give you news when I have tried.

      Thank you for the recipe!

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    9. I love the tip of adding the tart apple! Fantastic tip! ANd your jam looks amazing.

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    10. I just love all the pictures, Lovely

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    11. I love blackberry jam! I like mine seeded though :) It's the perfect summer jam.

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    12. Oh, I'm drooling.... your blackberry jam looks absolutely gorgeous! All those blackberries... lovely. Sigh.... I wish that I could grow these, which I know I couldn't, so I'll just drool... He!He!. Beautiful jam!

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    13. Lucky you! I wish I could do a little gardening...the black berry jam looks totally scrumptious. p.s 125grams costs 2 Euros here :-((((

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    14. Thanks everyone!
      Girlichef- I ordered the jars from:
      www.weckcanning.com

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    15. Hi, Thank you for your nice comment and for joining my blog. Like Susi, I know the glasses from Germany. Your jam looks delicious. I have not had much luck making my own yet. I will have to give it another try. Wishing you a wonderful week. Let's visit soon. Kirsten

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    16. Look at that beautiful jam! Fabulous. Thanks for stopping by my blog and the comment. Great blog you have here!

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    17. Blackberries are so plentiful right now on the coast...I need to go on a road trip!

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    18. Yummy! We had some of your blackberry jam on our toasted Health Nut bread this morning, and it was scrumptious! Thank you, roomie!

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    19. I used to read Jamberry to my daughter all the time when she was little. I still can quote it from memory. Such a magical little book! Your jam is gorgeous. Blackberry is my favorite!

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    20. Wow, homemade blackberry jam...what a treat...it sure look so yummie!

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    21. Perfection! I was thinking blackberry jam and was too lazy to look for a recipe! Here it is! My favorite way to eat it is on a peanut butter cookie! Now I will have to go and make them! Great post and pics!

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    22. I went blackberry picking this weekend too! Haven't decided what to make yet, it's still very early for blackberries around here and I only got a few pints, but your jam looks wonderful. yum!

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    23. Your jam is beautiful! I don't think there is anywhere in my neck of the woods to pick blackberries (but maybe I'm just not looking hard enough).

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    24. I love blackberries. Your jam looks absolutely wonderful.

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    25. Hold me back! I must have some of that blackberry jam. It looks awesome. Wow, spread on toast and it would be simply sinful on a scone. Ahhhh, I can't say it enough, beautiful.

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    26. Those blackberries look divine! Thanks for a fabulous recipe for making the jam. I just signed up to follow your fabulous blog -stop by and visit sometime at www.stephaniesavorsthemoment.com. Looking forward to your next delicious post!

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    27. I've been wanting to make my own jam. Pickles, too. The only recipes I have are my grandmother's, but some of the ingredients are a little strange... Love you last post of the lemon white chocolate cookies!

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    28. This is lovely, Betty! I have been collecting jam recipes to make for Christmas, and this one is definitely going on my list. Beautiful job on this jam, and thanks very much for sharing this recipe!

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    29. I miss my blackberries so much! I never had seedless (which sounds like a gift from heaven), but it didn't matter. Your jam looks outstanding and the apple is an excellent idea. Yum. Now I have to go to that lemon cookie post. Holy cow!

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    30. Thanks for sharing this recipe for blackberry jam, all the blackberries here are probably just perfect for jam right now. I just have to get my self going to pick some this week:-)

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    31. Hi Susi and welcome to the two for tuesday recipe blog hop! I so love when new blogs link up to the hop. I am now following your blog and grabbed your rss feed. I adore the book Jamberry and read it to my girls all the time when they were little. In fact, just the other day they quoted it to my little niece word for word! This recipe looks delicious and thanks so much for linking it up! Alex@amoderatelife

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    32. Never had blackberry jam before, but I'm obsessed at the moment with conserves on toast...yum!

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    33. Oh yay! I'm so excited that you linked this post up w/ Two for Tuesdays this week! I checked out the Wecks site and am eagerly awaiting the day when I can place my order! Thanks so much for sharing this with us =)

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    34. I made blackberry raspberry jam last week. I discovered that the holes in my food mill were big enough to allow the seeds through to I ended up using cheesecloth. It was a mess but the end result is a beautiful clear purple jam like yours.

      I love the Wecks but haven't invested in them yet.

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    35. I am salivating right now. What a perfect recipe. The jam looks so gorgeous!

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    36. Twelve pounds of fruit! That's amazing, although I think I probably would have eaten half of it before I got home. I've got a thing for berries. Thanks for linking up with Two for Tuesday.

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    37. down with seeds! this is a gorgeous jam--bravo. :)

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    38. TWELVE POUNDS. My god that is a lot of blackberries. Thanks for leaving some for the rest of us though...I SO want to make this!

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    39. I LOVE blackberry jam!! Your recipe looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing with Two For Tuesday.

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    40. Whoa girl.... this looks amazing. Great post.

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    41. The Jam looks just amazing. You did a great job! I should give this a go soon:)

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    42. I'm going to the U-pick farm to pick blackberries tomorros. It's not as if I don't have enough jam already but I can't resist the berries this time of year. I'm going to give your recipe a try.

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    43. Great way to use of the last of the season blackberries.
      We have a well worn copy of Jamberry, my kids loved it too.
      Mimi

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    44. What a bountiful picking you were blessed with. We do get some, however, in very tiny quantities...certainly not enough to splurge them on jam. Your preparation sounds divine. What a great tip for the pectin...very useful for other recipes...thanks ;o)

      Flavourful wishes,
      Claudia

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    45. Lovely photos! Mm, beautiful blackberry jam!

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    46. That jam looks and sounds (and, I'm sure, tastes!) fabulous. Freshly picked berries are the best!

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    47. Wow, this is gorgeous! I love making my own jam! I'll have to try the seedless blackberry sometime!!

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    48. That looks absolutely delicious! I wish I could get over my fear of canning.

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    49. wow, this is a popular post! i'm comment #51 :)
      this looks fantastic, but canning scares me. I have yet to enter that cooking realm yet. great job!

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    50. Blackberries are one of my very favourite fruits. And wow, 12 pounds!! I've never canned before either but your jam looks gorgeous! I could eat some right now on a piece of homemade bread.

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    51. I have a yummy thumbprint recipe this is so calling out for. OH, I want some! Thanks for leaving some on the vine for the rest of us and linking to Two for Tuesdays!

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    52. oo how fabulous! actually if you wanted to I could squeeze you in?? Just email me your mailing address / email / blog URL and I'll switch something easy :) my email is stephchows at gmail.com I'm headed away on vacation tomorrow am so I hope you get this tonight and can email me back! I'll give the person I'd switch a heads up though so she knows :)

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    53. Gorgeous looking jam - I am soooo longing for summer now.
      Sue

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    54. I love your old-school approach with cooking apples / homemade pectin instead of the packaged stuff. Looks great.

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    55. Good Morning! and I would like some of that beautiful and tasty Jam for my toast please! Your photos rock! love them! I am going to have to check out that book.... the teacher in me wants to have some fun!

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    56. Blackberries and concord grapes grew across the street from the housing projects I grew up in. Even though I was very young, it was never lost on me, the juxtaposistion between the cold hard reality behind me, and the sweet and sprouting life before me. Your jam is gorgeous. I just bought mason jars the other day so I can make some of my own for the very first time. This post is inspiring me to buy berries and make some today! Thank you.

      P.S. I bought the rennet and calcium chloride for the feta very inexpensively on Amazon.com. =)

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    57. You are amazing picking all those berries; what lovely photos you share with us; would love to taste that jam!
      Rita

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    58. Hi Betty, You are my jam exchange partner, and I must say I am looking forward to it! This jam looks beautiful...Love your blog also!

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    59. hmmm could this be for the exchange??? looks delicious!!

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    60. I wanted to try my hand at making seedless blackberry beer jam, but I couldn't find a recipe. I used your methodology to experiment with, and my jam turned out great. So thanks! I blogged about the blackberry beer jam here if anyone wants to check it out: http://lindseysluscious.blogspot.com/2013/12/in-which-i-create-blackberry-beer-jam.html

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    Thanks for stopping by scrambled hen fruit! I appreciate all of your comments and look forward to reading them.