Thursday, July 7, 2011

Very Berry Jam - Make Your Biscuits Smile!


     Blackberries are finally ripe for the picking in our parts, and I didn't waste time getting to my favorite little berry patch to pick some of those deep purple gems. There were a few raspberries left hanging on the canes as well- right next door to the blackberries- and they just happened to find their way into my mouth basket when I wasn't looking.  I love picking berries, especially when there are no thorns to contend with. And I love making jam. If you've never had homemade jam, you don't know what you're missing. One taste of this sweet and tart delight on your biscuit or toast will definitely spoil you- you'll never want the store bought kind again.

     I picked several quarts and headed home with berry stained fingers and my tooth set for some delicious, berry jam! Jam just makes a biscuit smile, and this jam is the easiest ever. It's really more of a method than a recipe, and you can easily adapt it to whatever (and however many) berries you have. No pectin needed- just berries, lemon juice and sugar. You can make a big batch and can it, or if you just want to make a little bit you can store it in your refrigerator for a couple of weeks- if it lasts that long!

Very Easy Very Berry Jam
Ingredients:
Berries- I used a mixture of Blackberries and Raspberries
Lemon juice- I used 1 Tablespoon for every cup of berry juice/pulp
sugar- I used 1 cup for each cup of juice/pulp.

To make the jam, I used the guidelines for making jam without pectin from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. If you're planning to can your jam, first prepare your jars.

Wash berries and place in a large saucepan. Mash berries and gently heat over low heat (do not boil) to release juice. I heated mine for about five minutes. If you don't want seeds in your jam, you can strain this mixture through a sieve or through several thicknesses of cheesecloth. I like the pulp and a few seeds in my jam so I ran mine through a Foley food mill to remove most- but not all- of the seeds. Measure the juice/pulp and put it into a large pot. (Don't try to cook more than 5-6 cups of juice/pulp in a batch.) Stir in 1 cup of sugar and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice for each cup of juice/pulp.

Bring to a boil and boil rapidly, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Use one of the following methods to determine when your jam is ready.
  • Boil until the mixture reaches 220F on a candy thermometer. (See this chart for altitudes other than sea level.)
  • Boil until the mixture falls of the spoon in a "sheet" rather than a stream.
  • Drop a spoonful of the mixture on a cold plate and put it in the freezer for a few minutes. Take it out and see whether or not it is thick enough. (The jam will thicken as it cools.) 
Remove from heat, skim off foam (if there is any) and pour jam into prepared jars. If you are canning your jam, follow instructions here. If you are not canning your jam, it will keep in your refrigerator for about two weeks.

47 comments:

  1. I've been so preoccupied with my search for peaches that I've been ignoring the raspberries and blackberries! I'll pay more attention next time and look for them at my farmers market.

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  2. Blackberries are one of he power berries and so darn good! This may be first first venture into homemade jam!

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  3. Sounds wonderful, nothing better than homemade jam-enjoy:@)

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  4. Berry picking time in Virginia--I remember it well. Those biscuits, slathered in freshly made jam, are frequently on my mind. Thanks for the memories.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  5. I'm determined to make Jam this season. Yours looks so delicious!

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  6. Oh this is berrific! So pretty and I can pretty much taste the pure sweetness coming from the jam! It looks amazing and perfect for breads but even better all alone:)

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  7. I really want to make my own jam... It's SO pretty and I'm sure it's absolutely delicious, too!

    Sues

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  8. What gorgeous jam. Homemade jams have always been a summer tradition in our family.
    Mimi

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  9. Thanks for sharing this simple method for making your very berry jam! I think it's time to break out my Foleys food mill and go to work. One of my favorite activities is foraging for berries and I have a favorite, not so secret patch that I've been checking from time to time;-)

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  10. I bet this jam is so amazing...I love the deep gorgeous color, beautiful!

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  11. Nothing compares to a homemade jam. I love that you only used 3 ingredients, leaving out all the additive the store bought ones have.

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  12. You are so right; there is nothing like homemade jam. Yours with blackberries must be delicious:)

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  13. Oh, how I love homemade jam, and boy does your look absolutely delicious!
    Just make a blackberry sour cream coffee cake. They're in season here too! =)

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  14. I'm drooling over your blackberries jam again! I love making jam too! Wishing again for berries...!
    Your jam is so gorgeous and beautiful!

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  15. Not too many blackberries in this area, but raspberries are my favourite berries. That is the way I make all my jams but we call it confitures; that liquidy syrup is so Good.
    Rita

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  16. Not many things better than a homemade jam...not to mention it's BLACKBERRY!

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  17. I just love blackberries but have not convinbced my daughter to pick many and bring them in from the coast:D

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  18. I've been meaning to make some homemade jam for a while now... Thanks for sharing your recipe - I'll be sure to use it soon as I get my hands on some lovely berries!

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  19. This sounds pretty easy. I've never made my own jam before. My bread machine actually makes jam, I just haven't tried it yet. Can't imagine how that would work. I love blackberries, they're my favourite!

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  20. I have a deep love for blackberries. Its winter here in Sydney. I can't wait for summer so that I can make some blackberry jam too.

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  21. That jam sounds just wonderful and so simple. It looks delicious. Have a great weekend.

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  22. The only jam I've ever made is freezer jam. (Boy, does that age me!) But this really looks wonderful, Betty. I've never had blackberry jam. Think it's the only fruit I've never tried in jam form. This method looks nice and easy.

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  23. How lucky you are to have berries like that to pick! I'm going to have to see what's available at the farmers' market because I'd love to make this jam.

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  24. I'm not too keen on blackberries, but I will try this with other berries for sure! I want to make my biscuits smile! This recipe made me smile :)

    I wanted to let you know about my cookbook giveaway that is going on right now until July 16th. Stop on by to enter! Hope you are having a great week :)

    http://steaknpotatoeskindagurl.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-first-giveaway.html

    (sorry if you've already entered, I'm going through all of my blogs and letting them know about the giveaway so if you've already entered, don't mind me!)

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  25. Its not the biscuit that will smile, it will be me ;) I love berry jams!

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  26. Mmmmmmmmm. I love that you used a mix of berries! And your picture is gorgeous!

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  27. By boyfriend always rambles on about homemade jam, and I've never really thought about it. Perhaps now it's time to try it out! :)

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  28. I have not make my own jam before. Got to try making my own jam too. This recipe sounds easy and good to me. Can't wait for our berry season to arrive...

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  29. My biscuits definitely need some of these! so do my sandwich breads, and maybe my muffins, and cakes too!

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  30. I've been doing quite a bit of bread baking this week, and this jam sounds like it would be just perfect. Thank you for sharing with me. I hope you had a joy-filled weekend, and I'm wishing you a blessed week full of love, laughter and family.

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  31. Oooooh...how wonderful! I love fresh berries, but I've never made my own jam before. I sure would love to try it though. Yours looks beautiful, and I sure do wish I could have a couple of biscuits with this yummy jam spread on it! Please eat a couple for me! :)

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  32. I love blackberry jam too! Yours looks gorgeous Betty! :D I'm excited, I'm going to try your mama's pound cake recipe this week!

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  33. This lovely jam would make my biscuits smile indeed! Now to pick up some berries ASAP! :)

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  34. I would love to spread this on my morning muffin. It sounds like a perfect breakfast topper. Your photo only enhances its appeal. Have a great evening. Blessings...Mary

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  35. Those biscuits and jam are making me smile..yum!

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  36. I've never made homemade jam. You've now convinced me to!

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  37. I like the smile on your biscuit. It would make me smile if some of this stuff miraculously showed up in my fridge.

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  38. Betty-there's nothing like homemade jam, and yours is such a perfect balance of the berries, and preparation method.
    My toast would even smile...and I would smile even more, if I would make this yummy jam!

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  39. Betty, you're so right. Jam DOES make your biscuit smile. xo

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  40. I can only imagine how delicious this jam is with freshly picked berries! Jealous!

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  41. Betty, nothing can beat a homemade jam...thank you for the recipe.
    Hope you are having a great week :-)

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  42. Beautiful! That biscuit is smiling :) Homemade jam is the best!

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  43. Your jam makes me smile also. There is nothing like homemade preserves.

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  44. I've been teaching culinary classes for 19 years but have never made jam. Just the other day I had the most incredible blackberries and thought, "Wow, I'd like to turn these into jam", and then I find your post.

    What a simple recipe and what great tips and links to help us all perfect it.

    Thank you for your post. I'm thrilled I found your blog. I'm going to make Blackberry Jam this week!

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  45. I SO needed this recipe! I've got so much fruit frozen that I'd like to make jam from!

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

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