When I was growing up, you couldn’t walk but a few feet down a country road and you could fill your bucket with wild blackberries.  Now, I have to hunt for them down country roads, wearing high rubber boots (you know, in case I step on a snake or need to fend off chiggers) while my arms are scratched and little trickles of blood are running down my arm.  Doesn’t sound like fun?  Well, I don’t’ guess I would call it a fun way to spend an afternoon but the end result is so worth it.

Here is one of  the better roads I traveled looking for blackberries.

See the little red and black berries in the middle of the tall grass and yellow flowers?  Yep, I’m going in to get some berries.

I ended up making blackberry jam, jelly, blackberry /jalapeno jam, and blackberry simple syrup for lemonade. I have been canning for 36 years (let’s just say I started really, really young) and though I know how to can, I forget the amount of fruit to sugar ratio from year to year.  I’m just going to give you three recipes, one using pectin,  one that doesn’t, and one that uses pectin and butter.  This is the first year I have used the butter trick (it’s supposed to help decrease the foaming) and I have found that for most fruits, it has worked great.

I’m going to stop and make a note here about adding butter.  I researched it have found some sites that say it is perfectly safe and others that say it is not.  I’ll let you be the judge of how you want to make your own jelly.  I mainly stuck to government web sites for my sources such as University of Missouri Extension Office which states “You may add 1/2 teaspoon of butter or margarine to the juice and pectin to reduce foaming; however, this may cause off-flavors during long-term storage.”

I usually go to one of two sources for basic canning instructions.  One is the Ball Blue Book and the other is to go to the recipes including in my pectin box.  I didn’t use pectin with my blackberry jam but have used it with other jams.  I have found it to be much  quicker using the pectin since you make it the same way you make jelly, by just boiling it 1 minute and you’re ready to go.

If you are new to canning there are several great sites with step by step instructions with photos.  One of them is Pick Your Own.  You can check them out here.  Another good source is the USDA Guide to Home Canning online book.  You can see it here.

BLACKBERRY JAM WITHOUT PECTIN

• 9 cups of crushed berries
• 6 cups of sugar

Combine berries and sugar in a large pot.  Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Cook rapidly to gelling point. (Mine took about 5 minutes but I was told by a friend recently that hers took about 40 minutes)   As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.  Remove from heat.  Skim foam if necessary.  Ladle hot jam into hot  jars leaving 1/4 inch head space.  Adjust two-piece caps.  Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.  Yield: about 3 pints.

BLACKBERRY JAM USING POWDERED PECTIN (National Center for Home Food Preservation)

• 6 cups crushed blackberries (about 3 quart boxes berries)
• 1 package powdered pectin
• 8½ cups sugar

Procedure: Sterilize canning jars and prepare two-piece canning lids according to manufacturer’s directions.

To prepare fruit. Sort and wash fully ripe berries; remove any stems or caps. Crush berries. If they are very seedy, put part or all of them through a sieve or food mill.

To make jam. Measure crushed berries into a kettle. Add pectin and stir well. Place on high heat and, stirring constantly, bring quickly to a full boil with bubbles over the entire surface. Add sugar, continue stirring, and heat again to a full bubbling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim.

Fill hot jam immediately into hot, sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a Boiling Water Canner.  

BLACKBERRY JAM USING PECTIN AND BUTTER (Kraft)

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