Blackberry jam

This homemade blackberry jam recipe is perfect for everyone who wants to start making jam. All you need are blackberries, gelling sugar, and a few empty jars, and in less than 15 minutes, you have a delicious homemade jam.

It's summer! And for me, that means picking berries in my father's garden, and making your own jam is the perfect way to use up the abundance of berries!

Making your own jam is super easy all you need is fruit, sugar, and sometimes a little pectin and lemon juice. Blackberry jam is one of my favorites, but you can definitely use frozen blackberries or other berries like strawberries or currants instead if you can't find any.

I like to use special gelling sugar when making my own jam. The pectin added to this sugar makes sure that your jam will set. This can be a problem with some fruit like strawberries and ripe blackberries. That's why I recommend using this sugar.

Gelling sugar or jam sugar already has some pectin and citric acid in it, so you don't have to worry about that.

How to make blackberry jam

You start by sterilizing the jars. You can do this by putting them in a large pan with boiling water and boiling the jars AND the lids for a few minutes. Take them out, be careful. They are really hot! and put them upside down on a clean towel to let them dry.

If you are using fresh blackberries, you want to wash them to remove any dirt and bugs before you make your jam. Let them dry on a towel.

Add the berries to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Turn on the heat, bring to a boil and let the berries simmer on high heat until they become soft and start to fall apart. This will only take a few minutes, but you can speed up this process by mashing the berries with a potato masher.

Add the sugar, bring the mixture to a boil and let the berries simmer on medium-high heat for another 4 minutes but check the packaging of your gelling sugar for the exact time.

Remove from the heat and carefully pour the jam into your clean jars. Clean the edges of your jars and screw on the lids. Put the jars upside down for a few minutes, turn them again and let them cool completely.

You can store the unopened and canned jam in a cool dark place for up to a year. Once you open the jam, you can keep it in the fridge for about a week.

Can I mix in some other fruit with the blackberries?

Please do! I love mixing berries! My favorite combinations are strawberry and red currant or blackberry and raspberry. I suggest looking at your favorite jam brand (I love bonne maman) for some inspiration!

As many of you know, I LOVE trying recipes from old cookbooks, and luckily for me, they are packed with jam and jelly recipes.

I found recipes with loganberries (I have to buy a loganberry plant now, don't you think?), white currants, or a mix of berries, but most of them are for raspberries or red currants. So when I came across a recipe for homemade blackberry jam in a cookbook, I knew I had to try it!

Ingredients for blackberry jam

You will also need two 400 ml or 12 oz jam jars for this recipe.

• Blackberries - use fresh berries that are slightly unripe or frozen blackberries. Ripe berries contain less pectin, but you can still use them!
• Gelling sugar - I like to use gelling sugar when making blackberry jam. You can use regular sugar, but you might have to add pectin or fruit with high pectin content like currants.

Expert tips

• Mix some other berries with the blackberries!
• Using gelling sugar or jam sugar makes sure your jam will set.
• The jam will keep a long time, but canning will ensure it keeps outside the fridge even longer.
• Make sure the lid of your jam jar is clean and without rust.
• You can use special canning funnels to pour the jam into the jars. This will make it extra easy and safe.
• The opened jam will keep in the fridge for about 1-2 weeks.

Other fruity recipes you will love

No-bake lemon meringue pie

Traditional Dutch apple pie

Homemade applesauce

No-bake apple pie