People in the Pacific Northwest take wild blackberries for granted. In fact, they’re something of a nuisance, lining highways and filling empty lots (my dad once had to rent a backhoe in order to clear the brambles from the lower half of our yard). In August, it’s easy to freely pick gallons of blackberries (you may sacrifice a bit of skin in the process – wild blackberries have very sharp thorns) at local parks, nature reserves and backyards. Just make sure to watch where you’re picking, last summer my parents got scolded after accidentally wandering onto someone’s property while picking berries at the very furthest most point of a dead end road.
Out here in the Mid-Atlantic area of the country, blackberries are a little harder to come by. In fact, I’ve yet to find any wild fruit growing here in Philadelphia. However, I’m lucky to have a few good u-pick farms in the area. They’re not free, but they’re pretty cheap (two weekends ago, I paid $1.10 a pound) and when it comes to blackberries, the cultivated patches come with far fewer thorns than the wild ones.
Blackberry jam is one of my mom’s specialties, so this recipe is more hers than mine. She’s the one who taught me to mash the berries through a strainer to remove the seeds before turning them into jam (it’s a necessity with wild berries, as they tend to be seedier than cultivated berries. If you have more civilized berries, the deseeding process is optional). She’s also the one who showed me how wonderful a smear of blackberry jam can be on a slice of peanut butter toast mid-February.
And, because I like to share my bounty, I do have a half pint of this luscious jam to give away. It’s a deep, deep purple color, is almost entirely seedless and is particularly amazing on pancakes (I had friends over for brunch the day after I made the batch and we couldn’t believe how perfect it was in place of maple syrup). Leave a comment by Monday, August 31st at 11:59 p.m. eastern time to enter.
So, on to the recipe we go.
Seedless Blackberry Jam
Ingredients
- 6 cups blackberry pulp, 8-9 cups of berries, mashed through a strainer with the back of a wooden spoon
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 1 packet liquid pectin, half the box
Instructions
- Prepare a canning pot with six half pint jars. Wash lids and rings and set aside.
- In a large, non-reactive pot (stainless steel or enameled cast iron), combine the sugar and fruit pulp and bring to a simmer. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest/juice and stir to combine.
- Let the mixture reach a boil, stirring frequently to prevent it from boiling over. When the mixture appears to be thickening a bit, add the pectin and bring it back to a roiling boil.
- Let it boil vigorously for at least five minutes to activate the pectin. Before removing from the heat, check the set using the plate or spoon test to ensure that the jam will firm up when cool.
- Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
- When the time is up, remove the lid from the pot and turn off the heat. Let the jars rest in the cooling water for five minutes. When that time is up, remove jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool.
- When the jars have cooled enough that you can comfortably handle them, check the seals. Sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
My husband purchased and planted some blackberry bushes this spring, and we had just a few on the bushes to try not too long ago. They don’t grow wild up here in ND! Thanks for the recipe, hopefully I’ll be able to use it next fall.
Must taste!
I managed to fit in a spate of blackberry jamming in the Adirondacks last week. Alas, the berries were from the organic farm — the wild ones are being destroyed by vacation housing developments — but they were gorgeous and delicious. Enough for 9 cups of jam plus a fabulous blackberry pie made by my husband! Just a note about removing the seeds. I have a gadget called a “ricer,” given to me by my mother-in-law. It’s a conical sieve perched on three legs to hold it above a bowl. It comes with a cone-shaped wood “pestle” which is inserted into the sieve and mashes the pulp of the berries out while keeping the seeds in. Very efficient, it’s very sturdy, and disassembles for storage. If you can find one, I highly recommend using it for making berry jam.
I don’t need to win a jar – I have lots that I’ve put up already – but I wanted to commend you on your great photography. It’s beautiful.
Loved picking wild blackberries as a child in N California. Now live in AZ. Too hot to be outside to pick blackberries if there were any.
we have oodles of wild blackberries in the north east, well, maine at least. they cover the island where i live, and this weekend i am going to go picking if the hurricane stays away!
thanks for the great site.
OOOOHHHH…this would be perfect. Last summer, our “gourmet” market had a melon month…every type of melon you can think of and many I’d never heard of- we went through at least a melon a day….this year, my boys want to try every berry grown. We are working our way through the berries as fast as they can eat them!!!
My blackberry jam also has blueberries in it, so I would love a jar of purely blackberry!
Blackberry jam is my favorite. This year my poor spindly little vines produced about 2 cups of berries. Maybe next year there will be enough for jam?
Aaaahhh! I made 7 half pints of wild blackberry jam with sage and did not strain it. It is delicious (the sage is perfect with blackberry), but definately seedy.
Next year…
Mary – I have some late marionberries and boysenberries and want to try making the seedless jam with sage. Can you tell me how to add the sage to this recipe please? thank you
All you need to do is finely mince a few fresh leaves and add it to the cooking fruit. They will break down and merge with the jam. If you’re using dried sage, crumble them in. Start with just a couple of leaves and taste. Add more if necessary.
What a fun post. We visited our grandparents each year in Seattle and whenever we were there in August I was always so excited to pick blackberries. They were always my favorite and I would ask my grandmother why she didn’t grow them in her garden, and the response was there is just no need!! I’ve never picked cultivated blackberries, but it’s nice to know that they are a bit less prickly!
That looks *amazing*! I’m hoping to find some blackberries before they’re done out here.
I made raspberry last night with the less sugar needed pectin. Do you have an opinion about that kind?
Still new at it all, but really enjoying it.
(and seriously.. the blackberry jam looks amazing!)
Elizabeth, I don’t love the consistency that the low-sugar pectin gives to jam (I’d rather eat less jam than reduce the amount of sugar in mine). However, I know that there are lots of people who need to reduce their sugar intake, and for them, I think that it’s wonderful that this type of jam is out there. -Marisa
OMG Homemade blackberry jam totally makes me drool
Here’s to hoping!
Reminds me of the jam I made with my gramma with wild berries. Looks delicious!
The Philadelphia Orchard Project has started a google map with all of the sites where orchards, single fruit trees, and berry bushes are located throughout the city and surrounding areas. I’d imagine the berries go fast, and it wouldn’t be very neighborly-like to pick enough to make your delicious jam, BUT a few fresh picked berries are always a great treat during a nice walk.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=115435414840831758445.00044844c98e0a15821f2&ll=39.95644,-75.21208&spn=0.19563,0.310648&source=embed
This is my favorite type of jam! We’ve got a wild patch near our house and have been picking and freezing bags of them for future pies. We’ve never made jam though, so maybe we should give it a try!
Ahh, so that’s the trick to getting rid of the crunchies. I think I might have to try that one soon–we have a pick-your-own place around here that’s so fun!
I recall picking wild caneberries when I was young from a hedgerow behind my elementary school – nothing like the taste of a wild berry!
Please let me win this week!!
So true, so true. Blackberries are the scourge of some people’s yards here in PDX. Heck, I cut them down in my yard. Yet, I’m glad my parents have decided to let them run wild. They trim them back, but I would say they have about 200ft or more of wild blackberry bushes lining the border of their property. So many blackberries you don’t have to reach in and get all cut up in order to fill a couple of bowls. We made jelly a few weeks ago from them.
Great post!
Mmm, blackberry jelly. Sounds amazing! -Marisa
Oooh, cinnamon and nutmeg would be a great addition. I will have to add those in this weekend. I’ve found I like the seeds in my jam, maybe becuase I’ve grown up eating blackberries with lots of seeds? Although I think I will try this out and send some off for those who aren’t as into the seeds as I am.
Another thought – I don’t add pectin, just let it cook down and it becomes pretty jam-like after a few hours. Is there any reason to add pectin besides saving time?
End of insanely long comment.
Chloe, I like to use pectin because it does save some time, gives you a slightly fresher flavor (because you don’t have to cook the jam down for so long) and gives you a dependable outcome. I know that lots of people aren’t fans of pectin, and I totally respect that, but I like it and use (to be clear, I only use liquid pectin. I can’t stand the consistency that powdered pectin gives). -Marisa
I just adore blackberries, but I hardly ever eat them because I can’t stand to pay for them. My grandparents had blackberry vines that produced more berries than they knew what to do with when I was growing up. Blackberries are supposed to be delicious and free. 🙂
We used to pick blackberries as kids at my grandparents’ property outside of town. They had about two acres of vines with trails cut into them. We’d eat half and give her half to make into cobbler. The berries you get in stores are like soulless little orbs of black compared to the gorgeous sun-warmed berries you get straight off the vine.
Sun-warmed berries are pure bliss! -Marisa
I second @SeattleTammy’s question – how do you convert between powdered pectin and liquid pectin when a recipe calls for one but you only have the other? Thanks – and the jam looks fabulous!
Thanks Marisa! See SeattleTammy’s comment for my pectin reply. -Marisa
How lucky you are! Many of our blackberries were wiped out from summer storms. Wish we had enough for jam, but only ended up with a few small handfuls!
There was a “hidden” blackberry bush behind a turn in the creek near my house when I was little. We were sure only the kids knew about it, and our parents never picked from that one. I miss the wild ones! I have never seen anything like it in the midwest.
I haven’t had blackberry jam in forever! YUM!
Now this post really makes me miss home! I’m from Seattle. I remember going out and picking blackberries until I was purple (more from eating them). Now far, far away I wish I had all those beautiful berries. Would love to win a jar of jam.
I’ve anted to try blackberry jam this summer, but haven’t had a chance to pick my own, and they are very dear at the farmers’ market, so I haven’t indulged. Maybe I’ll win your 1/2 pint. 😉 I like the de-seeding tip. Ive had some complaints (from the kids!) about the seeds in my raspberry jam this summer.
Out in Philadelphia’s western suburbs, I grew up with blackberries in my backyard. They weren’t exactly wild because they were an artifact of the farm on whose land my development was built, but they did have smaller, tighter berries and plenty of thorns. Sadly, we didn’t monitor our tree growth and they disappeared with too much shade.
It was delightful to go pick this year to recreate that, but even after picking five pounds of blackberries I didn’t make any jam. Aside from a couple shared fruit salads, I managed to eat them all. All of them! With only about 3 berries succumbing to age before I could nom them with a sprinkling of sugar and a splash of cream.
So having squandered my bounty, I have vague hopes of winning some jam. But also, thank you so much for pointing out the good place for picking them.
Ohio’s blackberries were wiped out from the late snow or really cold storm. Peaches took a hit too. Might go raspberry picking this Saturday. Enjoy your blog!
I think I might have called these Dew Berries growing up in TX.
Blackberries are my favorite berries ever, and this looks amazing. I don’t even like maple syrup, so bring on the pancakes and jam!
And here’s a question. You say “nonreactive” pot. I haven’t done any canning yet, but I really want to and I’m wondering how important this is. I have really high-quality nonstick pots… How would that do?
Cat, nonstick pots are also nonreactive. As long as you don’t use an aluminum or plain cast iron pot, you should be fine. You just don’t want to use anything that will react with the acids in the fruit. -Marisa
That looks so good! I do hope you allow comments from people not in the US to enter…
Mary, you are welcome to enter. -Marisa
Looks great! My grandfather used to grow muscadine and dew berries, and you just can’t beat homemade jam. He still does make orange marmalade and all sorts of other homemade tasties, I love grandparents.
Mmmm, looks delicious! We’re getting a nice harvest from our raspberries right now, but I can’t keep them around long enough to can any. My 6 year old makes a trip morning, noon, and night, out to the berries to see if any more are ripe!
Blackberries are my favorites. Could I get you to share the names of the u-pick farms you go to?
Linus, my favorite u-pick spot near Philly is Mood’s Farm Market in Mullica Hill, NJ. Their website is http://www.moodsfarmmarket.com. -Marisa
oooh, your jam looks incredible. the farm i belong to just started inviting us out to pick blackberries and raspberries, so when they increase the season picking limit, i will totally be making some jam!!
Nice! I love blackberries. We mostly find dewberries growing wild down here in Florida, but I have fond memories of picking wild blackberries in the summer in North Carolina with my grandparents. My granny always made cobbler with them, though. I’d love to try your jam!
I never used to like blackberries because of all the seeds and I guess the ones we were able to get were really tart. I had some this year and I’m a convert!
Mmmm. My in-laws go every summer to western Massachusetts where they have blackberries and blueberries and they make blackberry jelly every year. It’s the only fruit my husband will eat, and it’s the only thing he’ll eat on a peanut butter sandwich. And we’re out! They weren’t able to bring much back (to California) this year.
When I was growing up (in the south of England) my family used to go blackberrying together around this time of year then my parents would make what we called bramble jelly (which I think was blackberry and apple, I should ask for the recipe). In my memory that was _the best_ thing to put on toast. Haven’t seen all that many blackberries in these parts unfortunately, although last year we picked and ate some when we were up in Burlington, VT.
oh my, that looks amazing!
Ooooh! Thanks for the recipe- I’ll make it this week. I use the powder pectin… use half the pack?
ps: love watching your twitters 🙂
Tammy, substituting powdered pectin for liquid is not an exact science. However, in a pinch I’ll sub in about 1/3 of a packet of powdered pectin in place of one envelope of the liquid stuff. I do this because the powdered pectin gives a really hard set and so you need less to achieve a nice, jammy consistency. -Marisa
This is one of those things that only increases my longing to live in the northwest. Blackberries, huckleberries, cool weather… Lovely.
I’m from Oregon and I had to let my neighbors’ goats loose on my backyard once (lo-fi backhoe…) to clear the brambles to the point where I could get to the berries. The plants are the most annoying weed on the planet, except for the two weeks in August when the blackberries are perfect.
it might be a mulberry tree. that sounds about right.
marisa-
there is a wild berry tree on Lombard in front of the health center near broad street. i can’t recall the name of the berry right now, but it is wild fruit that you can eat growing right on the street. i’ve picked them with friends and eaten them before. I will ask Will to remember the name of the tree. it’s not uncommon, i’m just getting old and losing my memory.
The color of this jam looks amazing! I’ve been doing pectin-less jam most of this summer, but I’m actually going to try some with pectin in just a week or so. I want to compare the taste/feel.