This simple recipe for Black Raspberry Jam uses liquid pectin to achieve a soft, spreadable set. A single batch fills eight Ball® Smooth Sided half pint jars.
This post is sponsored by the makers of Ball® home canning products*.
I discovered the joys of fresh raspberries when I was nine and we moved to Portland from Southern California. Our next door neighbor had trained raspberry canes to run up the fence that separated our driveway from hers. At the height of their season, there were more raspberries than there was fence. I’d sit on our side and eat every ripe berry within reach. Then I’d scoot down and do it again.
When I moved to Philadelphia in my early twenties, I learned that there was more to discover in the world of raspberries. A friend introduced me to black raspberries and my love instantly expanded to include them. These days, finding enough berries and the time to preserve them is always among my summertime priorities.
In the past, I shared a lower sugar black raspberry jam recipe, but this year I was only able to get a relatively small volume of berries. So I opted to use the Ball® Black Raspberry Jam recipe from @ballcanning. It employs more sugar than my recipe, which allowed me to stretch my berries. It also ensured that the finished jam holds its quality for a longer period of time, thanks to the preservative power of sugar.
To start this recipe, you crush enough berries to yield 3 1/2 cups of pulp (in my case, I needed a little over four pints of berries). Once the berries are ready, you combine them in a non-reactive pot with 7 cups of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice. The pot goes on the stove and let it come to a boil.
While your fruit and sugar come to a boil, set up your canning pot. Fit your pot with a rack (I like the silicone mat that comes with the Ball® Canning Starter Kit). Place eight half pint jars (I used Ball® Smooth Sided half pints here) the on top of the mat and fill the jars and pot with tap water. Add a generous splash of white vinegar to prevent mineral deposits on your jars, and place the pot on the stove to heat.
Wash your new lids and rings with warm, soapy water and set them aside so that they’re ready for you when you’re ready for them.
Once the fruit has come to a full, rolling boil that doesn’t diminish when you stir, stream in one 3 ounce packet of Ball® RealFruit™ Liquid Pectin and then boil hard for 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat.
Take one jar from your canner. Place it on a wooden board or towel-lined countertop and fit it with a wide mouth canning funnel. Fill the jar with jam, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rim with a damp cloth and fit the jar with one of your clean lids. Secure the lid in place with a ring, taking care to not overtighten.
Place the filled jar into the canner and repeat the process with the next, until all the jars are filled. Process the jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude if you live above 1,000 feet in elevation.
When the processing time is up, turn off the heat, remove the lid from the pot and let the jars stand in the pot for an additional five minutes (this allows them to cool more gradually, which helps prevent siphoning and should also help develop a more robust seal).
Remove the jars from the canner and set them on a folded kitchen towel. Let them sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours so they can fully cool and seal. Before storing, make sure to check that the seals are firm and unbending.
The finished jam has a soft set and offers a burst of deep, rich raspberry flavor. It’s glorious on toast, but is a really great preserve for pairing with cheese. I can imagine it with a gooey triple creme or a crumbly goat cheese. It will be my go-to this holiday season.
*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post that is part of an ongoing partnership with the Fresh Preserving Division of Newell Brands. They have provided jars, equipment and monetary compensation. All thoughts and opinions expressed remain my own.
Classic Black Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
- 3-1/2 cups crushed black raspberries about 5 pints
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 3- oz pouch Ball® RealFruit™ Liquid Pectin
- 1/2 tsp butter or margarine optional
- 7 cups sugar
Instructions
- Visit freshpreserving.com for the instructions!
Thanks, Marisa! Here where I live, the little black raspberries grow wild; we call them blackcaps. We used to have to search the woods far and wide to get enough of them for a batch of jam; the wild berries were so tiny. Slowly they have invaded our yard, and have even made it into my garden. Now I have more than enough to make enough jam to keep my friends and family happy, Everyone loves blackcap jam! So rich, so dark, almost winelike. And you can’t buy it in the store.
How wonderful that you now have enough in your yard to make jam! What a gift!
A few years ago, a big rain storm swept through and washed out all the plants in our ravine that my husband usually picked the berries from. He almost cried when he saw what had happened, But I think it sent the remnants into our yard – I started finding little patches of them here and there and once they found my garden they went totally wild! And when they grow in good soil and get a lot of sun, the berries are no longer so tiny.
Agree that it is a marvelous gift!
Love black raspberry jam and picked about 10 lbs over the last week resulting in about 2 dozen jars. I make both seedless and seeded and find I don’t need any pectin at all to get a very nice soft set. If I use about 25% slightly underripe berries I notice the berry puree is already slightly gelatinous even before the final boil. I simmer whole berries in some water, put it through a food mill and then add sugar in an equal volume and some lemon juice and it sets in about 15 minutes for 3lbs of fruit. For whole berry jam I just leave whatever water clings after rinsing and that works just fine, add sugar (ratio about 75% weight of sugar to fruit) and lemon juice and it’s good to go. Sometimes I add little slivovitz for depth.
I like your style!
Could you share the name of the “black raspberry”, Been searching for black raspberry that you turn down the cane to start a new plant and need the actual name of the raspberry. Had these growing up but no one seemed to know the name when it was time for me to purchase new plants and there for we have lost all hope of keeping our raspberry patch going. Almost all of raspberries are us are the red ones which don’t have the flavour as the black raspberries hold. Thank-you
They’re sometimes known as black caps. Beyond that, I don’t have any knowledge of any additional names.
Hi Marisa,
These look amazing! Where in Philly can I find these berries? I’ve lived in pa for years but haven’t seen them anywhere. I’d love to pick some, and maybe get a cane or two to plant!
The season for these berries is done for this year, but check with your local nurseries. I bet they know where you can get some canes.
substitute 2 cups of red currants for the lemon if you can find them. the flavor is amazing and the red currants add enough natural pectin to set.
That sounds delicious!
Can you use sugar gel instead of the liquid pectin?
I don’t know what sugar gel is.