Simple blackberry jam is the best way I know to stash away a little bit of summer for the rest of the year. We made a refrigerator batch with wild picked blackberries, but this easy jam recipe can be canned or frozen for longterm storage using fresh or frozen berries.
Blackberry jam is the queen of jams
Blackberries have always been my favorite berry, their flavor is the boldest, and the color is stunning. Blackberries grow all over the US all year round, so you can usually find them at your supermarket, even off season. But making a big batch of blackberry jam (bonus points if you pick wild berries) with seasonal berries is a great way to make the taste of summer last all year long. You can make a small batch for the freezer, or water bath can it.
This recipe is the simplest imaginable, in fact it comes straight from the back of the pectin box! It makes a nice, sweet/tart jam that I’ll be enjoying on toast for many months to come.
Canning jam doesn’t have to be complicated
If you’re new to canning, a recipe like this one is perfect for you! All you need is some berries, sugar, a package of pectin, and a few easy to find pieces of equipment. Here’s what I recommend in terms of equipment to get started:
- Clean glass canning jars and lids
- A deep canning pot (a large, tall kitchen pot will work)
- A canning funnel for filling your jars is super useful
- A rack for the bottom of the pot to set your jars on (this is so they won’t rattle around and bounce against the bottom of the bot as they boil)
- Jar lifter made for canning, or a sturdy, large pair of tongs to remove the jars from the boiling water
- Some clean rags for wiping the rims of your jars and setting the hot jars on to cool.
For complete instructions for water bathing canning jam visit Pickyourown.org.
What’s your favorite way to use homemade jam?
Super delicious jars of jam are pantry essentials for me, here are a few of my favorite ways to use them:
- On a cheese plate: fruit jams go well with so many different kinds of cheese. I would also love this blackberry jam with a warm baked brie.
- Swirled into yogurt or oatmeal
- As a filling for sandwich or thumbprint cookies (no, it’s not too early to be thinking about holiday baking!)
- As a flavoring for frosting
- Or a layer cake filling
- In a super simple cocktail
- Filling a shortbread tart or bars
- In an epic pb&j sandwich.
But even with all the varied ways I use jam in my kitchen these days, there’s not much that’s more satisfying than a thick slice of homemade bread slathered with butter and a generous layer of homemade jam. My Easy Dutch Oven Bread is perfect for toasting.
Fall jams and spreads ~
- French Apple Jam
- Cardamom Fig Jam
- Crockpot Cranberry Apple Butter
- Mulled Cider Jelly
- Easy Mulled Cranberry Jelly
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Blackberry Jam
Video
Ingredients
- 2 quarts blackberries, (about 8 cups)
- 7 cups granulated sugar
- 1.75 ounces SureJell powdered pectin , (yellow box)
Instructions
- Measure out your ingredients. My blackberries were small wild ones, so I did not crush them first, but if you have larger berries or do not want discernible pieces of fruit in your jam, crush them first with a potato masher or a similar tool. You should yield 5 cups of crushed fruit from 8 cups fresh berries.
- If you are planning to water bath can this recipe, make sure you prepare all of your equipment and jars for canning ahead of time. I link to the method I like to use in the notes below.
- Add the berries and the pectin to a large heavy bottomed stock pot and stir to combine. Make sure your pot is relatively tall, as the mixture will expand and sputter when it comes to a boil.
- Bring the berries and pectin to a rolling boil. This means that the boiling does not go down when you stir it. You may notice foam forming on top, you can either ignore it or skim it off with a spoon and discard it.
- Once the mixture has come to a rolling boil, add the sugar and stir to combine everything well.
- Bring everything back up to a rolling boil, and pay careful attention to it once it gets to that point. Continue to boil for exactly one minute more, and then remove from the heat.
- Fill your jars (again, refer to the instructions linked below if you are planning to can this jam for longer term storage), cap them, and either proceed to water bath can them, or leave them to cool at room temperature until they are cool enough to transfer.
- If you did not water-bath can your jam, keep it in the fridge for up to 1 month, or the freezer for up to 1 year.
Just a comment for those who may be first-time jam makers. I make lots of it every year for our church fair and for Christmas gifts and gifts all year! Don’t try to speed up the “crush the berries” process by putting them into a blender or food processor. My friend did that once when she was coming to make jams with me and hers did not set at all… but it was a delicious ice cream sauce! Apparently cutting them up that way breaks the natural pectin in the berries and prevents the setting up necessary for jam! Just use an old fashioned hand potato masher and crush them!
Great tip, thanks Julie.
How many pint jars will I need?
I love this recipe. I made 20 pints. My husband loves it too. Thank you for making it simple. Old country farts, like me can follow and keep up. Happy holidays. 2021
This jam is awesome. Going to make another batch today. Thank you for the recipe!
I can’t find yellow box sure jell. How do I make this recipe for pink box sure jell?
Hi..If you are not using a water bath how long do you leave the jam out before putting in the freezer. Thanks for sharing.
Just let it cool completely before refrigerating or freezing.
I see now you have answered my question about a seedless version. I guess I knew it would need to be strained, but do you recommend a particular strainer or cheesecloth or something else in order to lose the least amount of jam?
I would do a mesh strainer, it should catch the seeds and let everything else through.
Hi Sue! Thank you for this recipe — and multiple ways to make it. I love blackberries, and this looks so yummy! But there is a LOT of sugar 🙁 Is there any way I can get away with less sugar and still have it set??
If you want a low sugar jam, and I totally get that, then just use the SureJell “no or low sugar pectin”, that comes in the pink box. It can be hard to find in stores, but you can order it online.
Can you make this blackberry jam seedless??
Yes, just strain the mixture at the end of step 2. Be sure to push as much jam as possible through your sieve so you don’t loose too much volume.
How big was your package of pectin? Here it is available in bottles of varied sizes, and I’m sure you wouldn’t use a whole 6oz bottle for 8 cups of fruit! The first and only time I tried making jam with pectin, I’m sure I put in too much because it is very, very firm so I’m afraid to make that mistake again. Thank you! Also, I just love your site and recipes!
Hi Leslie, I used the small yellow package of powdered pectin, which is 1.75 ounces. I just clarified that, thanks.
Hi Leslie, I have had to look up multiple times the equation of 1.75 oz of pectin into Tablespoons and it equals 4Tbsp. There are so many jam recipes out there and the amount of pectin varies I’ve noticed, so being able to know before having inadequate jam set is necessary for sanity lol.. If a recipe calls for more or less than 1.75 oz, just ask Google or Siri or whatever for the Tablespoon ratio. I’ve had some recipes call for a 2 oz box of pectin which is obviously more than 4 Tbsp, I believe it is more like 6 TBsp. Hope these tips are helpful,
Happy Jamming! 🙂