who knows how to make jam?

I am picking and freezing blackberries and have a (USA) gallon and half, and expect to end up with three gallons and want to make jam from them.

On Youtube I see ways of making the jam without pectin which involves boiling it for 1-3 hours. Or do the conventional and make small batches with pectin.

I want to do the old way but worry the flavor will be inferior. So how about it?

 

According to Mrs LWW who is the Guru of preserves (at least in this house) some fruits are high in pectin and some are low. The low in pectin fruits need added pectin to ensure that the preserve sets properly. She believes that low pectin fruits include strawberries, blackberries elderberries and cherries and high pectin fruits include gooseberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants. This list is the fruits that my OH uses and probably is not exhaustive.
DISCLAIMER:
Mr LWW does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of information supplied to him by his beautiful, wonderful and intelligent OH for the purpose of answering the question asked by forum member Colne.

 

I do not want to use pectin - I think it is cheating - unless one made it yourself, which is doable.

And yes, blackberries are low pectin But I have found this :



...Make Jam & Jelly
Making Jams and Jellies
Making Jam without Added Pectin
Wash and rinse all fruits thoroughly before cooking. Do not soak. For best flavor, use fully ripe fruit. Remove stems, skins, and pits from fruit; cut into pieces and crush. For berries, remove stems and blossoms and crush. Seedy berries may be put through a sieve or food mill. Measure crushed fruit into large saucepan using the ingredient quantities specified in Table 1.
Add sugar and bring to a boil while stirring rapidly and constantly. Continue to boil until mixture thickens. Use one of the following tests to determine when jams and jellies are ready to fill. Remember to allow for thickening during cooling.
Please read Using Boiling Water Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.
Temperature test: Use a jelly or candy thermometer and boil until mixture reaches the temperature for your altitude (Table 3). For more information see "Making Jelly Without Added Pectin".
Refrigerator test: Remove the jam mixture from the heat. Pour a small amount of boiling jam on a cold plate and put it in the freezing compartment of a refrigerator for a few minutes. If the mixture gels, it is ready to fill.
Remove from heat and skim off foam quickly. Fill sterile jars with jam. For more information see "Sterilization of Empty Jars". Use a measuring cup or ladle the jam through a wide-mouthed funnel, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process. Recommended process times are listed in Table 2.
Table 1. Ingredient Quantities.
FruitCups Crushed FruitCups SugarTbs. Lemon JuiceYield (Half-pints)
Apricots4 to 4-1/2425 to 6
Berries*4403 to 4
Peaches5-1/2 to 64 to 526 to 7
* Includes blackberries, boysenberries, dewberries, gooseberries, loganberries, raspberries, and strawberries.
Table 2. Recommended process time for Jams without Added Pectin in a boiling-water canner.
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of PackJar Size0 - 1,000 ft1,001 - 6,000 ftAbove 6,000 ft
HotHalf-pints or pints5 min1015
Table 3. Temperature Test - Use a jelly or candy thermometer and boil until mixture reaches the following temperatures at altitudes of:
Sea Level1,000 ft2,000 ft3,000 ft4,000 ft5,000 ft6,000 ft7,000 ft8,000 ft
220°F218°F216°F214°F212°F211°F209°F207°F205°F
This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 2009.

Reviewed November 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Me again;
The USA Fed government (USDA) takes home food storage very seriously, as seriously as commercial. large numbers of Americans still can and preserve their own food. Every county in USA has an 'Extension' office which provides professional help on gardening and agriculture and canning foods. Anyway this says the temp test is the key, with my jam having to reach 220. If you were fortunate enough to have been sentient before the dreaded centigrade and grams and new pence were imposed by the Franklin School of world domination you may remember water boils at 212F

For it to reach 220F water must have been boiled out and the resulting syrup becoming candied - water cannot get above 212 at sea level atmospheric pressure. So I will try this theory. Using pectin I do not think this temp must be reached, I could be wrong though.

They also recommend small batches, as all jam recipes seem to do - will give it a whirl soon unless I think of doing it differently (a disclaimer, to be safe)

(the quantities of fruit, sugar, lemon juice, yield are without dividers as it copied to here so berries reads: fruit 4c sugar 4c, lemon 0, yield 3-4 c)

 

Robinsons?

Hartleys?

Tesco Value?

 

i use this recipe

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8067/blackberry-preserves.aspx?o_is=LV

Put a plate in the freezer before you make the jam. When you think the jam is ready take out the plate and put a small amount of the jam on the plate if it sets you know it is ready :D

p.s i use normal granulated sugar (cheaper and more effective)

Hope it helps
Bex

 

Never known Blackberries to need pectin when making jam. If they're extremely ripe and soft (lower pectin/acid) you can always throw some reddish ones in. We prefer making jelly rather than jam to avoid all the seeds that can stuck in your teeth.



The blackberries round here are only just starting to bloom, so I don't expect to start picking until around the 3rd week in July.

 

Granulated sugar doesn't contain any pectin It is pectin which makes the jam "set".

Blackberries aren't naturally high in pectin. You can add some chopped apples to up the pectin level (or the juice of a whole lemon).

Ensure you are using just ripe fruits (or slightly under ripe) but not over ripe/bruised fruits.

Sugar to fruit ratio is 1:1

 

Colne, I find the seeds get very "gritty" from the long, hot cooking time and are not nice when they get stuck in your teeth. I usually cook the fresh fruit until soft and then strain through a sieve - it doesn't matter if it's a bit cloudy. I then put sugar ( less than commercial jams use as I like that intense fruit taste) and the juice of a lemon in as well and bring to "a full rolling boil" . I stir to prevent sticking or burning. It takes a while to reduce some of the excess liquid out. When it's starting to "coat " the sides of the pan, I do a cold saucer test and if it wrinkles when I push it with my finger, I pot it up. I love that dark ruby colour - looks great on a slice of buttered freshly baked bread,
Jenny
Its called "Bramble Jelly " here and I love it in an apple pie too.

 

sound delicious jen

 

Yes, no need for expensive caster sugar (and even if there is for a recipe, you can make your own in seconds by whizzing some cheap granulated sugar up in a food processor).

Or with some yoghurt as a cheap alternative to 'Fruit Corners'. We've gone completely over to jellies apart from Strawberry jam.

 

Yep,
us olduns "don't like getting bits stuck in our dentures" do we Scrungee....
Jenny

 

I'm not sure why you dont want to use pectin, I think its mostly natural often from apples?
Isn't it.

Not made much jam, but have been known to make marmalade when the oranges are in season.
You get the pectin for that out of the pith and skins.
Not much help, I know.

 

Correct

 

You can buy "jam sugar"by Tate and Lyle in the UK, it contains pectin I believe.

 

Scrungee - I see that column of % of esterification is where the easy jelling lies - none for blackberries - but an OK pectin level.

So excellent - a solid round of confidence in no pectin. I do not think I will do the seed extraction, I do not have the equipment to do it easily. Must try the berries wile imagining the seeds on toast. I will be making the jam outside on the tailgate of my truck where I do all my garden processing - so less complex is easier.
And 13,

Blackberry Chilli Jam was a recipe also given in your link........I have pepper plants everywhere I am already getting ripe banana peppers, jalapenos are half size, and cayenne are 7 inches long but still green.

Ingredients
Serves: 72

• 4 (13g) sachets powdered pectin
• 100g caster sugar
• 1L blackberry juice
• 1 fresh green or jalapeno chilli, minced
• 1 red chilli, minced
• 700g caster sugar
• 5 (250ml) jars with lids and rings

But mark the bottles clearly! I will definitely give this a shot.

Sheal was it you I was talking about making tiny cheesecake tarts with jam topping? Well how does it sound as feta cheesecake tart with pepper blackberry jam on top? Wild.