How to Make Seedless Blackberry Jam (No Pectin)
Don't be afraid of canning! A few simple steps will have you enjoying homemade fruit preserves, no pectin or special equipment needed.
I made jam!
Woot!
This was a first for me. I always thought the idea of canning and preserving seemed so complicated and scary, and I was too intimidated to make any attempt. Daunted!
Well, sometimes the most wonderful things have a way of just falling into your lap, and before you know it, you're knee-deep in a water bath, sterilizing jars...
We enjoyed our last summer shore weekend this past, and it was so nice to relax, enjoy a little sun and cool breeze, and catch up with family for a few days. (And my older son lost his first tooth! Please excuse my hollering like a lunatic...)
My brother- and sister-in-law showed up with a mahoosive bucket of blackberries they had picked at a local farm. (Remember just a couple of weeks ago, I was griping about how expensive blackberries are in PA? What a stroke of luck!) Many of them went straight into our hungry mouths, but by the end of the weekend, there were still over two pounds remaining. My husband and I bounced a few ideas around for what I could do with them, but I soon realized there were just way too many to simply bake into a recipe.
And what better way to repay my dear in-laws for their blackberry generosity, than to offer them a jar or two of homemade preserves at our next holiday gathering?
There's a lot of info on home canning out there on the interwebs, so I spent a solid morning just familiarizing myself with the process. I decided to go the non-pectin route. Just seemed a little more rustic to me. Plus, I didn't feel like making a trip to the store. Truth.
I learned that you can be super specific about it, or you can be more relaxed, and add sugar/flavor enhancers by taste and feel. Contrary to my uber-perfectionist, Virgo (read: anal) tendencies, I decided to just go with the flow. Worrying about sterilization and sanitation is enough of a fuss for me, being a first-timer and all.
Before I launch into the nitty-gritty, let me put your mind at ease. Jam, or preserves, are nothing more than reduced and thickened fruit. If you can make a sauce, you've got jam in the bag. And if you don't mind keeping it in the fridge, you don't even have to bother with the boiling and sterilizing. I wanted to go ahead and take a proper crack at it, so here's how it all went down.
After giving them a cool-water rinse, I macerated the berries in sugar overnight, sweetening them and helping them to give up a lot of juice.
I didn't really bother to pick over the berries, removing stems/leaves, etc., because I knew I'd be straining them anyway. I'm not a fan of seedy jam so I took the extra step. Any other kind of fruit, and I would have loved big chunks, but I just find those big blackberry seeds to be super-annoying. No thanks.
Speaking of de-seeding blackberries, I remember receiving a food-mill as a wedding gift, oh, about an eternity or so ago. This would have been the perfect time to crack it out, but here's a glimpse into our mad basement organization skillz:
Um, ya. Maybe I'll just use my seive, mmmmkay?
Back to jam. I let the berries soften up over medium heat, and then I strained them. It was a tedious process, but don't let that deter you from jam-making. If not for this step, the whole business would have been a snap. And after a little while it became kinda meditative... Scoop in soft berries, push, push, swirl... push, push, swirl... the ladle worked great for this.
I submerged the jars in boiling water for 10 minutes while all this was going on. (Keep them warm so they don't crack when the hot jam goes in!)
Once the blackberries were de-seeded, I just whacked the puree on the stove and (slowly) brought it up to a bubble, stirring. I also threw the lids into some simmering water to soften up that ring of gummy gunk that makes the seal airtight.
A squeeze of fresh lime, a quick taste for sweetness and maybe a little more sugar or citrus, and once it looked dark, shiny, and thickened, it was ladled into hot, sterilized jars.
Wipe around the rim, lids go on, and the jars are placed back in the big pot of water and boiled for 10 minutes.
Once they've cooled completely, you can check the seals. If the "button" pops up and down, then they didn't seal properly. It's ok though. Those'll keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. But if it's a tight seal, they'll keep in a cupboard for MONTHS! Perfect homemade gift!
This wasn't so hard. I'd do it again. As a matter of fact, I've got an itch to make a big batch of tomato jam... so keep an eye out for another possible canning post, guys. 😉
And, I've got a scrumptious recipe up my sleeve to utilize these sweet and luscious preserves! So stay tuned! I'm totally psyched to get baking again!
A very handy chart, for your reference: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/348/348-594/348-594.html
PS- I didn't buy any special equipment, other than the jars. A lot of websites/stores will make you think that you need a whole arsenal of task-specific canning equipment, but I just was not interested in making the investment (of time, storage space, or money). A well-stocked kitchen already includes a stockpot and a pair of tongs, and mine's no exception. I'm sure a wide-mouth funnel, pair of canning tongs, magnetized lid-grabber, and jar-lifter-outer-basket would have been nice, but unless you think you'll be doing a buttload of canning in the future, I think you'll get by ok without.
Have you ever tried canning? Do you enjoy it? Are you a pectin-using, recipe following type, or do you just taste and adjust? Have you ever done any interesting flavor combos? (I toyed around with the idea of adding a little gin to my blackberry-lime concoction.) Or are you just completely intimidated by the whole idea? I have to say, that for me, once I gave it a go I realized it's not so scary. Just keep everything warm and boil it well and you're golden.
How do you like to use fruit preserves in your baking? Would love to hear your thoughts/ideas; as always, your comments are the bright spot in my day! 😉
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Seedless Blackberry Jam (No Pectin)
Ingredients
For the jam
- 2 ½ pounds fresh blackberries
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice, (juice of half a lime or lemon)
Equipment
- 3 8-ounce canning jars with fresh lids
- Large Saute Pan
- Sieve
- Tongs
Instructions
- Rinse the berries in cool water, and toss in sugar. Allow to macerate, refrigerated, overnight.
- In a large saute pan, warm the berries over medium heat, until softened.
- Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve or food mill, to remove the seeds.
- Submerge the jars in a large pot of boiling water, for 10 minutes. Keep warm.
- Place the puree back in the saute pan, and heat, over medium heat, until thickened.
- Place the lids into simmering water to soften the seal.
- Stir in the citrus juice, taste the jam, and adjust seasoning, if needed. When it has reached the desired consistency, spoon it into the hot jars.
- Wipe the edge of each jar with a clean cloth, and place the lid on. Screw on the rings and submerge in boiling water for 10 minutes.
- Remove with tongs, and allow to cool.
Notes
- Allowing the berries to sit overnight in the fridge with the sugar allows them to sweeten and release their juices.
- You don't need to pick over the berries and remove leaves or stems since you will use a sieve later to remove the seeds.
- Allow the berries to soften in a large saute pan over medium heat before you strain them.
- Add the softened berries a scoop at a time to the sieve, push them down, and swirl using the bottom of the ladle to release the juices into a separate bowl.
- To save yourself time, submerge the glass canning jars into the boiling water for about 10 minutes while you strain the juice from the berries.
- Keep the jars warm so when the hot jam is added, they don't crack.
- Once everything is strained, it goes back into the pot to thicken.
- Check the seals on the lids. If they pop up and down, they do not seal properly.
- If correctly sealed, the jars will last for months in your pantry.
- Many websites and stores will make you think you need a whole arsenal of task-specific canning equipment, but you don't! Besides the mason jars for canning, you should have everything in your kitchen.
- Any leftover jam (that does not fill a jar within ¼" of the rim) can be kept refrigerated for 2-3 weeks.
- Jam that has been appropriately processed (the button on the lid should not pop up and down) can be kept in a cupboard for several months.
Hi Allie I am standing here in my nightie trying to get this jam made in time to take some to my son. We are over flowing with blackberries here in Melbourne, Australia and am needing new ideas. I love the seedless idea and went a step further and processed the maceration, then sieved it. It worked like a dream and not hard at all. I thought it might make the jam a little cloudy but it hasn't. As I am making seeded or "pippy" jam as my children call it at the same time I put the pulp into that pot.... no waste. So happy to have found your site. Tanks Suz
Hooray! Thanks so much for reading and for the great info, Suz! I'm so happy the recipe worked out for you. Hugs to you and your kiddos!
Regarding the seeds/sieve/straining process, 2 words: flour sifter. My grandpa was a baker and all his ingredients were as fresh as he could get so we used a lot of fresh berries in the bakery. The flour sifter is a method I picked up from him. Works like a charm and less mess and smashing. Just do a little at a time. Comes out absolutely seed free. I have 2 ancient flour sifters. One I keep for dry ingredients. One is for stuff like this. I've tried the sieve method, cheese cloth, and everything else that's been suggested over the years. Still come back to the sifter.
That is such a brilliant tip Lissa! Thank you so much for sharing- I will never strain seeds the same way again 😉
just searching for a recipe for blackberry jelly, I have loads frozen from the summer. I can't wait to try it out. I've made orange and lemon marmalade and green tomato chutney to give as presents, blackberry jelly will make a great gift too.
How fun! I hope you enjoy making and your loved ones enjoy receiving 😉
I made this today but I over cooked it. It is really too thick to spread. I was waiting for it to reach 220 degrees (which never happened). Do you think I could reheat it and add a little water or simple syrup since my husband thinks it's a little tart.?
Oh, I'm so sorry Joany! But I think you have the right idea, a few drops of water is probably all it will take. Good luck, and enjoy!
it turned out great with a little simple syrup. thanks!
I just made this recipe yesterday and after removing seeds etc. I wound up with just 1, 8 ounce jar of jam. It set up just great and we are already enjoying it. Thanks for the recipe.
My pleasure, Marcie! I'm so glad you're pleased with the recipe; thanks for reading and for the great feedback! 😀
I just made this last night and it cooked for well over 45 minutes like you stated. It is no where near a jelly. It's just blackberry soup. Its so upsetting because I hand picked all my blackberries and now they are just wasted.
I'm sorry you're having trouble Lindsey! Maybe the water content was just unusually high with your berries??? I wouldn't give up--> they are not wasted by any means. If you really want jam, crank up the heat and cook it longer. It's just a matter of reducing the liquid down until it's thickened. If you don't have the time/inclination, use it as a syrup! It'd be great on waffles and pancakes. And just bear in mind that it does thicken up even more as it cools. Good luck; I hope it all works out for you!
I was thinking of putting it back in the pot to cook longer but wasn't sure if I could since I put it in the jars already? If it doesn't matter, I'll pop the lids off and dump them in 🙂 thanks!!
Hi. Love the recipe. Where did you get your jars from, they look amazing! I have some tumbler glasses like that and love the pattern. Cheers
Hey Jason! Thanks so much! They're just Ball jars from the supermarket! I bought the quilted kind. I think you can probably pick some up at a hardware store too. Good luck and thanks!
I made my first batch of seedless blackberry jam this week. I followed the recipe on the pectin package. 5 cups of mashed fruit and 4 cups of sugar (low sugar pectin). To deseed though I didn't soften them up. I just stuck them in a blender and whizzed. I still poured them through the sieve. Mostly just sloshing the scraper back and forth. 2.5 quarts of berries gave me 5 cups of seedless berries.
I did not know how much I didn't like the seeds until I tasted that first batch...
Lol that's kinda funny, Brad! I definitely prefer it without the seeds too. 😉
The instructions should say 45 min cook time, then, instead of 20 mins, shouldn't it?
Thanks for the heads up, Dawn! Actually it's 20+45, so more like 1 hr 5 mins. Correcting and updating now, TY!
Would adding pectin ruin the batch? I have not had success with no-pectin jam setting up. Of course I recently had failed strawberry jam with pectin but I'm pretty sure it will be great syrup. However I have a hillside of blackberries and can handle only so much syrup. What makes it set up if there is no pectin?
Hey Jennifer! I've never really tried adding pectin so I can't be sure, to be honest. What makes it set up is just simmering/reducing it until it's really thick. Hope that helps! Good luck and enjoy the blackberries! <--I'm jealous ;P
I just made jam for the first time & I used your recipe. I'm super excited about it. I wanted to mention that I used Coconut Sugar instead of White granulated sugar because that is what we normally use. Started to de seed it but realized that it was going to take away so much substance so I dumped the seeds back in. I will let you know how it turns out with the coconut sugar substitute tomorrow. HAPPY DANCE
Yay! I'm happy dance-ing too 😉 I hope you enjoy, and definitely let me know how the coconut sugar works out! Thanks Lori!
I too have really runny jam. I hope it sets up a little more over night, but I think we just didn't cook it long enough after getting seeds out. I wonder if we can just empty the jars back into the sauce pan and re boil longer? What are your thoughts?
Yes, absolutely Kelli! That is just what you want to do. There's no need to throw it away just because it needs to reduce more. Just keep in mind that you'll want to sterilize the jars again, before processing. If you're going that route 😉 Good luck and enjoy!
Re boiling worked!! We now have really yummy jam!! Thank you for sharing your recipe and for your help! 🙂
My pleasure, Kelli! I'm sorry you had trouble initially. But glad to hear it all worked out in the end. Thanks so much for reading and enjoy your jam!
Hi Allie, I am currently making your jam and it seems to be taking a really long time to thicken. I didn't deseed it (too lazy). Its probably been simmering for over an hour. Am I supposed to cover it? Thank, Gretna
Hey Gretna! You definitely DON'T want to cover it. The idea is to get the water to evaporate out- so covering it would only slow things down. Maybe try turn up the heat a little bit? You want it to be bubbling and reducing, or in other words, concentrating. Hope that helps! Good luck and enjoy! And thanks so much for reading!
Glad I came back to read reviews...the original recipe says nothing about cooking the berries for 25 minutes and then another 45 min after running them through the sieve....it says "warm the berries". I ended up canning runny syrup. I'm going to try this recipe again this weekend.....keeping my fingers crossed, as I really don't want to use pectin.
Hey Kellie! Sorry you had trouble your first time around. Just to clarify, the recipe states: 2.In a large saute pan, warm the berries over medium heat, until softened. 3.Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve or food mill, to remove the seeds. ... 5.Place the puree back in the saute pan, and heat, over medium heat, until thickened. <---This is the step where the thickening takes place. Although the jam will thicken a bit more as it cools, it should be reduced by at least half before placing in jars. Also, do take note that I recommend macerating the berries in sugar overnight, to draw out the juices. Good luck and hope you enjoy!
I am about to make blackberry jam using your recipe - low sugar and no pectin sounds great. Just a little worried that the extra sugar in most jams is required to help with preserving the jam. Maybe it is also used to help thicken the jam as it cooks. If I can use less sugar when making any jam that would be fabulous.....most jams are just too sweet.
I couldn't agree more Margaret. But you can rest assured that the jam will thicken just fine on the stove. It takes a little time, but it will reduce down. The sugar does not act as a preservative- it's the vacuum sealing of the jars that keeps the fruit from spoiling. I've opened jars of blackberry jam that have been in my cupboard for months and they're just as fresh as the day they were made. Good luck and I hope you enjoy!
Have you ever googled about worms in wild blackberries? Picked 2 pounds last night and threw them away after I read about the fruit fly larva in the middle of blackberries. Seems there is an epidemic here in the usa. I'm bummed...not that eating cooked larva would probably hurt any one...but still, no thanks.
Ew no way really?! That is so gross! I think I may be ruined for blackberries now!