An easy Blackberry Jam recipe that’s perfect for beginners! This small batch blackberry jam without added pectin uses foraged wild blackberries and simply bursts with flavour. Delicious spread on bread or in my Victoria Sponge Cupcakes!
You will also like my Apple and Blackberry Crumble 🙂
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In partnership with Thermapen
Blackberry picking was one of my favourite activities as a kid and it still fills me with joy. I used to spend hours wandering around picking blackberries from the huge brambles growing near our house in Greece.
I pretended I was a wild child living by my wits in the woods, foraging for food 🙂 My blackberry haul would then be presented to my mum who would make jam, to be eaten for breakfast over thick slices of bread.
There are so many brambles in our little corner of South London and I can’t resist picking the juicy berries. I used some in my Apple and Blackberry Crumble and in cocktails, but this year I picked so many I HAD to make blackberry jam.
Turns out it’s actually really easy and quick to make a small batch of delicious homemade blackberry jam that simply bursts with flavour – you only need two or three ingredients!
Small-Batch Blackberry Jam – No Canning or Pectin!
Are you new to jam making? Me too! I am not up for making huge batches of jam as I have nowhere to store them and we are unlikely to eat them all.
But recently I started experimenting with small batches of homemade jam (like my passion fruit jam). It’s a great way to dip into jam-making without needing extensive equipment or a degree in canning.
The one thing that usually puts me off from making jam is that I am never quite sure when the jam reached setting point. There are several methods to check your jam has reached a setting point and with practice they are reliable.
But if you are new to jam-making you can easily boil your jam for far too long or not long enough. With a Thermapen digital thermometer you can rest easy that your blackberry jam will be JUST right.
You don’t need to faff around with cold plates over a dangerously hot pot of bubbling jam – you just need to check it has reached a temperature of 104.5°-105°C (220°F).
BLACKBERRY JAM INGREDIENTS
You only need two or three ingredients to make this small batch blackberry jam.
- Blackberries, stalks removed
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon juice (optional)
- Butter or dairy free spread (optional)
Essential equipment
- Digital scales
- Large, wide pot
- Funnel
- Silicone spatula or wooden spoon (I used my dough whisk)
- Jam jars or an airtight container
- Thermapen digital thermometer
HOW TO MAKE BLACKBERRY JAM
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
Put the blackberries in a pot and add the sugar. Stir gently, cover the pot and leave the berries to macerate overnight or for up to 12 hours. The sugar will draw out the juice and soften the berries and it will dissolve quicker when you make the jam.
Bring the fruit slowly to a rolling boil. Use a slotted spoon to skim the surface of any frothy scum. Adding half a teaspoon of butter (or non-dairy spread) helps settle this froth but it is not essential.
Continue to cook until the rolling boil reduces down, the air bubbles subside and the surface looks glossy. Take a look at the collage below to see the cooking stages of blackberry jam.
Test your jam using the Thermapen – the setting point is 104.5°C-105°C (220-221°F). It is important not to overcook blackberry jam as the fruit will lose all their juice and you will end up with pips in jelly!
Take the jam off the heat and allow it to sit for 10 minutes so that the fruit distributes evenly. Meanwhile wash the jars thoroughly in hot, soapy water or run them through a hot wash in the dishwasher.
Fill warm jars (I used two 490ml Ball Jars) to the top with the jam while it is still over 85°C (185°F) seal and cool. Store the jam in the fridge and use within three weeks.
Serve the blackberry spread over my easy sourdough bread, Fluffy Japanese Milk Bread or lemon scones, or use in bakes like my Vanilla layer cake with blackberry buttercream, Retro Jam and Coconut Sponge, Homemade Jammie Dodgers and Easy Victoria Sponge Cake.
Top tips for the best blackberry jam
- Avoid brambles growing by the road or too low to the ground when you go foraging.
- Use slightly under-ripe fruit which are naturally higher in pectin.
- Make sure you thoroughly rinse your blackberries to get rid of dirt.
- To get rid of the frothy scum (which is just trapped air) either skim the jam with a slotted spoon or stir in a little butter.
- Fill warm jars to the top with jam while it is still over 85°C (185°F).
Can I make this jam using farmed blackberries?
Store-bought blackberries are larger and sweeter than the foraged ones. They are also lower in pectin so you will need to add some lemon juice to aid the setting. Use a potato masher to break up the berries slightly before cooking the jam.
What is the ratio of fruit to sugar?
An easy way to make blackberry jam is simply to use the same amount of fruit and sugar. However you can reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe – I used 950g (just over 2 pounds / approximately 9 cups) fresh blackberries to 850g (1.9 pounds / 4 ½ cups sugar).
HAVE YOU MADE MY BLACKBERRY JAM RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!
Homemade Blackberry Jam
Equipment & Tools
Ingredients
- 950 g (2 pounds) wild blackberries
- 850 g (1.8 pounds) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp butter or non dairy spread (optional)
Instructions
- Put the blackberries in a pot and add the sugar. Stir gently, cover the pot and leave the berries to macerate overnight or for up to 12 hours. The sugar will draw out the juice and soften the berries and it will dissolve quicker when you make the jam.
- Bring the fruit slowly to a rolling boil. Use a slotted spoon to skim the surface of any frothy scum.
- Continue to cook until the rolling boil reduces down, the air bubbles subside and the surface of the jam looks glossy.
- Test your jam using the Thermapen – the setting point is 104.5°C-105°C (220-221°F).
- Take the jam off the heat and allow it to sit for 10 minutes so that the fruit distributes evenly.
- Fill sterilised warm jars to the top with the jam while it is still over 85°C (185°F) seal and cool or simply pour the jam into an airtight container. Store the jam in the fridge and use within three weeks.
Video
Notes
- Use slightly under-ripe fruit which are naturally higher in pectin. Make sure you thoroughly rinse your blackberries to get rid of dirt.
- To get rid of the frothy scum (trapped air) either skim the jam with a slotted spoon or stir in a little butter.
- Fill warm jars to the top with jam while it is still over 85°C (185°F).
- Store-bought blackberries are larger and sweeter than the foraged ones. They are also lower in pectin so you will need to add some lemon juice to aid the setting.
- Use a potato masher to break up the farmed berries slightly before cooking the jam otherwise the jam will be very chunky!
- Large, wide pot
- Funnel
- Silicone spatula or wooden spoon (I used my dough whisk)
- Jam jars or an airtight container
- Thermapen digital thermometer
DMS says
I have a spikey bramble bush thats full of fruit right now, but I keep seeing tiny transluscent’ish worms in the berries. Really dont want the faff of picking them off individually, plus they scurry back into the fruit when touched.
Any tips of how to prevent this happening at all or how to get rid of them when I’ve already picked a glut of fruit?
Looking forward to doing this great recipe once these pests are eradicated ;D
Many thanks in advance.
Lucy Parissi says
Try soaking in slightly salted water then rinse /drain several times