Black raspberry jam is an easy way to preserve the summer blackcap harvest. I like to make this black raspberry jam recipe without pectin, so all you’ll need is fresh fruit and a bit of sugar.
Summer means black raspberry season, and our permaculture orchard is full of wild black raspberries. I would have planted them, but they seem to pop up just about everywhere so there’s no need.
They ripen in stages, and the kids just love hunting through the orchard every day for their bounty. With all their predation, it actually takes me a while to collect up enough for a homemade batch of black raspberry jam.
Without the kids harvesting them, I could likely pick enough in a day for a batch of jam, but I’d never discourage their fun. So I’ll sneak around with a mason jar, picking the black raspberries that are deep in the bushes or two high for their hands to reach.
On average, I can pick about a cup per day.
My black raspberry jam recipe needs about 4 cups, or two pints. So I work for a few days, collecting a bit more in my jar.
I use a special trick to keep them fresh in the meantime. I’ll add 1 cup berries to the jar, then top it with 1/2 cup sugar. That helps to preserve the flavor of the berries, and draws out their juices in anticipation of my homemade blackberry jam.
I store the jar in the fridge, and when I’m ready, all I have to do is pour the contents into the jam pot and get cooking.
I make black raspberry jam without pectin and I’ve never had an issue with it setting properly. All it really needs is the fruit and sugar, but I like to add a tablespoon of lemon juice to bring out the flavor of the berries.
Black raspberries are acidic enough for canning, but adding a bit of lemon just makes their flavor pop in the finished black raspberry jam. In truth, the lemon also adds a bit of pectin to help it set without store-bought powdered pectin.
If you’re having any trouble getting your jam to set, try adding a bit more lemon juice. Or try using my citrus seed pectin technique, which basically extracts natural pectin from lemon seeds. I’ve never needed to with our wild black raspberries, but if you have extra soft cultivated ones they might need a bit of help to come together into a fully set black raspberry jam.
Personally, I don’t mind seeds in my jam. I make a natural blackberry jam (rather than seedless jelly), and I treat my black raspberries the same way.
If you’d like to remove the seeds for a seedless black raspberry jelly, just cook the fruit for a few minutes, mashing occasionally. Then pour them into a jelly bag to strain overnight.
After the fruit has strained, measure the juice. For every cup of black raspberry juice, add 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar. I prefer less because I love tasting more of the fresh fruit and less sugar, but many people do use a full cup.
Even with a seedless jelly, you’ll still be able to make this black raspberry preserve come together without added pectin.
Black Raspberry Jam
Black raspberry jam is an easy homemade preserve, no added pectin needed.
Ingredients
- 4 cups black raspberries (2 pints, 1 1/2 lbs, or 3 cups mashed)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
Instructions
Place black raspberries, sugar and lemon juice into a deep saucepan, ensuring you have plenty of headspace so that it doesn't bubble over.
Turn the heat to medium, and cook the black raspberries, mashing occasionally and stirring frequently.
Once the berries have released their juices, turn the heat up to high and boil rapidly.
The jam should thicken quickly, and you can begin testing for gel stage after 8-10 minutes of cooking.
Test for gel stage using an instant-read thermometer (220 degrees F) or by spooning a small amount onto a plate that's been chilled in the freezer.
Once the jam reaches gel stage, remove from heat immediately and fill jam jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Store in the refrigerator for immediate use, or if canning, process in a water bath canner for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the jars in the water for an additional 5 minutes before removing to help prevent siphoning.
Allow the jars to cool completely before checking seals and storing.
Notes
This is a recipe for black raspberry jam that includes the seeds in the finished jam.
For seedless black raspberry jam, cook the fruit for a few minutes, mashing occasionally. Then pour them into a jelly bag to strain overnight.
After the fruit has strained, measure the juice. For every cup of black raspberry juice, add 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 to 1 tbsp lemon juice.
Cook the extracted juice with sugar and lemon juice as directed in the recipe, pouring into jars when it reaches gel stage.
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Janet Barrett Coyle
For pectin free blackberry jam, what are the directions for storing long term ??
Ashley Adamant
If it’s been processed in a water bath canner (10 min) with a 1/4 inch headspace then sealed jars can be kept at room temperature for 12-18 months. If you’d don’t process the jars, they’ll keep for a few weeks in the fridge.
Amanda
Do your rinse/wash the berries first? I’m not sure I’ll have enough today to make the recipe so if I’m going to store them in the fridge with sugar, should they be rinsed first then put in the jar with sugar? Also, do you put a lid on the jar for fridge storing? And if I do have enough to process today, should I rinse before starting? I’m sure these seem like awful questions but I am new to the jam canning world. Thanks in advance! Love your recipes! We’ve made your dill pickles and bread and butters today. Can’t wait to try them!
Janine K Woodhull
Amanda, I don’t know the answers to your questions, but I have the same questions. So, they aren’t “awful questions”. Maybe Ashley will answer these questions yet, and we will both learn.
Administrator
Yes, it is a good idea to give your fruits and veggies a good rinse, although not completely mandatory. I often eat them straight off the vine. If you do decide to rinse them, I would let them dry really well before adding the sugar. It’s probably a good idea to put a lid on them so that they don’t absorb any flavors from other items in the fridge although you could be fine without a lid as well.
Mary A Fondersmith
Wow! I had no idea of pectin free black raspberry jam. I will try it next year. I wonder about blackberries?
Angela
This was my first attempt at making jelly as we have 17 acres that are full of blackcaps! I jad almost 4 cups of juice after seeding and I only ended up with 3 half pints of jelly. How many do you end up with a batch?
Ashley Adamant
You know, I can’t remember specifically for jelly. The yield on jelly is really low in general, since you’re removing the solids which contain a lot of the pectin. I’d imagine the yield would be similar to raspberry jelly, and in my recipe, I wrote 5 cups juice for 5 half-pint jars (https://practicalselfreliance.com/raspberry-jelly/). So 3 half pints from 4 cups juice doesn’t sound that far off, maybe a little low, but only a little.
Kris
I love this recipe! I picked this because it took very little prep time and no need to buy pectin. I made it at our cabin right after picking the fruit. I finally used the half pint canning jar case I had bought for impromptu arts and crafts! I didn’t have any lemon with me either so I used the same quantity required in the recipe from a store bought container of orange juice we had on the refrigerator. It was very easy to halve the recipe. The jam set up nicely with a beautiful glistening and everyone loved it! Not overly sweet, the berries were the star of jam.
Admin
Awesome! I’m so glad everyone loved it!
Kris
Since this jam is great refrigerator jam can the same recipe be used for freezer jam? Essentially taking the Mason jars filled with jam that would go in the refer and putting them into the freezer (chest freezer) instead. Does the 1/4 in. head clearance need to be strictly followed for each jar for the freezer?
Ashley Adamant
Yes, you could do this as a freezer jam (assuming you use freezer-safe jars). Do more headspace for a freezer jam so that there is some room for expansion, the 1/4 inch is just for canning.
Kristen
This was perfect! This year I discovered how many black raspberries are growing around our property. I wanted a recipe that was easy & didn’t have more sugar than berries & this was delicious! I even had a lemon in the fridge. I’ve never done proper canning, so this will be freezer jam for me.
Admin
Awesome! I’m so glad you liked it!
GB
I just made the jam from the black raspberries around my area. It is wicked good. Thank you so much!
Admin
You’re welcome. I’m so glad you liked it!
Jennifer
Hi. I love this recipe! It’s delicious and I love that you don’t need copious amounts of berries to make it. Do you think it would also work with wine berries? I am harvesting now and really want to make jam but I missed the peak and I’m probably only going to get about 3-4 cups. All the recipes I’ve found call for 10 or more cups.
Thanks.
Joanie Chilton
I just discovered our 100-acre Iowa farm is filled with wild black raspberries. I used some of them to make this jam, and was very pleased with the simplicity of the recipe! I didn’t have lemon juice, so I used fresh lime juice instead. It tastes fantastic!
Jessica
How much jam does this recipe make? Thanks!
Administrator
It’s 3 half-pints.
Ben K.
Ashley,
Thank you for this recipe and the guidance on forgoing the pectin. We are on our way to Baruch #2 and the first gelled nicely. Just moved into house with wild black raspberries all over yard and they are delicious,
Administrator
What a wonderful gift for your new home. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Lance
After boiling hard for 15 minutes, the jam never got above 215°, but the appearance looked right. I didn’t want to overdo it, so put it in the jars and the water bath. Sadly, the jam didn’t set. I used the juice of 2 big lemons and put the lemon seeds in the pot in cheesecloth too. 16 cups of fruit and 8 cups of sugar. 500 feet of elevation. I guess I need to trust my thermometer!
Administrator
Yes, it says to test it after 8 to 10 minutes. There are a lot of variables that can affect the time it takes to get there so I would definitely make sure it gets to temp next time.
Amanda
I have seen some tiny white worms on the black raspberries that I picked. This kinda freaked me out. I worked so hard harvesting them and did as you said … kept them in the fridge with sugar. Have you experienced this? I threw them out but it was so sad!
Also have you used coconut sugar in place of cane sugar?
Administrator
I am so sorry that happened to you. In the future you could give the berries a good soak in some vinegar and water solution which should take care of any little beasties that decide to take up residence in them.
Brenda
Can u freeze berries then make jam in the winter month.
Administrator
You sure can.
Denise
Just finished making your black raspberry jam! Turned out perfect and without pectin! Only difference is that arm was getting to tired trying to smash it up so I put it in my blender 🙂. Then finished cooking it. Delicious and thank you for this recipe ! Can’t wait to pick some more berries.
Administrator
You’re welcome. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Laura
This is a great recipe. Thanks! I substituted maple syrup for the sugar and it worked great!
Took longer to jell (about 25 minutes) but did eventually do so just fine. The smokey flavor of the maple syrup offset the sweetness of the berries perfectly.
Administrator
Sounds wonderful. We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Jacy
Do you have more specifics on how to process in a water bath canner for 5 minutes? I have a regular pressure cooker, but it seems I can use my large stock pot instead (with a rack or something on the bottom so the jars aren’t touching the bottom), but is the water simmering or at a full boil before you add them? I’m just not sure how hot the water needs to be when they go in.
Administrator
Yes, you can absolutely use a large stock pot just as you described here. I would start off with the water just barely simmering and then raise it to boiling once the jars are in the water. This allows the jars to gradually warm up rather than plunging them into boiling water. Your processing time starts as soon as the water is boiling.
Danielle
Been flowing you for awhile now first time saying anything I am going to make this recipe because I am trying to cut down my sugar intake but was just wondering how much Black berries because I probably have enough to do big batches of them but I am just wondering how many cups is that
Administrator
The recipe calls for 4 cups of black raspberries.
Adriana
Just made this as a surprise for my mom, as she loves black raspberries, I’m 13 and she’s at a work meeting, but I’m super excited to have her try it. This recipe was amazing
Ashley Adamant
Oh my goodness, you just made my day and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I hope your mom loves it!
Heather
Can I increase the ingredients proportionally in order to make a larger batch all at once, or should I do 4 batches following the recipe exactly? I want to end up with at least 4 8 oz jars of jam.
Ashley Adamant
You can make up to 8x of this recipe at a time without an issue. Past that, you need to break it into multiple batches. If your goal is 4 jars, then yes, you can do 4x this recipe and it should cook just fine.
(Batches larger than 8 jars don’t cook evenly and may not set, but a 4 jar batch will work just fine.)