Blackberries are one of the truly simple pleasures of summer, and it only takes a few handfuls to make a flavorful homemade blackberry jam.
Blackberries are naturally high in pectin, so it’s easy to make a simple blackberry jam with no added pectin. All you need is blackberries and a hint of sugar for blackberry jam, but a little splash of lemon juice will help bring out the berry flavor.
Sugar in blackberry jam is a matter of personal preference, and I make just about all my jams from low sugar recipes. A standard full sugar blackberry jam uses equal parts blackberries and sugar. The resulting jam is very sweet, and a bit cloying in my opinion.
The main benefit of using more sugar is yield. Since there’s so much sugar, the blackberry jam reaches gel stage very quickly and hardly cooks down at all. The texture in a full sugar jam is also a bit less chunky, with fewer seeds per spoonful. It only takes a few minutes of stirring and the jam thickens right up, which means less time and more jam for your blackberry harvest.
To make a standard blackberry jam without pectin, simply weight your fruit and add an equal weight of sugar. Then follow all the steps in the “low sugar” recipe below.
That said, all that extra yield comes at the expense of flavor in my opinion. Full sugar jams taste more like candy than fruit. Low sugar blackberry jam is simple to make, still without any pectin, and the blackberry flavor is out of this world.
My low sugar blackberry jam recipe is about as fruit forward as it gets. I use 1 part sugar to 5 parts blackberries, and the sugar is barely noticeable. Most low sugar blackberry jam recipes are a bit more conservative and opt for a higher 1:3 or 1:4 sugar to fruit ratio. So in truth, this is a VERY low sugar blackberry jam recipe.
Feel free to adjust to your own tastes, and know that there’s no wrong way to make a blackberry jam. The fruit contains plenty of acid and sugar on its own, and it’s completely safe for home canning even with no sugar at all.
Yes, it is possible to make a completely sugar free blackberry jam that is safe for canning. The lemon juice is optional too.
Start by cooking the blackberries with sugar, however much you’ve decided to use. Honey or maple also work well in this recipe too, but they’re slightly sweeter than table sugar, so only use about 2/3rds sweetener with those. If you’ve opted for a no sugar added blackberry jam, that’s fine too. Just place the blackberries in a pot and mash them slightly to release some of their juices.
If you’re using lemon juice, add it now because a little bit of liquid will help with the initial cooking. After a minute or two on the heat, the blackberries will have let out plenty of juice and the mixture will quickly come to a boil.
Be aware that blackberry jam foams heavily during cooking. You need to watch the jam pot continuously and stir down the foam as it rises.
Some people add 1/4 teaspoon of butter at this stage to help control the foaming. While the safe canning police will tell you never to can butter or dairy products, there’s a big difference between canning jam with a tiny bit of butter and actually canning up a jar of butter.
The national center for food preservation actually suggests adding a small amount of butter to jams as they cook to cut down on foaming because a hot scalding pot of boiling jam can be dangerous, and a tiny bit of butter in jam is nothing to get your panties in a bunch about.
Still, even though adding a small amount of butter to jam is safe, I still don’t do it. Why? I like standing by the stove stirring the jam pot, and staying present while the jam is cooking ensures it doesn’t burn. Beyond that, the National Center for Food Preservation notes, “Adding 1/2 teaspoon of butter or margarine with the juice and pectin will reduce foaming. However, these may cause off-flavor in long-term storage of jellies and jams.”
Butter or not, the foam will subside as the blackberry jam approaches gel stage. The consistency of the jam will noticeably change, and it’ll take on a thicker, glossier look. You can test for gel stage on a plate kept in the freezer. Once the blackberry jam reaches the gel stage, pour it into prepared canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Process both pint and half-pint jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.
Blackberry Jam Won’t Gel?
This is important…If your blackberry jam doesn’t gel, then you didn’t cook it long enough. Simply put, it will gel once it’s cooked down far enough. Be patient, keep cooking it, with the flame on low as it gets closer to finished to prevent scorching.
If you want the highest yield possible, with the least amount of time spent cooking, add equal parts sugar and fruit (by weight). That will gel quickly, but is a very sweet jam. Adjust the sugar level to your own tastes (and patience for standing tending the jam pot).
Blackberry Jam Recipe Without Pectin
This simple blackberry jam is a no pectin and low sugar recipe. All you need is blackberries and a small amount of sugar to make a tasty homemade blackberry jam.
Ingredients
- 5 cups blackberries
- 1 to 2 cups sugar (see note)
- 1 to 2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
- Add blackberries, sugar and lemon juice to a saucepan. Be sure there are several inches of headspace to allow for foaming.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer the jam until it reaches gel stage, stirring to keep the bubbles down. In this low sugar batch, it should take 20-30 minutes for a low sugar jam. (increasing the sugar will cause the jam to gel faster and result in a higher yield)
- Test for gel stage on a plate in the freezer.
- Pour jam into prepared canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Store in the refrigerator, or process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
Notes
This low sugar recipe yields roughly two half pint jars. This recipe can be multiplied up to 4x, making a batch that starts with up to 20 cups of blackberries for a larger batch. Do not increase the batch size beyond 4 times, extra large jam batches often have trouble reaching gel stage properly.
To make a conventional blackberry jam without pectin, add equal parts sugar and fruit by weight and follow the same instructions. The yield will be much higher.
Neither the sugar nor the lemon juice are necessary for safe canning, and both can be increased, decreased or eliminated without affecting the safety of this canning recipe.
More Blackberry Recipes
Shirley
so i tried to subscribe to verify i received an error page and could not even unsubscribe also it stated the page was insecure….what went wrong?
Shirley
Ashley Adamant
I’m sorry that happened. I just went in and tested my newsletter subscription and it’s working at the moment. There definitely shouldn’t be any “insecure” parts of this site, and I’m not sure what may have caused that error. If you never got the confirmation email, try again here: https://practicalselfreliance.com/subscribe/
Amy
Would it be ok to add a little stevia for sweetening instead of sugar?
Ashley Adamant
Yes, I believe you can use stevia for jam making. A few things to note though…the sugar helps this jam gel a bit, and without any sugar, the texture will be different and the yield lower since everything will need to cook down more. The second thing to note, I believe stevia has a hint of bitterness, and that would be concentrated in jam.
If you don’t want to use cane sugar, apple juice or grape juice is a good choice. But those still have calories.
The best option I’d say, would be to use stevia with a low or no sugar pectin like Pomona’s pectin. That’d get the jam to gel earlier, without so much cooking and will yield the best texture. It’s no longer a “no pectin” recipe, but it’d be much easier to get good results with stevia that way.
Lizza
How long does this last in the refrigerator??
Ashley Adamant
The refrigerator shelf life actually depends on the amount of sugar. The less sugar you use, the faster it will spoil. With very low sugar it should last at least 2 weeks, with high sugar amounts it can last months.
Dawn
Wow!! This turned out perfect! I’ve never made anything in the preserves/jelly/jam world so this was my first go and this recipe did not disappoint. I scoured my canning books and the internet for a good, easy recipe that didn’t call for pectin and am so glad I settled on this one. I didn’t have my jars ready so decided to forgo the canning but will definitely be canning the next batch. Thank you!
Ashley Adamant
Awesome, glad you had a great experience with your first jam!
lisa
A word about things lasting in the refrigerator- if you stick a ‘dirty’ spoon into the jam, you basically inoculate it with something that can mold in a few days (like if you lick the spoon and stick it back into the jar). So to make anything last longer in the fridge, stick a clean spoon into the jar and nothing else. This includes not using your hands/fingers to wipe the rim of a jar either.
Dianne L Andrews
Who does this?🤮🤮🤮🤢
Sandra Esterline
I am using Allulose, (developed specifically for baking) sugar substitute. And I use cornstarch to thicken. Adjust the amount of Allulose to taste and I use one tablespoon corn starch per 2 cups of berries.
Candace Brown
My jam wouldn’t gel 🙁
Ashley Adamant
Keep cooking it and watching it, simmering on low, being careful not to scald it. It will eventually gel. If it’s still quite liquid, you can resurrect it by pouring it out of the jars and back into the pot. Before you put it in the canning jars, give it a test on a plate from the freezer to make sure it gels. If it doesn’t gel on the test, it’s not ready.
Anne
Mine was too hard. It really was though to get a spoon in it. Not like jam when it was cooled.
Heather
I had this exact problem! I basically had blackberry toffee .. I’m guessing that I overcooked it.
Isabelle
Hi, I have tried this recipe twice now, and it never foamed, and it never gelled. Could you tell us what kind of sugar you use? Is it caster sugar (white granulated sugar)?
The first time, I followed your advice and left it to cook for 1 1/2 hours, with no success. I had 5kgs of berries which made 3 tiny half jars, and it was super dense. Here in the UK, there are a lot more types of sugar than I used to find in North America, so that first year, I had used demerera sugar (a kind of crystallised brown sugar which is less processed than white sugar).
I happened to mention this to a friend (the lack of foaming), and she said it has to do with the brand of sugar. She did an intership in a sugar factory in university, and one of the two main UK brands of caster sugar (white sugar) foamed, and the other didn’t because of an additive they used, so since I used unprocessed brown sugar, I thought it was the issue. This 2nd time of trying the recipe, I tried with a white caster sugar, and I used again a ratio of about 6 berries to 1 sugar, and despite it tasting sickly sweet to me, there no foaming, no gelling either. I stopped the boiling after 35 mins since the last time, it made no difference other than reduce the output.. I think I will need to try pectin next time, it’s not just a case of keep boiling it to death.
Administrator
It definitely sounds like it was overcooked. You do want to use regular white granulated sugar. You can also try using a thermometer to check the temperature rather than relying on visual signs that it’s ready.
Lily
Hi not sure about plate in freezer test. Can you please explain. Getting ready now to follow your recipe.
Thanks so much.
Ashley Adamant
I need to take pictures of this process this year and add that in. I did take a picture of it for the redcurrant jelly that I just posted, and you can see a picture of the cold plate gel test in this article: https://practicalselfreliance.com/red-currant-jelly/
Sanni
Just Place a small plate in your freezer, or better two or three in case you need to test more often. When you think the jam might be done take out the plate, put a teaspoon of jam on it, wait a minute or two, and see if it gels. If it doesn’t, cook a bit longer and repeat until the jam gels on the plate. Now your jam is ready for canning.
Amanda
Can you recook jam that’s already been canned if it’s not gelled? Either recook and re-can, or cook it again when you open it for use?
Ashley Adamant
You can re-cook and re-can, that’s fine. If it was underdone that usually works pretty well, just be sure you scoop it all out into the pan and then clean your jars completely before putting it back into them.
Michelle
One of the most informative jam recipes I’ve ever encountered! Much thanks!!
Charlette
Made according to your low sugar recipe. Picked my berries today and just finished the jam. Excellent. Biscuits for breakfast in the a.m. Spot on recipe!
Ashley Adamant
Wonderful! Enjoy your biscuits, I can’t wait for our blackberries to come in up here in Vermont.
Dorlis Grote
I am diabetic type 2 and looking for low or no carb recipies. I use stevia for coffee, etc. it does have a bitter aftertaste if i use too much. what about using coconut sugar (9gms per teaspoon)?
question: why no pectin? is there something in it that is undesirable?
Ashley Adamant
You can definitely add pectin, and there’s nothing undesirable in it. Some people just don’t have it on hand, especially if they’re just making jam once in a blue moon. Others prefer the texture without added pectin since the pectin creates a different type of gel texture in the finished jam (a tiny bit jello-ish). Add pectin if you want, and it’ll cook much faster and have a much higher yield.
If you want to make an easy, sugar-free blackberry jam recipe without added sugar to accommodate blood sugar issues, I’d suggest following the recipe I put out for no sugar strawberry jam. There’s a process I detail there that would also work with blackberries or any other fruit.
As to stevia, I’m not an expert on it, but when I’ve used it the bitter flavor often comes through. Coconut sugar works fine in place of sugar, but I believe it still impacts blood sugar.
Shannon
Try using Erythritol.
Dan
I cooked mine full Bol til the end, I couldn’t get it in the jars fast enough before it thickened up.
The next day we couldn’t wait to try some.
Hard as a rock, almost bent my spoon.
This was my first attempt, I hope the next batch goes better.
Entirely my fault.
Not sure what to do at this stage.
Just thought I would share my story.
Ura
How long does the jam last for?
Ashley Adamant
The new ball canning lids are guaranteed for 18 months (used to be 12). Practically speaking, home-canned preserves will last a lot longer than that provided their seal isn’t broken.
Not canned, but just placed in the fridge the jam should last several weeks.
Melissa Parker
What about the seeds?
Ashley Adamant
If you want to make blackberry jelly (instead of jam) then you can bring the berries to a boil for about 10 minutes, mash them well, and then strain through a jelly bag. Add the sugar to the strained juice, and then cook that to gel stage. It will gel faster if about 1/4 of the berries are slightly underripe since those have more pectin, but the process for making blackberry jelly without pectin is the same as for jam…all you do is strain the cooked berries before you add the sugar into just the juice.
Felicia
To boil the berries for 10 minutes, do you add any water to prevent them from burning?
Administrator
No, there is no need to add water. There will be enough liquid from the berries along with the sugar and lemon juice.
Oleeta
Can frozen mixed berries be used the same way?
Ashley Adamant
Yes, though freezing berries causes some of their pectin to degrade. If you’re working with frozen berries I don’t suggest using the low sugar variations because they won’t gel properly.
Kerry O'Gorman
I use a hand crank food masher to eliminate the seeds.
Mary Scaggs
How long should it boil?
Ashley Adamant
That really depends on how much sugar you put in and how juicy your fruit are. I found it came together pretty quick even with low sugar, but I’ll have to time it next time.
Andrea
Instead of canning, can in just freeze it? Thank you.
Ashley Adamant
Yes you can, just use straight-sided canning jars (those labeled “freezer safe”)
Alissa
Can I make this with frozen bblackberries? If so do I thaw them and drain of excess liquid first?
Ashley Adamant
I’ve never tried to make this with frozen berries, but I’ve read that the natural pectin is weakened a bit by using frozen fruit and it will not set as firmly. If I were going to make it with frozen fruit, I’d defrost them in a colander and collect the juice below. I’d then cook the juice until it was pretty concentrated and then add in the fruit, perhaps that’s not necessary but that’s just what my gut says is a good method.
I wouldn’t strain out any of the juice because that’s where a lot of the flavor is, and I’d imagine the finished jam would be really seedy with the juice strained.
Darlene
Thank you so much for this great recipe! Just made a batch and it turned out perfectly! After 25 minutes the magic started happening 🙂
Lisa
It says to process jars in canning pot or refrigerate. Do I have to keep them refrigerated?
Ashley Adamant
If the jars are not water bath canned, then yes, they do need to be stored in the refrigerator. If they’re processed in a water bath canner (ie. lidded and then submerged in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes) then they can be kept in the pantry at room temperature for years (if not indefinitely) until they’re opened. Once opened, they need to go into the refrigerator.
Laura
I realize this is probably a stupid question but when you say 5 cups blackberries, does that mean 5 cups once they are smashed or 5 cups fresh?
Ashley Adamant
That’s a really good question! I measured the blackberries whole (not mashed). Recipes are written both ways, and this recipe is inexact, more of a choose your own adventure blackberry jam with varying amounts of sugar. If you measure them mashed your yield will be higher, but still it’ll largely depend on how much sugar you use.
Brendan
Okay…I’m a 45 year old single dad and have never made anything to “can”…I picked a bunch of wild blackberries with my kids and they want to make Jam. After I make the jam…can I refrigerate it for a day before canning…I don’t have any jars tonight…and they REALLY want this to be tonight’s activity.
Thanks a million!
Ashley Adamant
Yes! Just don’t put it in the jars.
You can make the jam, or make it close to all the way jam, but leave it in the pot. Since you don’t have the jars that should work out nicely.
When it goes into the canning jars the jam must be boiling, as in hot all the way through. If you make it today and can it tomorrow that means bringing it back up to a full rolling boil when you can it, stirring it to make sure it’s completely and evenly hot.
But yes, you can totally make this tonight and can it tomorrow. Be careful not to over-cook it, and error on the side of underdone today so that it doesn’t burn when you heat it up tomorrow.
Deborah
I couldn’t get it to gel even after boiling for about 25 minutes so I added a bit of a tart apple that I shredded on a microplane and it gelled up quickly plus tasted delicious. Thanks for the low sugar recipe…it’s a keeper!
Emily
How would I go about making this a seedless jam?
Ashley Adamant
Cook the blackberries until they’ve released their juices (15 min?) and then strain through cheesecloth or a jelly bag to remove the seeds. Put the juice back into a clean pot and continue with the recipe. I’m not sure on the yield for this method, but I’ll make it this year and measure.
Samantha Self
Does it need to cool before going to the fridge, or straight to the fridge?
Ashley Adamant
I let them cool before going into the fridge, just so there’s no thermal shock on the jars. Sometimes jars can break if you put them on a cold counter when hot, so I keep them on a towel on my granite countertops so they don’t break on the bottom from the temperature change against the cold counter. If you do put them straight into the fridge, just make sure they’re on a towel or potholder so they’re not in direct contact with the very cold surfaces.
Jon
If I boiled a few sprigs of thyme with the fruit, that wouldn’t affect either its gelling or shelf-stability once canned, would it?
Ashley Adamant
Correct, that won’t affect the gelling or canning at all. Some herbs taste better than others in the canning process, as that can change the flavors. Things like cinnamon/cloves can get bitter, and herbs can get really strong if you leave them in the finished jars. If I were you, I’d cook the jam with the sprigs but then be sure to pull them out.
Jon
Thanks! Wasn’t planning to leave them in, if for no reason other than aesthetics 🙂
betty
Can I just put the end product (preserves) in the refrigerator for a few days to use and not so called can?
I have never canned and a bit scared of the process of canning.
Ashley Adamant
Yup! Canning is completely optional. The jam should last at least 2 weeks in the fridge even with low sugar.
If you do a high sugar recipe it lasts a lot longer in the fridge, as long as several months. That’s one reason older (pre-canning) recipes have so much sugar, it helps keep the jam from spoiling in a root cellar before canning was invented.
But yes, to answer your question, you only need to can it if you’re trying to make a shelf-stable jam that can last in the pantry for a year or more. If you’re just going to eat it in the next few weeks there’s absolutely no need to can the jam.
carel Hiatt
Can you make blackberry jam from frozen berries
Ashley Adamant
Yup!
Kathy Riddle
I’m about to attempt this. I don’t see where you mention how many jars this typically yields. Can you provide an approximate? Thanks!
Ashley Adamant
The yields will vary dramatically based on how juicy your berries are (wild ones tend to be quite dry but have more pectin, while storebought are very soft and juicy but have less pectin), and on how much sugar you use. I got two half-pint jars from 5 cups berries and 1 cup sugar. Other readers (above in the comments) report 4 half-pint jars when starting with 5 cups berries and 2 cups sugar, which seems on the high end to me. Expect between 2 and 4 half-pints, depending on how you start.
Linda
So enjoyed reading your responses. They are kind and detailed.
Clare
Measured out a double batch added 2 cups sugar and 2 tbsp lemon juice. After 30 minutes it had not set and after 1 hour nothing! Can this be resurrected or is a total loss?
Ashley Adamant
I think your heat is not high enough, it really shouldn’t take that long, especially with 2 cups sugar. Is the jam boiling this whole time? After an hour I’d think there’d be nothing left if it was boiling. To answer your question though, yes, continue cooking until it’s done.
Heather A
The first time I made Blackberry Jam it turned out terrible; Sugars crystallized and tasted TERRIBLE! Definitely not my great grandmother’s yummy goodness, which was the goal. After reading your detailed post/recipe, I am really looking forward to attempting it again (6 years later, lol)!! Thank you!!
Connie Conlon
Have you or do you know how to add peppers to this to make blackberry pepper jelly?
Administrator
You may want to see if you can find a tested recipe so that you know the acidity is correct for canning since peppers are a low acid food.
Augusta
Omg it came delicious perfect consistently I made one jar being that it was my first time making it. I weight the blackberry 3.85 and added 3.85 sugar and one full lemon juice. Cooked at medium low heat and exactly at 20 minutes turn to jam. Wow amazing! Thank you
My husband and I test it still hot and let me tell you best we ever had. Can’t wait for tomorrow morning to put it on our toast. Looking forward to make more jars. Can I also use same recipe for raspberry and blueberry?
Thank you again for sharing this recipe
Ashley Adamant
Wonderful, so glad it came out well for you. I do use the same recipe for both raspberry and blueberry. Often recipes for those will include pectin, as they’re a bit lower in pectin than blackberries, but I make them without added storebought pectin without issue (and like them better that way). The yield will be a bit lower than the blackberry version since they’ll cook down slightly more. I also use that technique for seedless raspberry jelly (recipe here: https://practicalselfreliance.com/raspberry-jelly/)
Augusta
THAnk you Ashley I appreciate it will try that too
Connie
Hi there, is it possible to overcook the jam? I boiled and cooled the jam, then refrigerated last night. I opened my jar this morning and it’s super thick/dense and not very spreadable.
Ashley Adamant
Yes, if you overcook it well past gel stage it’ll candy like that.
Sandy
Great Recipe and instructions. I just made sugar free raspberry jam yesterday and used chia instead of pectin. Came out beautifully. Set up very nicely. Good less expensive option to store bought pectin.
Charlotte
Hi how did you use chia? I have some chia seeds and know they can thicken so interested how you made this work.
Jeff
Hi! About how many pints will this recipe yield?
Jeff
Sorry I just found the answer when I re-read the recipe. Thanks
Jenny
Where can I find an example of what to look for when testing for gel on the frozen plate???
Ashley Adamant
Here’s something from the national center for food preservation with illistrations of jam “sheeting” off a spoon: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/make-jam-jelly/jams-jellies-general-information/testing-jelly-without-added-pectin/
This recipe has a decent picture of the plate gel test…but I’ll work on taking one of my own that’s clear: https://commonsensehome.com/how-to-make-apple-jelly/
Jenny Rickard
That helps tremendously! Off to make some jam!
Theresa
Thank you so much for the recipe. I just made this with blackberries from my garden. Last year my jam did not come out well and I learned through your recipe that I wasn’t patient last year. I used 5 cups of blackberries, 2 cups organic raw cane sugar, and 2 tbsps fresh lemon juice. I cooked the game in a cast iron pot. It was 4:18 when I put everything in the pot and now it’s 5:31 and I just got finished putting the jam into the jars. It made 8 4oz jars plus about 2 extra ounces. I learned that I needed to turn my heat up to get the berries to a higher temp. I stopped it at 218F. I didn’t know what gelling should look like so I Googled it and tested it on a plate I had in left in the freezer for about 15 minutes. I was amazed and when I finally saw the gelling. No wonder my jam was not good last year. It takes patience and lots of stirring but this was so worth it. Now to go clean up my big mess. HAHA.
Admin
I’m so glad this recipe worked for you this year, Theresa!
Judy
I wouldn’t have thought a California suburbanite would cling to advice from a Vermont off-grid, but these are the best jams I have ever made. The pictures throughout the website are inspiring. Yes, I’m subscribing and paying attention. Thank you!
Admin
Thank you so much! I’m glad you’re here!
Jay
I used four cups of our picked wild blackberries in our backyard to one cup of sugar, with a squeeze of lemon. I was a little nervous because I never made jam before, but after exactly 30 minutes of medium-low cooking the jam was perfect! Maybe even a little too jelly-like because we picked them slightly early. After straining out the seeds with a wire strainer (don’t like the seeds) we ended up with two 4 oz. jars–one for us and one for our neighbor. Best jam ever, thank you! But next time we’ll pick more berries 😀
Ashley Adamant
Wonderful, so glad it worked out for you!
Marissa
Has anyone made this with honey? I’m wondering how it would turn out and how it would affect the taste.
Randy Hayward
We love low sugar blackberry jam, and I found last year that yield can be increased without changing flavor by adding some chopped apples, up to about 1/4 the weight of the blackberries. This year will be my first try at using frozen blackberries, since I’ve only been picking a few each day in the hot weather we’ve been having.
Monica
Sorry if this is a silly question, but I have never canned anything before. Is regular white granulated sugar okay to use? I saw some recipes that said you have to use special canning or fine sugar ? Thank you in advance, your pictures are all so beautiful!
Ashley Adamant
White regular sugar is totally fine for canning (and it’s what I use). The superfine sugar thing is mostly for no-cook freezer recipes where the jam wont be cooked so it needs to be fine so it can melt. For canning, you can use any sugar you want (raw cane juice, turbanado, white sugar, maple, honey, etc). They’re all fine, but anything besides plain white sugar will add flavor to your finished jam. For a pure fruit flavor, go with white sugar.
Regina
Thank you so much for the excellent tutorial and recipe! I made x4 batches this weekend and it is excellent!
Ashley Adamant
Wonderful! So glad you’re enjoying it =)
Natasha
Can I just put this in my mason jar with lid and straight in to the fridge? I’m sure it will get eaten within a few days because I did half the recipe and don’t feel like canning
Ashley Adamant
Yup, you can just put it in the fridge if you’re going to eat it in the next few weeks.
Bartolo
I’ve been reading your recipe and it sounds amazing! Do you think it would work to use a 1:5 ratio of date syrup to berries instead of sugar and still be able to can it? How long do you think it will last once canned if date syrup is used?
Thank you very much! Off to pick berries now…
Ashley Adamant
Hmmm…I’ve only ever tried date syrup once, but I’ve never canned with it. Has a strong flavor if I remember correctly, like mild molasses and that will get stronger as you cook the jam. It should gel in theory since it’s sugar, but it may darken/burn before it reaches the right concentration. It also may taste stronger than you’d like once cooked. Try it though, and let me know how it goes. I’m curious now…
Bartolo
Thank you for getting back to me. I did make it and taste good, however the one sweeten with sugar taste better. Thank you for your help.
Bartolo
Admin
You’re welcome!
Monique
Hi, I’m not sure what I did wrong. I used 5 cups of blackberries and 1 cup of sugar and squeezed half a lemon. I put on med low heat (around 3 or 4 on my stove), and it never foamed! It did simmer though. I ended up taking it off the stove after almost an hour. I tried it this morn and the flavour is great though seedy, but the texture is barely spreadable. I had to warm it up. Any suggestions?
Ashley Adamant
If it never foamed then it never got hot enough. Medium heat varies based on your stove, definitly need to cook it a bit hotter than yours got.
Annie
First time I’ve made blackberry jelly. Followed your instructions and strained the seeds out before adding sugar. I did a 1:2 ratio. Very sweet! It’s good, and very thick, but you’re right it’s like candy. lol I would reduce it even more next time, though this time I didn’t have many berries so I wanted more volume and went with more sugar. Hardest part was getting it to 220F without making a mess or burning myself. It was a ride.
Admin
Glad it worked out for you!
Anjelika
Can you freeze this for longer storage?
Ashley Adamant
Yes. It’ll only last a few weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer-safe jars (ones with straight sizes, no shoulders at the top). If you buy ball canning jars the cardboard packaging says if they’re freezer safe or not. (You can also water bath can this recipe and it’ll be shelf-stable for years if done properly.)
Gary Mackenzie
Thank you Ashley.
Mandie
Do i just put it in the jar, let it cool and then put it on the freezer ? Sorry never done anything like this before.
Administrator
Yes, that’s all you need to do. I sometimes will leave the lid off until it is frozen to leave plenty of space for expansion.
Hollyrae
Just finished cooking a large saucepan of berries and sugar (and dash of lemon juice). Not sure if I cooked it long enough; even if it’s loose I don’t mind. I’m having some right now spooned over greek yogurt, yum! thanks for the recipe, pics, and nice responses to repeat questions 😀 Holly in Northern Vermont
Ellie
I’ve been making conventional jam, but really wanted try something less sugary. I tried this recipe today, although I added 1tsp cardamom and 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the recipe, because I wanted to try that! It turned out amazing. I will be using this recipe going forward as I like the idea of more berries and less added sugar.
Ellie
Came out too thick. Guess I overcooked it. Can it be thinned down s but. If yes, what should I use?
Anna
I add a grated apple to berry mixture for more pectin and quicker jelling. It’s great. Thank you.
Administrator
That’s great. You’re welcome.
Monika
AMAZING blackberry jam! THANK YOU!!!!
For fewer pips, I liquided half the blackberries and rubbed them through a sieve.
Put in some crystalized honey and the juice of a lemon. 25 minutes later the jam looked and felt a bit more jam-like, indeed, it was ready.
Why should anyone use sugar? This stuff will convert us 🙂
Admin
You’re welcome, Monika! I’m so glad you liked it!
Michele
Thank you! I used the least of amount of sugar possible, according to your recipe, plus a TB of lemon juice… wow. It was perfect. And sweet. I can’t imagine how sweet the regular jam recipes are. I came looking for a low sugar recipe when seeing many recipes had about as much sugar as fruit. Ugh.
I not only used your recipe for blackberry jam, but I just made some raspberry jam, too. Sooooo good.
Administrator
That’s great. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Jennifer H.
Every other jam recipe I’ve made requires 10 minutes in a boiling water bath; I noticed yours only goes in for 5 minutes. Can you confirm that 5 minutes is the correct amount of time? Would the lesser time be because of less sugar and no pectin?
Thank you!
Ashley Adamant
That’s a really good question!
I’ll go back in and clarify in the recipe, but the process times for jams/jellies aren’t recipe specific, and 5 minutes is what I use with hot sterile jars and I should make that clear. The guidance from the national center for food preservation says 5 minutes if you use hot sterilized jars, and 10 minutes otherwise. (https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/uga_jams_jellies.pdf)
They used to say sterilizing the jars before canning was mandatory, but now in more recent canning guidance, they say you can just use clean but unboiled jars if you process the jars for at least 10 minutes. That’s why now jam recipes are saying process for 10 minutes instead of 5, because more and more people are just using unboiled jars for canning. (When I started canning, boiling the jars was not optional. I’ll go in and update the recipe to say 10 minutes to make sure all people just starting to can with the new recommendations are doing it correctly and processing it long enough.)
Thank you so much for the question!
Anthony Allen
I made this yesterday and it turned out very good. Thak for sharing the recipe!
Ashley Adamant
Wonderful, glad you enjoyed it!
Gary MacKenzie
Goes great on Waffles
Gary MacKenzie
Can I freeze Blackberry Jam?
Ashley Adamant
Yup!
Gary MacKenzie
Thank you.
Tim Freeman
Just did this with Raw sugar (turbinado)…worked like a charm. Great fruit forward flavor. My wife is T2DM and using raw sugar in baking is a sugar higher on glycemic index plus is coarse. So, 1 cup raw is less volume that 1 cup white sugar. I use this all the time for low sugar (pink pectin) jam recipes! Will. ditch pectin altogether as I want as close to natural as possible with low sugar. Thanks for the recipe!
Steven
I grew up in the South, so blackberry jam from Mom’s or Grandma’s kitchen was always a staple and the best. This reminds me of my childhood. I’ve made this Blackberry Jam several times over the past two months. IT IS EASY AND HAS AMAZING FLAVOR! I’ve had zero issues with the entire process. I make lemon marmalade as well as strawberry freezer jam as well. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Administrator
You’re welcome. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
C G
Well, I’ve stood here stirring this for over an hour, it has never gelled on a plate, and tastes increasingly weird. Right down the drain with half my berries and on to low-sugar SureJel tomorrow.
Administrator
Oh no, I’m sorry that happened. That’s so disappointing.
Cindy S
Of course another go to recipe for the best blackberry jam! First time making it and it was wonderful. simple, quick to make and easy. Thanks!
Amanda
First time I have ever made a jam of any kind. This turned out amazing. Thanks again for the recipe.
Administrator
You’re very welcome. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Robin
Delicious. Turned out perfect the first time. Testing on a frozen plate was helpful.
Administrator
So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Melodie
How do you clean the blackberries before you use them?
Administrator
You can just give them a quick rinse or a good soak in some water with a little vinegar may help to remove any insects that might be hiding away.
Cindy Davis
Can I fix the jelly if it got to hard? Can I reheat it and add water or anything?
Administrator
Here is a very helpful article from the National Center for Home Food Preservation that talks about thinning stiff jams and jellies. It also give some great suggestions for other uses like syrups and toppings for ice cream or pancakes. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/stiff_jelly.html
Carol Ann
Made jam with half the sweetener. Half sugar + 1/3 honey ~ 500gm of sweetener. Got two jars from 1kg of berries. It turned out great. Thanks so much for your great instructions. I am very pleased.
Administrator
You’re welcome. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Alison
Oh my goodness, this recipe is amazing!! I made my first batch of jam (any jam) and your directions were perfect. I wanted to taste the recipe first before I try canning so I made a half-recipe. It is honestly the best blackberry jam recipe I have ever tasted. Thank you so much for the recipe. I found your blog about a year ago and I always look forward to your posts!!
Administrator
You’re so welcome. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Craig Halstead
I made this recipe last week and have ate about half the jam already. It’s too delicious to not eat quickly! I’m wanting to make more today. I am wondering if I could use raspberries instead of blackberries for this batch though?
Administrator
Raspberries should work just fine.
Sophie Louise
It’s lovely but SO SWEET! And i only put in 1 cup full of sugar. HOw can I make it less sweet, will it work with hardly any sugar?
Administrator
It may work with less sugar but you may have to use pectin in that case.
BJ Mc
Made it. First time making jam. It gelled up nicely in about 25 minutes. I used 4 cups berries & 1 cup sugar. I tasted the gel and it was pretty sweet. Next time I will try less sugar. Thank you for all of the tips.
Administrator
You’re very welcome. I am so glad that the recipe worked well for you.
Gerri Lopez
Bad experience trying to make the jam. I had so much blackberries that I tried a 20 cup batch and I think that was my mistake. Way to much to try to cook and try to get it to gel. Never did and I kept it up for 1& half hours. I gave up and strained it and canned the syrup instead. Not what I wanted but not a total waste. Question for you… could I have added a box of pectin at that stage of cooking? I’m just disappointed with the whole thing.
Ashley Adamant
Yeah, batch sizes that big are trouble. The fruit on the bottom cooks too hot, and the fruit on the top never gets hot enough to reach gel stage. No amount of stirring keeps it at an even enough temperature to work.
The trick is, most commercial pectin doesn’t work if you add it after you add in the sugar. Sure-Jell, for example, will only gel if you add it first and bring it to a boil, then add the sugar.
I believe Pomona’s pectin will work, but it has special instructions and two different parts. You add calcium water from in the package, and then mix the pectin with sugar to dilute it so it doesn’t clump. You’d be as little as 1/4 cup of sugar per tablespoon of pectin powder there. That should in theory work, though you’d be better off splitting it out into 4 to 6 cup batches and doing it one at a time with the pectin like that. Pectin still has trouble getting to the right temp in a batch that large.
Try it now…dump out 4 jars of jam (or 4 cups I should say) from the syrup you’ve canned into a pot, add calcium water and follow the instructions on the pomona’s box. You may yet save your blackberry syrup for jam.
The other option is liquid pectin, where the sugar is added before the fruit. Problem is, that needs 7 cups sugar to 4 cups fruit to make it gel…so it’s more like candy than jam.
Ian
I found a lovely big strip of blackberries on my trail run this morning (Dullstroom, South Africa), so brought a bag home with me. This recipe works great, even I got it right first time! I used 1/3 ratio sugar and a tiny blob of butter. A big plus with trail running of course is that it allows you to keep track of what’s growing where, when and how. Thanks Ashley!
Administrator
You’re very welcome. So glad the recipe worked so well for you.
elissa weinberger
Love your blog! I think I messed up the jam. I followed directions but then I put in the fridge and it then took it out to test and it’s like a rock hard jelly slab!
Maybe I did not understand the consistency? Is it salvageable ?
Administrator
Remaking stiff jams is not really recommended but there are some ways that you can use the product that you have in other ways. I found this article with some good ideas. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/stiff_jelly.html
Kevin Barry
Excellent post. I have a lot blackberries but didn’t want to make a high sugar jam. This is perfect. I would add a suggestion I’ve used with other jams to help control foaming. I too and reluctant to put butter in an otherwise vegan product, so I’ve found that a dab of coconut oil does exactly the same thing as butter, but remains vegan, and doesn’t affect the flavor at all.
Administrator
Thanks for the great tip with the coconut oil. We’re so glad you enjoyed the post.
Monica
Never made jam before and this recipe was so simple to follow and it turned out perfect! Thank you so much!
Administrator
You’re very welcome. We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
Faylina
Used 10 cups of berries, 1 cup of honey, 1/4 cup maple syrup, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of lemon. I wouldn’t add the lemon next time. It took 45 minutes to get to gel stage and I ran it through a food mill on medium to get half the seeds out and make it smooth. Only got 3 jars but they’re good! 🙂
Administrator
Sounds delicious. If you don’t use the lemon, you will just need to add pectin.
Shirley
Hello. I was wondering if I use 20 cups of blackberries then I use 20 cups of suger?
Administrator
No, the sugar and blackberries should be weighed out to get the proper measurement. You can do equal parts if you want which will give you a very sweet jam or you can use as little as 1 part sugar to 5 parts blackberry.
Janet
If too thick and haven’t pressure canned could you recook with some added water
Administrator
It’s possible that it might not gel again. You can warm it up and try to add a little water but I would work with small amounts at a time. You can also heat it and use for glazes and syrups etc. Here is a more in-depth article that might help.
Sidney
It’s blackberry season here in CT. I’ve been picking like crazy this week and had another 4lbs or so this morning. I measured 13 cups of blackberries and added 3 cups of sugar. My thermometer wasn’t acting right and I never got a nice trace to show it was gelled, so gave up after almost 1.25 hours of boiling and hoped for the best. The weird part for me was that it never foamed up. The boil did make more of a plopping sound towards the end. I managed to get 6.5 half pints and I think it’s setting just fine. It’s still a little warm, so fingers crossed 🙂
Administrator
That’s great. Hope the blackberry jam turns out for you.
Juli Dellinger
I read through many of the comments/questions and I think it should be clarified about when to refrigerate or freeze after making without canning. All my freezer jam recipes say to leave on counter for 24 hours before putting in fridge or freezer when jar full and lidded. Several have asked you if it can be frozen instead of canned, and most answers are simply yes. Should this be left out for 24 hours to cool and set? I am doing this with my jars I just made and will freeze tomorrow. I hope this is the best decision! So glad to find recipe without added pectin.
Administrator
I think it’s probably a good idea to let it sit out and cool down a bit before freezing. If the experts on freezer jam say to leave it on the counter for 24 hours then that is what I would do. This post isn’t really about freezer jam so that is why it doesn’t go into great detail on how to prepare the jam for the freezer.
Jenny
Do you mash the berries down for faster cooking, should you strain the berries or will they eventually cook down to nothing, should it be simmering a little because mine at medium low isnt doing that
Administrator
There is no need to mash or strain the berries. Just stir them to keep the bubbles down. If it isn’t bubbling then you probably need to turn the heat up just a bit.
Planner
Your post and replies in the comments are a wealth of information!
I attempted a measured 16 cup batch of blackberry jam with 4 cups of sugar. No other ingredients. I boiled for over an hour before it finally hit 118*F (I’m at ~1,000 ft above sea level) and sadly had reduced to 1/2 its volume. I confirmed that it had gelled with the freezer plate test. I canned barely 4 pints. I opened a jar today and it is runny, doesn’t taste like blackberries and has a weird chemically aftertaste. Ugh! Any ideas of what went so terribly wrong?
I have had great success with 16 cup batches of blueberries, with a cup of lemon juice and 8 cups of sugar. Maybe I should add more sugar and lemon juice to the blackberry batch?
Administrator
I think you should be fine with that amount of sugar if you added the lemon juice.
Brenda Pen
Can I use raw honey in place of the sugar?
Administrator
Since this recipe has no pectin, you really need the sugar for the jam to set. You can use something like Pomona’s Pectin if you would like to make it with honey.
Jamae at New English Farms
So tasty! I’ve never made jam before but figured I’d put those pesky blackberry plants to use, and it turned out great. It was a great first recipe to learn the “feel” of jam and watch the various turning points as it cooked down and evolved. I’m excited to see how it set when I crack open one of my canned jars tomorrow!
I did a 2:5 ratio with 1.5TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice and it cooked in about 25 minutes. I’m at 3100ft elevation and my house was 80 degrees. Hope this helps!
Administrator
That’s wonderful. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Fauna Nobles
I would like to make a blackberry Pear Jam but I am definitely a beginner and not sure on my ratios, plus with adding the pear, Do I have to use pectin or does it still gel because of the blackberries?
Administrator
Pears are also a high pectin fruit. We actually have a recipe for pear jam with no pectin as well. You should definitely be able to incorporate the pears into this recipe with no problem.
Paz Morris
Sorry for my stupid question, but what would be the weight ( ounces or grams) of your 5 cups of blackberries.
Thanks so much 🙂
Administrator
It’s not a stupid question at all but I’m not sure exactly what the weight would be. I did do a quick internet search and it looks like 1 cup of blackberries weighs roughly 5 ounces. So you could start out around 25 ounces and see how that works.
Leigh Ann Goldsby
Is it possible to add jalapenos safely to the jam recipe?
Administrator
It’s not a good idea to just add jalapenos to the blackberry jam since the jalapenos are a non-acidic food and can affect the acidity of the recipe. You might be able to find a recipe that has been tested for safety.
Jean
Hi Ashley I made this blackberry jam last night using 10 c. blackberries, 6 c. sugar and 5-6 Tbsp. lemon juice.
It turned out good and had a semi-firm set. I cooked it for about 45-60 minutes (I wasn’t really paying attention to the time). We tried some today on bread and peanut butter and it’s delicious! Thank you for sharing a recipe that doesn’t require pectin. I have been really missing the availability of Certo Light (pectin for low sugar jams). Jean
Administrator
You’re very welcome. We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Kerri
I’ve made the equal parts sugar/ blackberries and your low sugar recipe and yours is by far the best recipe ive come across. This is the first review I’ve ever left for any recipe that I’ve ever cooked! It’s that good ! 😎
Administrator
That’s wonderful. We’re so glad you liked it.