Blackcurrant jam is one of those things that you just can’t find in stores. While you can argue whether or not canning is worth the time or effort, you can’t argue with the fact that if you want blackcurrant jam you likely have to make it yourself.
It is one of my favorite jams, and it’s a sad year when I don’t make time to put up a big batch.
Our woodland homestead is shady and wooded, which is the perfect place for growing blackcurrants. If you don’t have them growing in your backyard, blackcurrants are popular at farmer’s markets and pick-your-owns.
They’re becoming more popular in the US with the rise of the local food movement because they’re an easy crop to bring to bear without spraying or tending.
A single blackcurrant bush can produce many quarts of fruit. Here’s the harvest from one of ours. It’s well over 10 pounds of fruit.
Blackcurrant jam has a warm spicy flavor that’s unique to these deeply colored fruits. The fruits have enough pectin that they don’t require any added pectin, but they will require a good bit of sugar to balance their astringency. For sweet fruits, I always reduce the sugar by half or more, but blackcurrants don’t make a good low sugar jam.
Even if you don’t have a sweet tooth, be careful about reducing the sugar in a blackcurrant jam recipe. Start with 3/4 the amount it calls for and try it before you make a bitter batch of under-sweetened jam.
Most recipes say to simmer the blackcurrants with sugar for about 30-45 minutes, until the jam reaches 220 degrees F. I’ve tried using a thermometer, and cooking the jam all the way to 220 degrees results in a paste that’s so thick I can barely get the spoon into it. That batch was pretty well ruined, so I don’t follow that advice anymore.
Start by simmering the berries with the sugar. They’ll release their juices quickly, and you’ll have a pot of juice with floating berry skins in about 10 minutes.
After that, it’ll start to foam heavily. Watch it carefully at this point because it has a tendency to boil over. Make sure the pot is no more than 2/3rds full and stir it down if it starts to rise.
Blackcurrant jam beginning to foam in the pot. Watch it carefully at this stage, and stir frequently to prevent boil overs.
At about 20 to 30 minutes of cook time, the jam will stop foaming. The texture will visibly change and it’ll start to look a bit silky.
It’s still boiling, but the bubbles are big bubbles that grow large in the sugar syrup before popping. This is the jam just starting to form. Cook it just another minute or two more, and then load it into canning jars.
I’ve taken the temperature of the jam at this point, and it’s about 216 to 217. That’s way before the supposed “gel stage at 220” that most recipes call for. I kept wondering what others are doing here, and how they can possibly make it all the way to 220 without ruining their jam.
Then it dawns on me…altitude. When we can our maple syrup, the finish temperature is below what’s recommended for sea level because we’re at around 1,000 feet in elevation.
The boiling temperature of water decreases by about 1 degree F for every 500 feet of elevation, meaning that water boils at 210. With that in mind, my blackcurrant jam finish temperature should be around 218. That’s a lot more believable.
Since I’m finishing it at around 216 to 217, instead of my gel stage at 218 I assume others must like very thick blackcurrant jam. This jam came out quite thick, and if I take the temperature next time, I’ll be sure to finish it a bit earlier.
Regardless of how thick you like your blackcurrant jam, be careful to check your elevation and adjust your finish temperature for altitude to avoid ruining a batch of jam. It takes a long time to pick these beauties, and it’s a shame to ruin even a pint, let alone a whole batch.
This blackcurrant jam can be made with simply the fruit and sugar, but I like the flavor when I add a bit of lemon juice. The lemon juice is optional, and it’s not necessary for safe canning.
So the real question, does it get the toddler seal of approval? To be fair, my little one likes tart fruit, and she’ll eat the blackcurrants right off the bush.
Still, she ate it right up saying, “It tastes just like strawberry jam, but sour, and that’s really good.” I’m not sure that’s the best description, but it’s hard enough for an adult to accurately describe the flavor of a blackcurrant, so I’ll cut this 3-year old a bit of slack.
This recipe makes a simple blackcurrant jam that's just sweet enough and plays up the spicy flavor of the blackcurrants. One batch yields 8 half-pint jars, but can easily be divided in half. 
Blackcurrant Jam Recipe for Canning
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 grams
Amount Per Serving:
Unsaturated Fat: 0g 
Stephanie
Hi! When you say “you’ll have a pot of juice with floating berry skins”, does the berry innards remain at the bottom? Do you skim off the skins?
Ashley Adamant
I just mean that they fall apart very quickly. If you want a jelly, you can filter out all the solids. For a jam though, don’t skim off any of the skins or pulp, just leave it all in there and it adds wonderful texture to the finished jam.
Danielle M
O my gosh now that I found a place that sells them will be buying some can’t wait to try them in my jam i am going to make them in also give me a great reason to go shopping because I don’t have a big stock pot
Lori
Any ideas on something to make with the pulp after the juice has been strained out.?.I hate to just compost it. Thank you.
Admin
Most of the flavor is in the juice, so I just compost it.
Helena
I don’t like wasting either,I ended up making fruit leather with it. I added some apple sauce to it.,unsweetened.
Danielle M
How do you make your fruit leather I am new to this I have got a black current Bush and like you I don’t want to waste it
Mary Ogilvie
Nice idea!
Pamela F Compton
I love this recipe, incredible. I used the lemon juice, though I wish I had tasted it after each tablespoon. Little tart but excellent results. Thank you.
Beth
Just picked black current from both my neighbors and my own bushes today.
Your jam recipe looks great!
A nephew raised in England, now living in USA
Loves current jam; a staple jam in England.
One jar for him!😊
Administrator
Hope you enjoy that recipe. How nice of you to share with your nephew.
Rebekah
Making this now! What would the processing time be for full pints?
Administrator
The National Center for Home Food Preservation actually shows the same processing time for pints as half-pints.
Matt
your approach to jam making is so like mine! Maybe because we both live in VT. I never thought about the altitude issue, and always wondered why my setting point is lower than recommended, but I tend to go with my gut instinct rather than a recipe per se. BTW, I’m just in the process of making your sour cherry jam. The black currant jam will be in the next few days.
Administrator
That’s wonderful. So glad you’re enjoying the recipes.
RE
Altitude! You’ve just solved a mystery for me. I knew about adjusting water bath processing times for altitude but it hadn’t occurred to me to adjust for the boiling point. This explains another batch of black current jam that set up so solid it was hard to spread.
Excellent recipe!
Administrator
So glad you figured it out and enjoyed the recipe.
Karen Cody Carlson
Do you need to take the spent flowers off the berries before making jam?
Administrator
Yes I would remove the spent flowers from the berries.
Beverly Timmer
I love your jam recipes! This is the second one I’ve tried. Your sour cherry jam is to die for, as they say in TX. I’d like to let you know, though, that the correct term is to adjust the temperature for one’s elevation, not altitude. Altitude has to do with how far above ground level you are. Elevation is how far your ground is from sea level. Minor correction. Doesn’t detract a anything from your great recipes.
Emma-Kate
Hi there ,
Love the recipes! Thank you xx
Strangely I live almost at sea level in the UK , and had the same issue with blackcurrant jam thickened too much …so not an elevation/altitude issue…… any other ideas ….?? Amount of pectin naturally in the fruit higher in blackcurrants?? Type of pan ? Amount of water ? Fairly novice jam maker so keen to learn and understand! Xx
Administrator
How long did you cook it for and did you check the temperature?
Bethany
My black currants and sugar never foamed. I stirred pretty much the whole time which may be why. But I was waiting for foaming when I realized it’s probably getting over cooked. It’s delicious but judging from the residual in the pan I’m sure I got it way too thick. I had only a meat thermometer which could only show well over 200 degrees. Leave it to me to bungle it. Last year I did successfully make BC syrup which was delicious on vanilla bean ice cream.
KG
I halved the recipe and it is too sour and a tad bitter. Great pointers on cooking for consistency. The last time I made it, it tasted OK but hardened up like a hockey puck. This time the consistency was good, following your great directions, but needed sugar and I’ll hold the lemon juice next time.
Regina
Can I substitute yellow currents for red?
Administrator
That should work just fine. Let us know if you decide to try it.
John Pitoniak
Good morning
I have several black currant bushes I make wine and mead with the currants.
This year got 20 lbs. cleaned currant and fruit mead using 15 lbs.honey.
My question is I froze the spent berries about 6 lbs. if I buy black currant juice can I make a jam
Using the spent berries
Thank you so much I appreciate
John pitoniak
Administrator
I haven’t ever done that before but it’s definitely worth a try. Let us know how it works out.
Andi
This came out absolutely perfect the first time! I’m making my second batch right now. Thank you for this recipe!
Administrator
You’re so welcome. We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
Allison C
Thank you very much for this recipe and your concise description of the process, especially the details about elevation & sugar. I’ve scanned a lot of recipes and made yours twice now, and it comes out great. I shared some with a local jam maker at my farmer’s market, and gave her some currant starts (only varieties approved in NH–Willoughby or Crandall).
Administrator
You’re very welcome. We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe.