Gluten Free & God Seeking: Making & Canning Low Sugar Blackberry Jam

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Making & Canning Low Sugar Blackberry Jam

I still remember the first time I went berry picking. I was in second grade, and because I had been raised in a suburb of Los Angeles, I had never seen a berry bush in my life. Our grandmother promised to make us a blackberry cobbler if we picked her some berries for her jam making. That sounded like a pretty fair deal.

We headed out with our pails into the woods that were on the outskirts of their Pennslvania farm. When we returned with our pails of blackberries, we were all pretty much covered from head to toe with jagged scratches. She was a nurse, and her remedy was to dab rubbing alcohol on all of our scratches! We yelled and we screamed; I didn't know if I ever wanted to go berry picking again! I laugh to think about that now, because I have made blackberry picking almost a family tradition. My kids loved it when I made them a blackberry cobbler for helping me pick berries when they were growing up.

The decades have passed and the kids are grown and gone, but I still like to pick blackberries. And now I berry pick with my grandkids! So this year I got my husband and a student who boards with us to help me do the job. I was really in an industrious mood that afternoon because I made and canned both a batch of applesauce and blackberry jam. I really felt like I was in my grandmother’s kitchen again, and that was a good feeling.

Making Low Sugar Blackberry Jam
& Canning Blackberry Jam

1. Get the water bath canner ready: Fill your water bath canner with enough water to cover the jars and bring it to a boil. This takes about 30-40 minutes.

2. Prepare fruit:
(1) Gently mash a layer of prepared fresh/frozen raspberries in a flat pan or container.

(2) After mashing, measure into a saucepan 5 cups of mashed berries (which the instructions for Ball No Sugar Needed Pectin says will take 10 cups of whole berries). This will make six 8 oz. jars of jam.

3. Prepare jars:
(1) Wash the canning jars you will need in hot sudsy water.
(2) After they’ve been rinsed, fill them with hot water until they’re needed. This will keep the jars from breaking when they’re filled with the hot jam.

4. Into the saucepan add:
(1) The 5 cups of mashed berries.
(2) Stir into the berries 1 cup of apple/white grape juice made from concentrate or 1 cup of water. I usually just add 1 cup of apple juice concentrate so I don't have to add so much sugar.
(3) Gradually stir in 1 package of Ball No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin. Whisk to remove lumps.
(4) Add 1 t of butter to reduce foaming.
(5) Bring this mixture to a full rolling boil (one that cannot be stirred down) over medium high heat. Stir the jam constantly so it doesn't scorch!

(6) If you want to add sugar: You don’t have to add any sugar to this kind of jam to get it to set, but the instructions say the lack of sugar will affect the appearance and the taste will be a bit tart. Taste the jam to see how much sugar you want to add—this can be from nothing up to 3 cups. I usually add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar.
(7) If you add sugar, let the jam come back to a boil for one minute stirring constantly so it doesn't scorch. I usually turn on my timer for this. Remove any foam on the top and remove from heat and get ready to fill the jars.

5. Meanwhile Prepare lids:
(1) Put about 1-2 cups of water in a small saucepan and let it come almost to a boil.
(2) Put the lids into the pan when the jam starts to boil, but make sure the water in the pan the lid goes in doesn’t start to boil. One site said this could make the seal not work as effectively.

6. Ladle the jam into the jars:
(1) Empty the jars as you need them of their hot water, and then ladle into the jar using a funnel leaving about ¼” space.
(2) Wipe the rim and threads clean with a damp cloth because if you leave something on the lid, it might prevent a good seal from forming.

7. Put on the lid and screw on the band: Put the lid on the jar and hold it steady with your fingertip while you screw on the band until it’s what they call fingertip tight (which means don’t overdo it!). I am using the picture from when I made applesauce.

8. Finish the rest of the jars: Go through steps 6 & 7 until all the jam is gone.

9. Process in the canner: When the water is boiling in the canner, put the jars in one by one with the jar lifter. Make sure they don’t touch each other on the rack. Add more hot water if it doesn’t cover the top of the jars. Put the lid on the canner and process for 10 minutes—you count the time when it comes to a full rolling boil. Follow altitude directions on your pectin package. Let jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes before removing.

10. Remove jars: Use the lifter to remove each jar and sit them on a flat surface to cool. Do not touch the jars or the bands for 12-24 hours! If you do, you may break the seal.

11. Test seals:
(1) A good seal: The next day you can check the seals by pressing the center of each lid. If the lid doesn’t flex up and down, it’s sealed.
(2) A bad seal: If a jar didn’t seal, you can put the jam in the refrigerator for 3 weeks or you can reprocess it with a new lid for 10 minutes.

12. Clean jars & remove bands: Wipe down the jars and remove the bands. Store the jam in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Homemade Jam makes a nice gift!