First time blackberry jam maker??

Question

Do you really need all of the fancy stuff to make blackberry jam..ie, the pressure cooker and tongs for the lids? My husband and I just picked over 7 quarts of big juicy blackberries and I want to make the jam today. I have mason jars, and a nice big pot....is that possible to do? Thanks

Answer 1

If you are going to use pectin and it makes the jam set up better, there are recipes for jam in the box.   You have to get the berry and sugar proportions right so the jam sets or you will just wind up with blackberry sauce.  You don't need a pressure cooker.  Actually if you make freezer jam you don't even have to cook it just mash up the berries a bit, mix in the sugar and liquid pectin and stir for the required time and into the jars it goes.  And it tastes just like squished up berries on your toast.  Google freezer jams and read about it.

Answer 2

No,All you need is one large pot, plenty of blackberry's.

you need to warm your jars,also line the lids with greaseproof paper,ensure they are air tight.  Hope that helps  

Answer 3

i have been making blackberry jam for years. one of the first things you should do is heat the berries, to make them soft. then use a large strainer and put some of the berries in it mash the berries in to another large pan . you want to get as much of the seeds out you can. the seeds change the flavor of the jam. the box (i use sur-gell) well tell you how much plop you need and how much sugar you well need. after i take the seeds form the pulp i add some water to the seeds to get some more of the plop. i all so mason jars but i use 8 oz. jars and i heat the lids. then i put the the hot jam in the jars, put the lid on and turn up side down. the heat from from the jam well seal the the lid. i have some jars that are 2 years old

Answer 4

RED RASPBERRY JAM

Yield: 6 Servings

3 c Finely mashed or sieved red

-raspberries

6 c Sugar

1 pk Powdered pectin

1 c Water

Combine berries and sugar. Let stand about 20 minutes, stirring

occasionally. Combine pectin and water in a small saucepan. Bring to

a boil; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add pectin to fruit

mixture; stir 3 minutes. Pour into can or freeze jars, leaving 1/2

inch head space. Adjust caps. Let stand until set, up to 24 hours.

Freeze. Yield: about

9 half pints.

Blackberry Jam: Follow recipe for red raspberry jam, except reduce

sugar from 6 cups to 5-1/2 cups.

Grape Jam: Follow recipe for red raspberry jam, except seeds are

separated after heating Concord Grapes. Crush grapes. Simmer grapes

without adding water until grapes have softened. Put pulp through a

colander or food mill before measuring.

Tart Plum Jam: Follow recipe for Red Raspberry jam, except plums are

pitted and put through a food chopper or blender before measuring.

Answer 5

You sure don't need a pressure cooker, just a large pot.  Buy a bottle of Certo pectin and follow the instructions printed on the inside of the label.

Answer 6

The fancy stuff makes the job alot easier.

You don't need the pressure cooker. A large stock pot should do fine, if it's big enough to cover the jars with water, but still have room around the jars. The tongs for taking the lids out of the water after the sterilizing boil can be regualr tongs. BUT the tongs for jrs out of the stock pot, should be the special canning tongs. They are shaped and coated to grab the jars safely. The jars DO GET HOT! It's worth the wait, to get the store tomorrow for the canning tongs. I wouldn't do the job without mine.