Summer Blackberry Jam

It’s summer and you’ve been fertilizing your berry plants with CITRUSGAIN® all year. You are reaping what you’ve sown, but, what are you going to do with all those BERRIES?? Make some jam of course!  It is so easy and you only need a few supplies and ingredients. Share a memory with the children or grandchildren. Who knows, mastering this old-timey kitchen craft might get you started on all kinds of kitchen wizardry!

If you have a lot like I do, you can use the jam for all kinds of things like; BBQ sauce, thumbprint cookies, syrups, smoothies, healthy topping option for waffles or pancakes…The list goes on and on!

• Large Stock Pot – big enough to hold your jars and deep enough to cover the jars with water
• Jar Lifter – for grabbing those super hot jars from the pot
• Jelly Jars Pack – mason jars with 2 part lids
• A rack that will sit in the bottom of your stock pot (check out this affordable canning pot and rack set: Granite Ware 21.5 Quart)
  (it is absolutely necessary to place something on the bottom of your stock pot, so that the bottoms of the canning jars do not get too hot, and fall off when you remove the jars.)
• Ladle for scooping your jam into the jars
• A Funnel – to make sure you jam goes right into the jars without a mess.
• Cookie tray – lined with towels for cooling the jars

• Fresh Blackberries – 5 cups
• Pectin – 1 package dry pectin (1 ¾ ounce)
• Sugar – 7 cups
• Lemon juice – (you can use a few drops at a time if your jam is too sweet before you jar it up)

Prep:

Before you use your jars for the first time be sure to sterilize them. Check the top of your jars by running your finger around the lip to make sure there are no chips, you want a good seal when canning, then wash the jars in hot soapy water.  Put your towel or rack on the bottom of the pot and put your jars in the pot.  Fill your stock pot with water just high enough to fill and cover the jars, boil them lightly for 15 minutes.

Wash the lids in soapy water then put them in a smaller pot on a low simmer and keep them warm until you are ready to seal the jars, this prepares the seal for canning. When the 15 minutes is up you can place the jars on a towel to dry while you make your jam.

• Place the berries in a large stock pot
• Add pectin a little at a time, stirring constantly
• Heat on high, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a full boil
• While stirring, add the sugar.
• Boil for 1 minute,
• Taste the jam, be careful it’s hot! If it is too sweet, add lemon juice a few drops at a time until it is flavored to your liking.
• Remove from heat and ladle into clean 8oz jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top
• Wipe the rim of the jars, then put canning lids and rings on fingertip tight. (Fingertip tight means to screw the lids down just until you start to feel resistance when you tighten.)
• Place the sealed jars in the clean stock pot – Be sure there is enough water to cover the jars Cover your pot and let them boil for 10-15 minutes
• The jars need to rest for 12 hours in that very spot.  After they are completely cool test the seal by pressing on the lit, it shouldn’t flex up or down. That means the seal is air-tight you can now tighten that lid down and they are ready to store in a cool dry place for 12 months (if they last that long!)

Happy Canning!