How to make blackberry jam

Homemade jam. There's really nothing like it. Just the idea brings back memories of Mom and Granny canning at the end of each summer. It wasn't until a few years ago that I decided to try my hand at it and turns out I'm not too bad at it. You'll love this Blackberry Jam recipe!

Blackberries grow like weeds in our pastures, and while our cows love their treats from the garden, they seem to leave the wild blackberries alone. It may be the thistles. Smart cows.

Jam is easy to make and you can make it year round. I love to use extra fruit from canning to make jam, but have also been known to use frozen fruit. Frozen fruit is readily available in the freezer aisle and tastes just as good in jam. This is actually what I usually give to people as Christmas gifts.

Blackberry jam is perfect as ice cream topping, on toast, in PBJ sandwiches and anywhere else you need something sweet. I made a marinade with blackberry jam and barbecue sauce last week for chicken and we loved it. Very versatile.

Mom's secret is to add a small amount of butter to the berry and sugar mixture while it is on the stove to reduce foaming.

This makes about 8 cups of jam.

Blackberry Jam

Ingredients

•  4 cups crushed blackberries or 8 cups of whole berries (frozen or fresh)
• 7 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 pouch Certo Premium Liquid Fruit Pectin
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

To prepare jam:

1. Start with about 8 cups of blackberries
2. Crush berries
3. Use a dry measuring cup to measure crushed berries (you should have about 4 cups of crushed berries) and sugar and place in a large pan or stockpot
4. Mix sugar and berries together
5. Add 1 tablespoon butter (This reduces foaming)
6. Cook on medium to high heat until it comes to a rolling boil
7. Set a timer for 60 seconds
8. Add the pectin 
9. Stir continuously for 60 seconds 
10. Promptly remove from heat
11. SEE DIRECTIONS ON PREPARING JARS BELOW BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE NEXT STEP
12. When jam is done cooking, remove jars from the baking tray and place rightside up on a towel on the counter
13. Use a funnel on the jars and a ladle to add jam to the jars
14. Wipe the rims of all jars
15. Place lids on jars (always use new lids; you can reuse jars and bands after cleaning and sanitizing them, but not lids)
16. Tighten bands on jars
17. Turn jars upside down for about 10 minutes
18. Turn jars rightside up
19. You should hear the lids "pop" (seal)
20. Let jars cool on a towel on the counter

To prepare jars: (Do this as the same time as jam is cooking)

1. Place a baking tray over 2 burners on the stove
2. Add jars upside down
3. Add enough water to cover the rims of the jars (ensure that there is enough water throughout the process; you may need to add more)
4. Turn the heat on high for both burners
5. Periodically move the jars around so they heat evenly (be careful, they will be hot)

Enjoy the jam!