More inspiration from Marisa at Food in Jars is this black raspberry jam. As she suggests, this jam uses a bit of commercial pectin, because black-raspberries would otherwise give a very loose set. Makes about 6 half-pints.
- 8 c black raspberries, about 2 quarts of berries
- 3 c sugar (much less than my usual rule, but then the berries are sweeter)
- zest and juice of one lemon
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp powdered pectin (Ball’s flex is what I used)
Rinse the berries, and pick them over to remove any leaves or stems. Measure them; put 8 cups of berries into a large wide non-reactive pot. Add the sugar, and stir to combine. Leave to get juicy for an hour or so.
Zest a lemon (I use a microplane rasp) and juice it; put the zest and juice into the pot with the berries. Add the butter, which helps control foam. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly.
When the jam has thickened a bit, and the boiling bubbles can’t be stirred down, sprinkle the pectin over the berries and stir well to combine. Cook an additional 5-8 minutes, until the jam seems thick – you may want to use the wrinkle test.
When the jam is ready, ladle it into jars, apply lids, and process in a boiling water bath 10 minutes. When complete, remove jars from the canner and let them cool on a folded kitchen towel. Listen for the cheerful ping! of sealing jar lids.