Blackberry and apple jam recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Jam Jelly and Preserves | 237 comments
It was Anne Mary that pointed out that apple and blackberry jam would be full of blackberry pips.
“They’d get stuck in your teeth and drive you mad. Stick to bramble jelly.”
I love jelly. We make loads of jelly every year. More often than not it is used as a base for a sauce rather than dolloped on a plate of roast lamb or pork.
Imagine my delight when I found this recipe for Blackberry and Apple Jam in my aunt’s ancient handwritten cookbook. As it is sieved there are no seeds and the jam is delicious, spread on hot buttered toast in the morning.
Blackberry and Apple Jam recipe
Ingredients:
- 1k (roughly 2lb) of blackberries
- 350g (12ozs) of apples (eating apples, windfalls are fine)
- Water
- White granulated sugar
Method:
- Core and roughly chop the apples (skin on).
- Put the apples, cores and blackberries in a large preservaing pan or large heavy bottomed saucepan. Add just enough water to cover and simmer until soft.
- Sieve the softened fruit and weigh the sieved pulp (discard the skins and seeds left in the sieve). Add 450g (1lb) of sugar for each 450g (1lb) of sieved pulp.
- Put sieved pulp and sugar into a large heavy bottomed saucepan (or preserving pan) and heat very gently until the sugar has dissolved.
- Bring the jam to the boil and continue to boil very rapidly for about 8-10 minutes until the jam reaches setting point. (What is setting point? See tricks and tips below).
- When the jam has set, carefully pour into warm, sterilised jars, using a ladle or small jug (How to sterilise jars? See tricks and tips below)
- Cover the jars with tight fitting screw-top lids, or waxed disks and cellophane pot covers (waxed disks, wax facing downwards and plastic covers secured with plastic bands).
- Label when cold and store in a cool, dark place, away from damp.
Tricks and Tips:
- Jam “set” or “setting point”:
Getting the right set can be tricky. I have tried using a jam thermometer but find it easier to use the following method. Before you start to make the jam, put a couple of plates in the fridge so that the warm jam can be drizzled onto a cold plate (when we make jam we often forget to return the plate to the fridge between tests, using two plates means that you have a spare cold plate). Return the plate to the fridge to cool for approx two minutes. It has set when you run your finger through it and leave a crinkly track mark. If after two minutes the cooled jam is too liquid, continue to boil the jam, testing it every few minutes until you have the right set. The jam is far more delicious if it is slightly runny. - Sterilising the jars:
We collect jars all year round for our jelly, chutney and jam making sessions. I try to soak off labels and store the clean jars and metal plastic coated screw-top lids in an accessible place. The sterilising method that we used is simple. Just before making the jam, I quickly wash and rinse the jars and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c/140c for fan assisted. When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The jars will stay warm for quite a while. I only use plastic lined lids for preserves as the all-metal lids can go rusty. I boil these for five minutes in water to sterilise them. If I use Le Parfait jars, I do the same with the rubber rings.
Leave a reply
Hi Bryony
I think that this recipe makes about four or five 450g jars. Remember to store them somewhere cool and dry. You have enough blackberries to make this recipe. If you haven’t made jam before don’t double the recipe as you might have problems with the setting. Best to make several batches.
Hope this helps.
love this site some really good recipes on here that i cant wait to try i am making gifts for xmas this year and this is my first time making jam i picked 2lb of blackberries today and washed and de maggoted them and have frozen unless i pick some more, but i was wondering how many jars or amount dose ur recipe make so i no how many more blackberries i need 🙂
Great thanks for replying so soon! Just cooking up a batch of Fig Chutney then I’ll have a go – I’ll let you know how it turns out 🙂
Hi Helen
I think that you can probably use elderberries. You’d need more sugar – I’d add it incremetally a heaped tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go before boiling it up.
I’d be interested to hear how you get on.
Hi there!
I found this recipe yesterday and went out ‘foraging’ for blackberries this morning but only found a few handfuls – maybe it’s too late in year or something has beaten me to it!
However I got loads of elderberries, 2.5lb to be exact. Can I substitute the blackberries for elderberries in this recipe?
Thanks! Helen x
I don’t understand previous contributers sugestions that you should not use the juice.Thats where all the flavour is and if you wanted to use just the pulp which would be very dry however would you separate the pulp from the juice from the pips.Made some tonight its still hot but tastes wonderful.Probably spent the best part of 2 hours pushing the pulp through the only sieve we have but I think the effort is going to be worth it
Made this jam last night, the sieving was hard going, and I kept thinking that I had gone wrong somewhere, but it was well worth the effort. It really is the best. I used Jam sugar, which made it reach setting point just as it started to boil, thought it might be a bit too firm at first and started to wish I had used granulated, but it’s just perfect.
Thank you for such a fab site
I USED EVERYTHING EVEN THE JUICE AND SEIVED FRUIT AND WEIGHED SUGAR TO EQUAL AMOUNTS. WAS I NOT SUPPOSED TO USE THE JUICE? ANYWAY IT CAME OUT LOVELY.
I MADE THIS JAM LAST WEEK AND HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PRAISE. IT IS SUCH A LOVELY JAM THAT I HAVE TO MAKE MORE AND WILL SELL IT TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. THANKS FOR THIS LOVELY RECEIPE.
Can’t wait to make this recipe this weekend, a very lovely colleague of mine appeared at work the other day with just over 4lbs of blackberries bless him. I just about managed to fit them in the freezer till I’m ready to make the jam! I’m just off to pick some apples from the trees on the army base I work on, I love free food!
Loved kate’s tip on hanging from the cupboard handle, genius.