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.
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I’m not sure I understand the confusion here, but someone will correct me if I’m wrong – I made this jam last night and after boiling up the fruit in water, sieved the whole contents of the pan and made jam with whattever came out the bottom. Correct? Clearer?
Hi Puffin – absolutely spot on!
I have to say that your recipes all work a treat. And today I went foraging for rosehips to make your rosehip and apple jelly over the next three evenings 🙂
Just a quick question on this recipe above: When sieving the pulp through, does one also sieve the water (the water which was cooking the apple and blackberry I mean) or only the pulp? Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Stephi
Use the sieved water and pulp 🙂
Made this jam yesterday, did a double batch and it came out wonderfully so thanks for the recipe!
Was worried I’d boiled it too long but it seemed good on my toast this morning 🙂
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/37724971@N03/5014995800/][img]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5014995800_08d3ce4824_b.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/37724971@N03/5014995800/]Apple & Blackberry Jam 2[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/37724971@N03/]Willow_Warren[/url], on Flickr
Hi everyone, am new to this site, I was given some huge bramleys last week, I don’t live close to any foraging places, and wanted to make this jam, imagine my surprise and delight when in my large branch of Tescos yesterday don’t know if I am allowed to mention them or not, but they were selling large punnets of huge Hampshire blackberries for a promotional price of ÂŁ1 instead of 2.99, absolutely made my day, there were loads and loads of them.
Hi, just browsed the blackberry jam recipes. Jam’s nice, but blackberry jelly is nicer – no pips! Put berries in a pan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil and then strain the juice through a fine sieve into a measuring jug. Add 14 oz gran sugar to each pint of juice. Boil until set (when a drop of juice on a fridge-cold saucer wrinkles, it’s ready). Pot whilst piping hot, fill jars to the very top. Will keep indefinitely in a cool dark place. Once opened, keep in the fridge. Yours, a WI Jam Judge!
Hi
Just wondering if using 1 lb of sugar to 1 pint of pulp would give good results, as weighing the watery pulp is a bit tricky given my dodgy scales…..
Hi
Have just started making the jam and the water used to cover the fruit seems to have made quite a lot of liquid do I get rid of this and just use the sieved pulp which i have now collected.
Hi Sue
Use the pulp and the water!
Hi i was just thinking about using this recipe for apple and blackberry jam and altough this might be a silly question do you use the juice (created from the water which is used to cover the fruit inially) as well as the sieved pulp? When calculating the ammount of sugar to use is it the combined weight of the juice and the pulp which gives the weight for the sugar required?
Hi Sue
There will be very little juice but you add it to the sieved pulp. Yes the combined weight of the seived juice and pulp gives the weight for the sugar required.
Hi, Many thanks for the tip re normal granulated sugar. I made the jam yesterday and it didn’t turn out too bad but I probably boiled it too long as it’s very firm – I prefer jam to be a bit runny. But I was pleased with my first ever attempt at jam-making. Thanks for the recipe. I’ve got loads of blackberries left so I’ll make some more when this batch has been eaten. Should the jars be kept in the fridge?
Hi Claire
You can reboil the jam and add more water if you’d like it to be a bit more runny see my post https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/jelly-set-too-hard-514
The jam will keep for ages in a dry, darkish place. Only store in the fridge once it is opened.
Omnomnom… Just finished ‘cleaning’ the pan up 🙂 The blackberry crop is great again here in the Pennines, too. I’ve bagged 3kg of ‘heiferfall’ from an apple tree down the road which has been vandalised by a herd of hungry young jerseys!
I’ve never made jam before, but this seemed like the ideal time. Your aunt’s recipe is wonderful – if a little sweet for my taste, but lovely all the same – thank you for sharing it!