Effortless 3-ingredient Blackberry Freezer Jam means you have basically no excuse to make this easy recipe. If you have a blackberry bush in your garden or bought a nice little amount and wish to make some homemade jam out of it, it is simple. This no pectin and low sugar version will be the perfect spread for your breakfast or next thumbprint cookie batch!
This recipe yields 2 jars; however, feel free to double up the recipe if blackberry season was fruitful, literally! Jam or jelly is a great hostess gift for any occasion. You can also make our Christmas Jam, peach freezer jam, strawberry rhubarb jam, blueberry rhubarb jam, fig jam, or even a savory tomato jam. Any of these are appreciated as gifts, so double up the batch.
If you love blackberries, try our Lemon Blackberry Cake, which is so beautiful yet easy.
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How to Make Blackberry Freezer Jam Without Pectin
Undoubtedly, the answer is simple: with only 3 ingredients! Sugar, lemon, and a little batch of fresh berries. This will be your winning combo for your effortless blackberry freezer jam!
A fresh blackberry is naturally high in pectin; therefore, this is a great jam recipe if you wanted to do without it. Pectin is a carbohydrate, and it helps your jam to thicken. Also, you will need to add some lemon which helps to balance the acidity and the natural pectin from the blackberries.
Some berries will take much longer to come to a gel if they are big and full of juice. They will take an hour or more to gel on top of the time in the recipe.
How to Make Blackberry Freezer Jam
INGREDIENTS
- fresh blackberries
- sugar
- lemon juice
Making this small-batch jam is not a huge undertaking, and I’m here to show you that it can be really simple to make it at home. Start with fresh juicy blackberries; this will give you a great delicious end result. Take advantage of the berry season, the fruit is naturally sweet, and you will be able to keep your blackberry jam low in sugar.
Clean: In a large bowl, wash your fruits and remove any small branches or leaves. Drain well and pat dry if you feel it is needed.
Cook: In a large pot, pour in your blackberries, sugar, and lemon. Stir the mixture to coat all the fruit with sugar. Cook covered on medium-low for about 10 minutes, reduce heat to low, and cook another 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
After 20 minutes, it still will look quite runny (as shown in the third picture below), but it will start to thicken slowly. You can test to see if the jam is thickening by using a very cold plate from the freezer and testing a small amount as you cook.
Store: Allow me to make your life easier by telling you I only use glass jars I washed in the dishwasher (on high heat) before using them. You need a clean jar, not necessarily sterile like for canning. However, do not pour your cooked jam into the jars just yet. Let it stand at room temperature for 24 hours or until it completely cooled down (a few hours). Also, leave about 1/2 inch from the jam to the top of the jar. Don’t overfill the jars with jam.
I used 2 jars of 9 oz each, but if you prefer to store in smaller portions, you can use 4 oz mason jars.
Note: If you want your jam more ‘even’ when spread, you can use a potato masher to break the blackberries. I would not recommend a food processor as it would change the texture too much. For my jam, I like to leave it chunky.
What is the difference between jam and freezer jam?
The difference is mainly in the title, and it refers to the way it is stored, one is in the freezer, and the other basic jam is canned. If you have not tried canning, don’t be intimidated and take the plunge using Noshing with the Nolands great ebook, we cover it all in there!
You can also store freezer jam in the refrigerator for a few weeks and up to a year in the freezer. Basically, any jam can be a freezer jam. However, canned goods you can keep for years. Although I do recommend using it within the first year, year and a half.
FAQ For The Blackberry Freezer Jam
Can you use frozen blackberries for jam? Absolutely! Here are a few tips if you decide to use frozen fruits for this recipe: do not thaw them out in advance; throw them into the pot frozen. It will prevent losing the precious yummy juicy liquid from the berries.
Important: Since your blackberries are frozen, the amount of natural pectin might be affected. What does it mean? Your jam might need to cook a little longer otherwise, it might be a runnier jam. It will still be delicious and does not affect the taste of it!
How do you get seeds out of blackberries for jam? If you wish to obtain a seedless jam, use a strainer after the jam is cooked to remove the seeds.
Do you have to boil jars for freezer jam? Nope, you need a clean jar, not necessarily sterile like for canning. Hot water with soap will do the trick just fine! Or run them through the dishwasher, as I had noted above.
Can I use honey instead of sugar? Yes, you can. Whether you use honey, maple, or even corn syrup, the amounts of sugar vary, and the sweetness might be different than the one for this recipe. I suggest you put less honey than it calls for sugar.
More Recipes With Blackberries
Blackberries are delicious as a topping on cake to add some fruity flavor, such as on this angel cake. Also, you will love them in drinks like in this banana blackberry smoothie or as an ingredient in the cake itself as this triple blackberry bundt.
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Blackberry Freezer Jam (small batch)
Ingredients
- 4 cups of blackberries
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, wash your fruit and remove any small branches or leaves. Drain well.
- In a large pot, pour your blackberries, sugar, and lemon. Stir the mixture to coat all the fruit with sugar.
- Stir the mixture to coat all the fruit with sugar. Cook covered on medium-low for about 10 minutes, reduce heat to low, and cook another 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. You can test to see if the jam is thickening by using a very cold plate from the freezer and testing a small amount as you cook.
- In the meantime, clean your jars with hot water and soap or run them through the dishwasher.
- Allow the jam to cool down completely before transferring into the jars.
- Pour the jam and store it in the freezer for up to a year or in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
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Comments & Reviews
Jp holmes says
I followed the recipe and I had to simmer it another hour and it’s still not fully set after a night in the fridge. Waste of berries, time and sugar.
Tara Noland says
This would be due to the berries that you have were too juicy and they needed further time to simmer. You can always freeze this and use on ice cream and cake and/or continue to cook it down. You have to use the lemon juice as that helps it to set also. It is a longer process when not using pectin and relying on the berries to gel themselves.
Susan says
Made this with last summer’s berries. Strained out the seeds. So good!
Tara Noland says
So glad you liked it!! Thanks for telling us.
Julie says
Do you continue simmering it if it isn’t thickening up?
Tara Noland says
Yes, and do the freezer test until it thickens.
mark says
I’ve used this recipe a few years in a row and it took mine about twice as long to thicken as the recipe suggested. I seem to pick very ripe blackberries, which are juicier, but less pectin. I’ve learnt to pick about 1/2 cup of underripe berries as they have higher pectin content.
Tara Noland says
Good suggestion, thank you!!
C Hart says
Do you leave the lid on for the 30 min portion of the cooking?
Thanks!
Tara Noland says
Yes, leave covered.