Blackberry jam easy recipe

What better way to end breakfast than with hot buttered toast and blackberry jam. And with every hedgerow around the countryside just bursting with plump juicy blackberries, why wouldn't you want to make some fruity blackberry jam? The stuff you normally buy struggles to reach 30% or 40% fruit content so this recipe is especially fruity, with 50% blackberry content... good enough to add to icecream or yoghurt as well as toast or scones. So stride forth bravely into the countryside with the kids and gather some goodness!

This recipe makes it easy... no worrying about setting point, no shoving plates in freezers and little time spent standing over a boiling pan. I don't like the pips, so the instructions below include straining the fruit and pips out and adding pectin, a natural fruit product that helps the jam set. If you'd prefer fruit and pips included you might have to adjust the pectin added and boiling time.

(Note: No family members were harmed during the testing of this recipe... whatever they say!)

Equipment needed
Suitable sized pan
Muslin bag
Jam jars with sealable tops
Long handled spoon
Oh, and a cooker hob ~:0)

Ingredients needed
Blackberries, destemmed (18oz/500grams will make about a couple of pounds)
Sugar (same quantity as you have blackberries)
Pectin (available from good supermarkets, see Waitrose)

Method
1. Sterilise the jam jars by filling with diluted Milton liquid and place the jam jar tops in boiling water.

2. Put the washed blackberries in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer until soft (about 5mins).

3. Take off the heat and, having mixed the sugar and appropriate amount of pectin together (follow manufacturers guidelines), stir this into the blackberries until dissolved.

4. Return to heat and moderately boil for about 15mins.

5. Pour into jars through muslin bag and funnel.

6. Seal jars with lids and leave to cool, will thicken over 24hrs.

Some photos from my day's berry picking below, click any to enlarge.

On a warm sunny day the hedgerows were just bursting with fruit. Here's sloes... I'll pick them later in the year for sloe vodka for Christmas 2012.

Colourful rose hips. I've tried making rose hip wine but they're hard work, being hard as bullets.

My favourite blackberry spot... in the middle of the countryside and well away from dogs and traffic.

And here are the objects of my desire... nice and plump with lots more to ripen in the next few weeks.

The end result of one hour's picking... 1.5kg of berries.

Flippin' 'eck... half way down the first jar already!