Soon!

It is the berry time of the year again! Just like for the last 5 years, we made blackberry jam that will last for the whole year and will be enough to give away as presents. Last year we have given out half of what we have made and we still have couple more pint jars left.

Living around a river bed has these unimaginable treats. Everywhere is filled with blackberry bushes! I remember when I first moved here I was driving around to find a nice neighboorhood to settle in, and I came across this blackberry bush that was full of lucious berries. It seemed like noone every touched them, I could not stop myself and picked *some*. That night, I found myself making jam from those berries in the hotel that I was staying (hotel with a kitchenette, one of those long stay types.) Sure enough since then every year I do the same; but in the comfort of our kitchen!

The only `problem’ of this process is to make sure you wear long sleeves and jeans (which is a burden when you do it in summer heat); also you should either wear some type of gloves or bear with the concequences. Also watching out for the snakes; blackberries can be found where water is available, so are the snakes! I guess we all knew these from our childhood, still I could not help but write!

If you do not like the seeds in your jam, you can follow this recipe and strain the fruit from colander after you cook it for a while and then continue boiling; I do not leave this straining process until the end. The finished product is especially really good on the pancakes — we think it beats the Maple Syrup in this context.

I sure will not give you directions using the quantities I made; unless you also want to end up with 22 pint jars.

The basic idea is the same, just like any other jam:

Ingredients:

1. 3 lb of blackberry
2. 2 lb of sugar (more if you prefer sweeter. this seems to be adequate for us)
3. 3 Tbs lemon juice

Steps:

1. Wash and clean the blackberries. Put them in a non-reactive pot (stainless still or nonstick) and cover them with sugar. Leave this at least 6 hours. You can stir it every 30 – 45 mins to get the process going. Once you see the berry juice on the sides of the pot, proceed with the next step
2. Boil the jam for about 20 mins, squeeze the lemon and boil for another 15 mins
3. If you have a sunny spot, consider sunbaking to make sure you get the right consistency (as explained here)
4. Transfer into sterilezed jars (by keeping them in a boiling water), tightly seal them and put them back into the boiling water for another 3 – 4 mins
5. Carefuly put them on a cooling rack or on a towel (double thickness suggested) until they are cool

Next is to try a mixed berry jam, which I am sure will be the same idea to follow but will be different in taste.

Enjoy!