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Home » Homemade Jam » The Best Blackberry Jam With Bay And Vanilla + video!

The Best Blackberry Jam With Bay And Vanilla + video!

Author: Karon Grieve Published : September 2020

Recipe Video
blackberry jam
blackberry jam
blackberry jam pin image

I just love blackberries (or brambles as I’ve always called them). This is the best blackberry jam with bay and vanilla that I’ve ever made.

the best blackberry jam in jam jar with vintage spoon at side

Blackberries, it’s call of autumn isn’t it. The ending of summer and entering of the colder months ahead. cozying up for winter. You need jam for that. Good rich, flavourful blackberry jam to spread on hot buttered toast to eat by the fire.

ingredients for blackberry jam

Ingredients for blackberry jam

Blackberries

sugar

lemon

cooking apple

pinch of salt

bay leaf

Secret ingredient – My blackberry and apple gin!

The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

making jam in pot with sugar

How to make blackberry jam

Place the blackberries and apple in a preserving pan along with the lemon juice, bay leaf and water.

Bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes for all the fruit to soften.

Mash the fruit with a potato masher. Disscard the bay leaf. Add vanilla extract and pinch of salt.

Add sugar and let that dissolve then bring to the boil and bubble like mad till it reaches the magical setting point at 105C.

Carefully ladle into sterilised jars.

Stir in a teaspoon of blackberry and apple gin to each jar

Pro tip

When I make this yummy blackberry preserve I like to scoop up half of the jam in the pan just after I’ve used the potato masher. This scooped up jam then gets pressed through a sieve back into the pan.

Why do I do this? Well it makes half of the jam really smooth and I like the contrast with the rest of the jam. Want a completely smooth blackberry jam? Then simply press all of it through a sieve.

spoon on top of jar

Blackberries are low in pectin

The setting ingredient in all jams and jellies is pectin. Some fruits and berries are high in pectin which means they set well without assistance. While other fruits and berries contain very little pectin and need a wee bit of help to set.

Blackberries fall into the low pectin category. We need to add something to help them set up nicely as jam (or jelly). Apples and lemon juice are the way to go here.

By adding these ingredients you will get your blackberry jam to set nicely and have that perfect jammy consistancy.

spoon at side of jar of jam

New to preserving? Then don’t panic, I can take you from zero to hero in no time at all.

Just check out these handy articles to get you heading in the right direction fast;

How to make great jam and marmalade

How to make cool curds

How to make great jelly

How to make chutney and relish

How to sterilise jars and bottles

Sticky situations – troubleshooting your preserves

Different types of preserves

My favourite preserving kit

How long will this jam keep?

This blackberry jam will keep just fine for up to a year in a cool place. Once opened store it in the fridge and use it up within about a month.

Please Note – We do not usually do water bath or other canning methods here in the UK. Our preserves keep perfectly well without this.

blackberry jam on a treacle scone

How to serve blackberry jam

I love using this blackberry jam on my toast or croissant in the morning. It has that nice sweet/sour kick that wakes you up far better than a sweeter jam like strawberry.

Spread this blackberry jam inside a victoria sponge.

Stir the jam into your morning porridge for the perfect forrager’s breakfast!

Add to your morning yogurt or spooon on top of ice-cream for a super easy dessert.

Here i’ve used my jam on my favourite treacle scones. Any scone will do of course, but the sharpness goes particularly well with treacle scones I find.

Use the blackberry jam as a glaze for duck or venison.

It’s strength of flavour means you can stir this blackberry jam into rich beef or game casseroles for added depth of flavour.

spoon on top of jar

How much jam does this recipe make?

I got 2 x 200ml jars from the amount of blackberries I used which was just 300g of berries. Want to make more jam? Then just double up the recipe.

larder links

Looking for more blackberry recipes to use this gorgeous fruit? Then check out these recipes before you go;

Blackberry and apple gin

Sweet and sour pickled blackberries

Blackberry sage water

Blackberry and basil fool

Blackberry fizz cocktail

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
spoon at side of jar of jam

The best blackberry jam with bay and vanilla

Karon Grieve
This super tasty blackberry jam goes as well on toast as it does added to savoury dishes too
4.25 from 8 votes
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course preserves
Cuisine British
Servings 2 200ml jars
Calories 677 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 300 g blackberries
  • 100 g apple cooking apple
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 300 g sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 2 tsp blackberry and apple gin or normal gin (optional)
Metric – US Customary

Instructions
 

  • Simmer the blackberries, lemon juice, apple and bay leaf in a pan with 50ml of water till all the fruit is tender
  • Mash fruit with a potato masher (you can press half of it, all of it or none of it through a sieve for smooth texture)
  • add the vanilla extract and salt and the sugar and allow sugar to dissolve completely then bring to boil for about 5 minutes till it reaches 105C which is the setting point
  • carefully ladle into sterilised jars
  • stir in 1 tsp of gin in each jar

Video

Notes

calories shown for total amount of jam made

Nutrition

Calories: 677kcalCarbohydrates: 172gProtein: 2gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 4mgPotassium: 305mgFiber: 9gSugar: 163gVitamin A: 351IUVitamin C: 35mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 1mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Keyword blackberries
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Autumn/Fall, Foraging Recipes, Homemade Jam

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Comments

  1. Veenas says

    September 7, 2020 at 4:28 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe with us. This is so Delicious and the output was so awesome.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      September 8, 2020 at 8:46 am

      Thanks glad you like it

      Reply
  2. Lenna Hope Peavler says

    May 17, 2021 at 8:53 pm

    I can’t wait to try this I’m going to try it today.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      May 18, 2021 at 9:16 am

      Hi Lenna
      Hope you enjoy it
      K

      Reply

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