# Blackberry jam with no pectin



## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

This morning I made some blackberry jam with no pectin. I've made a handful of jams/jellies in the past so I'm no expert. Just looking for some insight here. From the cookbook The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves.

The recipe was:

4.5 lbs blackberries
6.75 cups sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

Mash the berries, add the sugar and lemon juice. Heat on medium until sugar is dissolved and then medium-high until it boils. Cook long enough so that a drop mounds on a chilled plate. Process for 10 minutes.

Like most preserving books, there is a lengthy section in the front that deals with all the details of picking the fruit, what acid does, what pectin does, how to water bath can, etc. In that section it specifically says that jams and jellies should not be cooked for more than 15 minutes because this actually starts to break down the pectin. So I figure I should be cooking for around that length of time.

After 25 minutes, I still didn't have a 'mound' on my chilled plate. I read a few recipes online that were nearly identical and they all said something to the effect that it would thicken just fine even if it was really liquid when hot.

So I did the canning. I ran off to work so I haven't yet tried the end result. I was thinking of waiting a week or two anyway for maximum gelling.

I guess I'm just looking for general advice on jams with no pectin. Another jam/jelly maker said he always uses pectin now because he has spent an hour stirring and stirring and stirring before the jam started to gel. Is that a more accurate time frame than 15 minutes?

Thanks!


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

My problem is when you cook that long it has a " cooked " taste . I have tried mixing in less ripe berries as they are supposed to have more natural pectin.

You could make your own pectin from apples .

I experimented and ended up with alot of syrup ! I use pectin now


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

madness... I never use pectin for my jams unless there is no natural source. Blackberry seeds will give you enough natural pectin that you needn't add more.

I use a candy thermometer for making my jams, and I stir them constantly until they gel at 220F. And I do mean the INSTANT the temperature hits 220F, it's done. Even if it doesn't look done, it's done!  If you don't like the seeds, now is the time to strain them out. The jams will set up as they cool.

This works well for all berries with seeds, including strawberries.

To determine the gel set point for your elevation, measure the temperature for when water reaches a hard boil. Then add 8F to arrive at the gel set point.

Hope this helps!


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

Thanks guys!

Raven, I really need to get a new candy thermometer. I had read somewhere you could by temperature but I didn't know what temp. So thanks for that info! We've got tons of berries so it's not like I don't have enough to try again!


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## Zilli (Apr 1, 2012)

Raeven said:


> madness... I never use pectin for my jams unless there is no natural source. Blackberry seeds will give you enough natural pectin that you needn't add more.
> 
> I use a candy thermometer for making my jams, and I stir them constantly until they gel at 220F. And I do mean the INSTANT the temperature hits 220F, it's done. Even if it doesn't look done, it's done!  If you don't like the seeds, now is the time to strain them out. The jams will set up as they cool.
> 
> ...


This.

I have never used pectin and I've made jam for many years.

A candy thermometer is good to have but you can also do a gel test by using a frozen spoon (I always put several spoons into my freezer when I'm making jam).


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## kkbinco (Jun 11, 2010)

If you're below 1000 feet 220Â°F is good. Technically you want 8Â°F above boiling temp of water. Boiling point of water decreases about 2Â° for every 1000ft greater than 1000ft. e.g. at 2000 feet water boils at 210Â° so jelling temperature is 218Â°.


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

Well, we're at a whopping 500 feet, so I try 220F!


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