This simple and healthy Blackberry Jam requires no canning skills at all. You can make it in just a few minutes and enjoy homemade jam any time!
I have loved making my own preserves and canning them for years. But it is often very difficult to find ways to make jellies and jam that don’t use a ton of sugar.
Not only does this jam not use processed sugar, it makes a small batch and does not have to be canned. This is a refrigerator jam that anyone can make.
To Make this Blackberry Jam You Will Need:
- blackberries
- honey
- lemon juice
- plain gelatin
- water
- cast iron skillet
- potato masher
- jar with lid
This recipe all begins with fresh blackberries. You’ll cook these for about 10 minutes with some water in your cast iron skillet.
Once the berries have softened, take a potato masher and smash the berries. If you don’t have a potato masher, you could carefully use the back of a wooden spoon.
Carefully! Because the berries might squirt juice and blackberry juice stains!
As you mash the berries, if you see any of the hard berry cores, remove them. Occasionally, when a berry is picked, the hard core comes off of the stem and stays inside the berry.
Add in some plain powdered gelatin (like this kosher beef gelatin), lemon juice, and a little honey. I generally will use a third of a cup for a batch of jam. However, if your berries are tart, you may need an extra tablespoon or so.
Taste a berry before you start the jam, so you’ll know if you will need that extra bit of honey.
Cook and whisk this over medium heat to dissolve the gelatin. Let it all cook together for about 10 minutes.
Once the jam has cooked, spoon it into a jar. Allow the jam to cool to room temperature, then close the lid on your jar and refrigerate overnight.
Enjoy your homemade Blackberry Jam on some classic Homemade Biscuits, Gluten-Free Biscuits, or spread it on some Buttermilk Pancakes. Any way you want to have this jam will be a pleasure.
Try making this with red raspberries, too!
Did you Make this Recipe? I’d love for you to give me a 5 star rating in the recipe card below. If you share it on Instagram, please tag me! You can also post it to my Facebook Page.
Small Batch Blackberry Jam (with Honey)
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh blackberries
- ¼ c water
- ⅓ c honey
- 2 teaspoon plain gelatin
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- To begin, cook the blackberries and water together in a skillet for 10 minutes. (I use a cast iron skillet.)
- Once the berries have softened, take a potato masher and smash the berries. If you don’t have a potato masher, you could carefully use the back of a wooden spoon. Carefully, because the berries might squirt juice and blackberry juice stains!
- As you mash the berries, if you see any of the hard berry cores, remove them. Occasionally, when a berry is picked, the hard core comes off of the stem and stays inside the berry.
- Add in the gelatin, lemon juice, and honey.
- Note: I generally will use a third of a cup for a batch of jam. However if your berries are tart, you may need an extra tablespoon or so. Taste a berry before you start the jam, so you’ll know if you will need that extra bit of honey.
- Cook and whisk this over medium heat to dissolve the gelatin. Let it all cook together for about 10 minutes.
- Once the jam has cooked, spoon it into a jar. Allow the jam to cool to room temperature, then close the lid on your jar and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Unit Conversions:
Unit Conversion for measurements (if displayed), going from US to Metric is an auto-generated conversion. If you are using the metric measurements, please double-check to confirm that these are accurate with your favorite preferred conversion tool.
How long will this jam stay in the fridge?
According to the USDA jellies/jams should be used up within 6 months of opening and being stored in the fridge. But that is for a traditional canned preserve. I would think that this would be similar. Honestly, we use it up before it has ever looked bad, so I can’t give a definitive answer :)
Okay, I still want to try it because my grandson loves blackberry jam and I want to make a healthier version of it. Thank you!
Can this recipe be processed for shelf stability.
This jam is not “cannable” as it uses gelatin, and not pectin.