Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) jelly is an incredible taste sensation. Smeared liberally on hot toast with lashings of butter, the flavour is sinfully delicious. This blackberry jelly recipe is a doddle to make.
Step 1
Pick 4lb of blackberries. This should take less than 20 minutes if you do it with a friend or family, and find a bumper crop.
Step 2
Wash and drain the fruit.
Step 3
Take out your preserving pan (an essential piece of kitchen equipment, especially if you’re going to be preparing wild preserves on a regular basis). Put the blackberries into it.
Step 4
Add the juice of 2 lemons, 1/2 pint of water.
Step 5
Now simmer your blackberry jelly mash for 1 hour.
Step 6
Grab your jelly bag straining contraption, and strain the blackberries until they stop dripping.
Step 6b
Towards the end of the juice straining, sterilise some jars by washing in hot soapy water, rinse, then put in an oven at 175F, and leave for 25 minutes.
Step 7
For every 1 pint of juice you extract, measure out 1lb of sugar.
Step 8
Add the sugar to the blackberry juice, and heat the juice on low, stirring all the time until the sugar has dissolved.
Step 9
Then simmer for 1 hour, until the liquid has reached “setting point”. Setting point is when you can put a little bit of the juice on a plate. Now push your finger through the juice. If the juice doesn’t automatically fall back into itself, and stays at the point you pushed it to, then it’s ready to bottle. IMPORTANT: Make sure you don’t over simmer the juice as you might end up with toffee!
Step 10
Pour your blackberry jelly juice into your hot sterilised jars.