Blackberry Lavender Jelly
The blackberries are beginning to form on the bushes here at the farm! When they are ready, I love making up a batch or two of blackberry jelly. Jelly is so fun to make! You have to cook down the fruit and then extract the juice. The juice is what makes a nice, smooth jelly in contrast to a jam that’s thick and lumpy with bits of fruit.
Because blackberries have many tiny seeds in them, I prefer to turn them into jelly rather than having seeds stuck in my teeth. This recipe is perfectly easy to make, and you will find that you do not have to use any added pectin! All you need to make perfect jelly is a candy thermometer.
the method:
This recipe is not USDA approved, but it is based on the recommendations from the USDA jam and jelly making publications. Blackberries have a high enough amount of natural pectin to be able to jelly on their own without the use of additional pectin. They really only need an equal amount of sugar for the recipe to work, so you can easily make this with only 2 ingredients!
I thought it would be a nice flavor combination to added some fresh lavender from the garden. This gave the jelly a unique floral taste that I just love! You can opt to skip on the lavender, if you would like some original blackberry jelly.
To make a successful jelly without added pectin, I suggest investing in a candy thermometer. They are fairly inexpensive and can really help make sure that you do not undercook your jam resulting in more of a syrup consistency, or overcook the jam resulting in a fruit butter/fruit leather consistency. The jellying point is around 220° F at sea level, so this temperature will be different if you live at a higher elevation. You can find the chart for which temperature you need to cook to here.
This jelly is so tasty! I have already gone through a couple of jars of it, I must admit. It looks like we will be making lots of blackberry jelly this season to get through the winter!
Enjoy!
xoxo Kayla
Blackberry Lavender Jelly
Ingredients
- 5 pounds (72 oz) fresh blackberries
- 6 sprigs fresh lavender
- 4 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- Begin by washing the blackberries. Place them into a large saucepan or heavy bottomed pot along with the sprigs of lavender. Place the pot over medium heat and crush the berries as they cook down; this is easily done with a potato masher. Continue to crush the berries until they come to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from heat.
- Line a large colander with a double layer of cheesecloth, place the lined colander over a large bowl, and strain the crushed berries. It will take some time for the juices to collect in the bowl, about 30 to 40 minutes. Do not press or squeeze the cheesecloth as this can make the jelly cloudy.
- Once all of the juice has been collected, measure it out. You should have about 4 cups of juice.
- Meanwhile, prepare your hot water canner. Wash and sterilize your jars, lids, and bands. Place them into the canner and cover with water and bring the water to a simmer.
- Add the juice to a clean saucepan along with the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook the jelly until it reaches the jellying stage, or 220° F. This will need to be adjusted depending upon which elevation you live at. Immediately remove the pan from heat and skim off any foam.
- Fill a clean, hot jar with hot jelly to 1/4-inch headspace. Poke around in the jelly to remove any air bubbles. Adjust headspace, wipe the rim of the jar with a damp clean towel, place on the lid, and adjust the band to fingertip tight. Place the jar back into the canner. Repeat with the remaining jars.
- Cover the canner and bring the water to a full rolling boil. Process the jars for 10 minutes, adjusting the time for altitude. Remove the pot from heat, take off the lid, and let the jars sit in the hot water for 5 more minutes. Then remove the jars and place them onto the counter on top of a towel.
- Check the seals after 12 to 24 hours and store the jars without the bands for up to 18 months.
