Best Berry Jam

This post will share a recipe that is to die for delicious and uses a food mill to easily remove the bulk of the seeds to please even the pickiest eater. Read on for the full tutorial and recipe, Wildflowers!

I recently shared a post about why you should head to a U-Pick berry patch this summer after I spent a lovely morning picking a mix of mostly marionberries (similar to blackberries), strawberries, and a handful of raspberries. With this mix, I adapted a recipe from the well worn Farm Journal Freezing & Canning Cookbook written in 1962. I checked my adaptation against other trusted recipes published in my lifetime and it is safe to say that it is a homerun berry jam recipe.

Not sure if you have the equipment to start canning? Watch this first.

Download the equipment checklist here!

You can tweak the proportions of berries and strawberries to fit whatever fills your bucket (or shopping cart) because as we know from my little canning & acid lesson here both berries and strawberries are quite acidic and safely within the 4.6 level of acid and under. You can also swap out blackberries for marionberries.

This procedure uses a food mill. I found that by processing this jam through a mill, most of the seeds were removed and while I like some seeds in my jam, I don’t like them in my teeth and some blackberries and marionberries can be downright seedy. A not-so-seedy jam is also less likely to get an objection from a picky child also. You can skip the food mill step if you’d like but I found the result to be a very smooth, spreadable jam that was still plenty toothsome.

This recipe yields 8 measuring cups of jam.

You need:

6 cups marrion and/or blackberries

3 cups strawberries

½ cup bottled lemon juice, or 1 tablespoon for every cup of berries, if you are doubling or halving this recipe

6 cups of sugar

Half a box of powdered pectin and a whisk with which to mix it

A food mill with the plate with the smallest holes.

This recipe will yield about 8 measuring cups of jam, so you will need 8 half pint jars, or 4-pint jars, or the equivalent, in the water bath processing pot. Fill the pot with the jars and hot water from the tap and bring to a boil.

Put 8+ new lids and rings in a saucepan and fill halfway with water and bring to a simmer.

Prepare the fruit: You can gently rinse the berries in a colander but be careful: the more handling the berries get, the more they will fall apart and more juice will end up everywhere but the canning jar. Remove stems from strawberries and chop.

Combine fruit in preserving pan and bring to a gentle boil for 5-10 minutes.

Pour hot fruit slowly and carefully into the top of the food mill, which should be set over a large bowl or another preserving pan. Work all the fruit through the food mill and notice all the seeds that remain in the top section of the hopper.

Return the fruit to the preserving pan and add the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a gentle boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Let the jam boil gently for another 10 minutes.

Whisk in half a package of powdered pectin when you are ready to can. That means be sure your processing pot is ready and has been boiling, you have a towel covering the countertop, and you have your jar lifter and funnel and lid lifter ready.

Using your jar lifter, pull one jar at a time from the boiling water bath. Pour the hot water from it, and rest it on the countertop. Use the funnel and a ladle to fill the hot jar with hot jam. Maintain a half inch headspace. Apply lids and rings and return the jar to the processing pot. Repeat with the remaining jars. Bring the processing pot back up to boiling and process for 15 minutes, and be sure to add 5 minutes for every 1000 feet above sea level at which you are canning.

Remove the jars and gently rest on the towel covered counter and listen for the distinctive “ping” of the jars sealing.