Blackberry Preserves

Just the name preserves takes you back in time to the county fair blue ribbon contest and great-grandma's kitchen. Imagine big delicious whole blackberries that mound up on toast, scones, or homemade bread. 

Most people are unfamiliar with preserves.  Unlike a jam or jelly, a preserve is prepared to maintain the natural shape of the whole fruit or berry.  It is a soft spread with whole pieces of fruit or berries suspended in a thick syrup. The fruit is neither chopped or crushed in a preserve.

To make the best preserves the berries should be fresh and fully ripe.  Most blackberries from the supermarket are underripe so hopefully you have your own berry patch or a neighbor willing to part with some homegrown berries.

Because the berries are left whole, one key to successful preserves is to replace the air and part of the liquid in the cells of the berries with sugar.  This is reason for combining the berries with sugar, allowing them to set and macerate for a while.  During this time, the fruit absorbs some of the sugar and releases some juice allow the berry to better maintain its shape.

Another pointer, each batch needs to be prepared separately.  Do not double the recipe.

Blackberry Preserves

Make 6-7 half pints

7 cups whole firm, ripe fresh blackberries

6 1/2 cups of sugar

1/2 tsp unsalted butter

1 (3oz) pouch liquid pectin

1.  Rinse the fresh berries in cool water and drain well

2.  In a large pot, alternately  layer the black berries and about half the sugar called for in the recipe.

3.  Let this stand for 1 hour.

4.  Place the pot over medium heat, stirring frequently  and heat the mixture until the sugar is partially dissolved.

5.  Add the remaining sugar 1 cup at a time stirring gently between each addition.

6.  Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Stir in the butter.

7.  Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.

8.  Stir in the contents of the pectin pouch.

9.  Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

10.  Remove the pan from the heat and skim off any foam.

11. To prevent floating fruit, allow the preserves to cool 5 minutes before filling the jars.

12. Ladle the preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4 head space.

13.  Wipe jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth and put heated lids and rings on.

14.  Process half- pint jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes add an additional 10 minutes for high altitude.  Pint jars process for 15 minutes plus altitude time adjustment.

Enjoy these delicious preserves on bread, waffles, pancakes, or even ice cream.