Seedless Blackberry Freezer Jam
We always have freezer jam in our freezer because my husband and children are big jam eaters. My local store had a fantastic sale on organic blackberries so I grabbed a bunch. Sadly, the berries were just a bit too tart to eat plain so I decided to use them in a batch of freezer jam. I decided to make this batch completely seedless to try something new. We all really love the smooth texture and decided we were glad it had no seeds. This jam is absolutely delicious and the color is so pretty.
Note: Reducing sugar, water, pectin or blackberries will result in set failures. USE EXACT AMOUNTS.
Note: If you are using different pectin than the one pictured above (SURE-JELL FOR USE IN LESS OR NO SUGAR), you need to follow the instructions from your pectin package, not this recipe. Different pectin’s call for different amounts of sugar and fruit.
How to Make Seedless Blackberry Freezer Jam
Wash the blackberries. Place them all in a thin wire strainer, and mash the berries with a large wooden spoon over and over, this will separate the seeds and will produce a blackberry puree (you will need exactly four cups of puree). Remove to occasionally scrape the outside bottom of the strainer with the spoon because there is puree on it. Add the lemon juice to the blackberry puree and stir until combined.
Add exactly 3 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water, and one packet of pectin to a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Quickly pour the blackberry puree into the hot sugar mixture. Stir with a large spoon for a few minutes. Pour the seedless blackberry jam into the clean freezer-proof containers, leaving ½ inch space at the top for expansion during freezing; cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Otherwise, store in the freezer for up to 1 year.
Ingredients
- 8 cups fresh blackberries (must have exactly 4 cups of blackberry puree)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 cups white sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 packet of SURE-JELL FOR USE IN LESS OR NO SUGAR Must use this pectin for this recipe: (SURE-JELL FOR USE IN LESS OR NO SUGAR)
Instructions
- Note: Reducing sugar, water, pectin or raspberries will result in set failures. USE EXACT AMOUNTS.
- Wash the blackberries. Place them all in a thin wire strainer, and mash the berries with a large wooden spoon over and over, this will separate the seeds and will produce a blackberry puree - you will need exactly four cups of puree.
- Remove to occasionally scrape the outside bottom of the strainer with the spoon because there is puree on it.
- Add the lemon juice to the blackberry puree and stir until combined.
- Add exactly 3 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water, and one packet of pectin to a large saucepan.
- Bring mixture to a boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
- Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Quickly pour the blackberry puree into the hot sugar mixture.
- Stir with a large spoon for a few minutes.
- Pour the seedless blackberry jam into the clean freezer-proof containers, leaving ½ inch space at the top for expansion during freezing;
- Cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set.
- Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Otherwise, store in the freezer for up to 1 year.
So fresh and who could ever resist blackberries!
I loveee blackberries and this jam looks like the perfect way to enjoy them even longer 🙂
Blackberry is my favorite jam but removing the seeds is work. But is tastes so good and so convenient to have in the freezer.
An older man neighbor of mine picked a bunch wild. I said I would make jam, but he wanted to seeds removed. He said his sister runs them through a juicer and the juice is what she uses. I’m going to attempt it. Hope it works cuz he spent lots of time picking them.
I put them in my food processor and then strained. After trying two other methods – cheesecloth (what a mess) and trying to mush them through a strainer.
Food processor all the way.
what would the amounts be if I wanted to make freezer raspberry jam?
Michelle,
I have two recipes for raspberry freezer jam:
https://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2016/04/raspberry-vanilla-bean-freezer-jam.html
https://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2015/07/raspberry-freezer-jam.html
~Pam
I love blackberry jam !! look wonderful !!
I love this idea for using up too tart berries! So smart.
Is it 8 cups whole blackberries or 8 cups of strained and seeded berries?
Rachelle:
8 cups of whole blackberries mashed down as much as possible and strained very well.
~Pam
You do not say how much puree is needed. Exact measurements….not exactly exact.
How much puree do you use for this recipe
Mike:
8 cups of whole blackberries mashed down as much as possible and strained very well.
~Pam
Hi: I made this yesterday without realizing the berry measurement was pre-pureed (what really matters is the volume of puree). I used 6 cups pureed blackberries, 3 cups sugar, one package pectin. It has not set, so I plan to add another package.
I have already smashed and strained the berries so its all just puree. How much should i use?
All of it.
Pam
When you say cover do you mean with lids or what
Yes. Cover with lids.
Pam
I followed recipe and the jam did not set up. Any suggestions?
I used it for syrup for ice cream and drizzle over cheese cake ! it was great
Wilma, I’m having the same problem. I followed exactly and definitely the sugar boiled for more than a minute however 20 hours later, my counter is filled with jars of blackberry syrup, something I definitely can’t use. What did you do to fix yours?
Angie, Yes, it would work for syrup, but why didn’t it set up when I followed the recipe?
Wilma,
I am sorry it didn’t set for you. I am not sure what happened. Did you allow it to boil for the full minute? I hope you were still able to enjoy it.
~Pam
I found directions to “save” runny jam and it appears to have worked. If a blackberry jam has no seeds and has been sieved, isn’t is a jelly? A couple things I found online…….fresh lemon juice has less pectin and the riper the blackberry, the less pectin. So…. you have a better chance of your jam/jelly setting if you use a mix of ripe and less ripe berries and you use bottled lemon juice, especially if you take out the seeds and seive it. Time to go pick more blackberries and make another batch.
Can this recipe be used for hot water bath canning?
Jackie,
To be honest, I’ve never tried but I don’t see why not. Let me know how it turns out.
Pam
Hi Pam, found your recipe doi g online search. My kind of jamming ! But do you think this recipe can be cut in exactly half ? I only have 4 cups that I picked ?
Sue,
To be honest, I have never tried. If you measure the pectin and divide it and the other ingredients exactly in half, it may just work. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it.
Pam
I ran my berries through a food mill which, removed almost all the seeds, then poured that through a wire strainer. Easy peasy! Delicious jam!
I made this recipe exactly per instructions and it ended up being very soupy. Do I need to wait longer (it’s been 2 days) or do I need to boil it again with more pectin or sugar?
Jim,
I am not sure what went wrong and I don’t know if re-boiling it is the answer – I am so sorry it didn’t set. If you had the exact amounts of ingredients it should have set. Other readers who didn’t have the exact amount of crushed fruit puree had similar problems and used it as a syrup instead of a jam.
Pam
I ran my berries through a food processor and then strained. Worked well.
The recipe says to remove the pot from heat after boiling for one minute.
It doesn’t say to put the pot back on the heat.
Is that correct? It’s been 20 hours at room temp and it hasn’t set yet.
You don’t put it back on the heat. It should have set if you had exact amounts of puree, sugar, pectin and lemon juice. I am sorry to hear it didn’t set for you.
-Pam
This was a huge let down. I followed the recipe measurements and directions exactly and it didn’t set. 🙁 Guess I’ll just have some freezer blackberry syrup for pancakes…
I followed the recipe completely and it did not set either. I read the instructions on the Sure jell and it used a lot more sugar. I poured all the liquid back in the sauce pan and added 3 more cups of sugar and brought to a boil for about 2 more minutes. I put it back in the jars and left it on the counter. After only a few hours, it had already set. I tasted it and it was so delicious. When I tasted the first batch it did not taste as sweet as I was expecting. Anyway, I love this jelly now.
Suzie
Suzie,
If you didn’t use the less sugar Sure Jell pectin (pictured above) it would need more sugar. I’m so glad it worked out for you in the end.
-Pam
My BBS are frozen. I’m should thaw and cook them down first right?
Susan,
Wash the blackberries then thaw them in a thin wire strainer inside a large bowl to catch the juices. Once thawed, mash the berries with a large wooden spoon over and over, this will separate the seeds and will produce a blackberry puree – you will need exactly four cups of puree.
If you aren’t using the pectin I used, you must follow the directions on your pectin package.
-Pam
So I just made my first batch of this jam and my mixture was very frothy… I had to spoon the froth of a little at a time until the jars were full… Is this to be expected?
Ashley,
I’m not sure why it was frothy. I think I would try to remove the froth with a spoon but it’s never happened to me before.
-Pam
This turned out amazing. It is a little softer set than most jams/jellies but tastes amazing.
Do you happen to have nutrition information for this?
Thanks
Robin,
I’m so glad you like it the jam. Thank you for letting me know.
I don’t provide nutritional information but there are nutritional calculators online that can help you. See one below:
https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
-Pam
I used mostly raspberries, and follow the same recipe exactly.
Dawn,
YUM! I’m so glad it worked well for you. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
-Pam
Thanks for your recipe- I am saving it to use when the blackberries here are ready to pick. You are so right about exact measurements! I have been attempting strawberry freezer jam lately and have remeasured the fruit again right before making it because sometimes the fruit seems to “settle” I also have had a problem occasionally with it not setting up so I have been adding a tablespoon extra low sugar pectin along with the amount called for . I think the lemon juice helps in the setting process too. Thanks again!
I wish I had read all the comments before I tried this recipe- I thought it was fairly easy from the list of ingredients but wished I saw more first.
I tried the cheesecloth to strain and it was definitely messy and not helpful— I will try the food processor next time! I’m wondering though how they strained it after the processor—use a fine metal strainer?
I ended up with syrup as well—glad to see the fix about adding 3 more cups sugar and boiling 2 minutes. Mine is looking like it is setting!! I don’t think I could use 5 jars of syrup.
While I did pay attention to instructions saying use exact measurements I missed the different sure gel box. Might help to put that in ALL CAPS . Excited to try some tomorrow!
Joann,
Glad you were able to fix it. I hope you enjoy it!
-Pam