Late June and early July on my 7 acre homestead means it’s time to make some homemade wild black raspberry jam.
I love cooking through the seasons. Before this I was busy finding ways to use up our rhubarb harvest. I made some rhubarb crisp, rhubarb wine, strawberry rhubarb jam, and I froze some for future use. If you have rhubarb, you’ll definitely want to check these out. I digress…back to the wild raspberry harvest!
Wild black raspberry jam is an easy way to preserve this delicious summer fruit. This recipe for small batch wild black raspberry jam is my favorite because it only has three ingredients and requires no pectin. All you need are raspberries, granulated white sugar, and lemon juice.
As a forager who is never guaranteed large quantities of berries at a time, this recipe is the best.
Since wild raspberries ripen in stages, I usually go out hunting for them almost daily during this time because can’t seem to ever collect enough in one shot. I can usually only collect a cup or two daily from the many wild bushes that pop up all over our homestead. Because of their staged ripening, it can sometimes take me a while to collect up enough for a homemade batch of black raspberry jam. Sometimes, I throw them in the freezer until I have enough to do something with them.
My original recipe calls for 4 cups of raspberries, 2 cups of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, but i’ve also made this and cut this recipe in half when I’ve only been able to gather smaller amounts of raspberries. It turned out great and produced enough for two small jars (4 oz.) of jam, and a bit left over for immediate cunsumption. So if you can only find a couple of cups of this juicy fruit, then go ahead and cut this recipe in half.
Black raspberries are acidic enough on their own for canning, but adding a bit of lemon juice helps to enhance their flavor in the finished black raspberry jam. Lemon juice also adds a bit of pectin which can help the jam to set without having to add store bought pectin.
Check out the recipe and instructions below.
Wild Black Raspberry Jam
Equipment
- large spoon for stirring and mashing
Ingredients
- 4 cups black raspberries
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
Instructions
- Place black raspberries, sugar and lemon juice into a medium sized saucepan. Make sure there's plenty of room in the pan to prevent it from bubbling over- the liquid will get quite bubbly.
- Cook the raspberries on medium heat until they have released their juices. Use a spoon to crush the raspberries against the pan as you stir.
- Once the berries have released their juices, turn the heat up to high and boil rapidly.
- Thicken the jam by continuing to boil for around 8-10 minutes or until your jam reaches gel stage (see notes below).
- Once the jam reaches gel stage, remove from heat immediately and fill jam jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
- If using immediatly, you can store in the refrigerator , or if canning, process in a water bath canner for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the jars in the water for an additional 5 minutes before removing to help prevent liquid in the jar being forced out by improper cool-down procedure.
- Allow the jars to cool completely. Check that jars have sealed properly and store for up to a year.
Notes
- Tip: You can make your own water bath canner if you don’t own one. Simply tie several screw bands together with string or use a small round cake rack in the bottom of a large covered Dutch oven or stainless steel pot. Be sure the pan is high enough for 2 inches (5 cm) of water to cover the jars when they are sitting on the rack.
Had 6 cups of black raspberries I foraged from the yard so added additional sugar and lemon juice accordingly. Boiled it 10 minutes. Perfect!
Have you tried straining out the seeds? If so, at what stage would I do that? My sweet granddaughter loves the jam but not the seeds! Thanks for a simple, wholesome recipe and instructions
Can I freeze this jam rather than canning it?
Can I freeze this jam?
Yes, I think that will work.
Trying your black raspberry recipe and would like to know more about foraging
That’s great. I think you’ll really like the recipe. There’s a whole section on the blog about foraging and wildcrafting plant medicine from foraged herbs and plants. I hope you’ll check it out!
My jam turned out perfect. A friend gave me a bowl of black raspberries, a berry that I love and rarely have, and I decided jam was the best way for the flavor to last . Very simple recipe to adapt to varying amounts of berries because the recipe uses the basics…sugar and lemon juice.
I’m glad to hear it came out well.