Wild black berries jam
My parents makes this every year as our area in the mountain of Abruzzo (IT) is full of black berries bushes that in summer give out plenty of fruits. Mum has never written down a recipe for this as the quantity of sugar is dictated by the acidity of the year harvest. Wild black berries are generally speaking less sweet and juicy than cultivated ones but nevertheless delicious, cheap (actually free) and it’s a great activity to involve kids in! I take mine now, exactly like my grandparents did with my almost 40 years ago :)
Disclaimer - If you make this jam you can keep it in the fridge in a clean and close jar of container for a couple of weeks, even more. If you want to keep it for a few months make sure to have clean and heat proof jars and sterilize them before using (buy new lids for this, lids are very difficult to sterilize properly). To sterilize the jars wrap them in a cloth and boil them submerged with water for about 15 minutes, than let them cool and dry completely. Alternatively, place them in the oven at 130 C for at least 30 minutes. Once the jam is cooked, while still very hot pour it into the jars, seal and turn the jars upside down to create a vacuum inside. If you want to go even further, you can wrap and boil the close jam jars for about 30 minutes and keep them for 1 to 2 years. Inform yourself and follow the correct protocol every time you make any homemade preserve. If a preserve presents anomalies in color, smell or texture or if the lid is bloated or damaged, don’t risk it, discard the product.
Serves - A few jars // Cooking time - About 2h
Ingredients:
1 kg of wild blackberries (rinsed)
250 gr of caster sugar
1/2 apple for pectine
the zest of one lemon
Method
Rinse the blackberries and discard any stem left or damaged fruits. Rinse and remove the core and seeds from the apple and cook the berries, the sugar and the zest of the lemon. Simmer on low heat and mix every now and then. The fruits will break down into a grainy texture and the sugar and pectine of the apple will do its job until it reduces of thickening the jam. Cook slow for about 90 minutes or until you are happy with the texture. At this stage, we like to pass the jam through a manual food miller for a smoother consistency. You can leave it as it is or you can even blitz it for an even smoother feel.
Once milled the jam goes back to the heat for the last 10 to 15 minutes of simmer to achieve the perfect texture and only then the jam is safely placed into jars for later consumption. It’s great on top of a slice of toasted bread, for pies, with yogurt or wherever you want really.
