Author: Learn how to make homemade blackberry jelly from fresh or frozen blackberries. This old-fashioned blackberry jelly recipe is made without pectin or Sure Jell! You can use this blackberry jelly recipe for canning or for enjoying fresh!
Fresh blackberry jelly is a seasonal delight around here since we have 40+ blackberry bushes that explode with fruit for about 4 weeks in the spring. I usually stay inside washing and canning juice and jelly while my husband is out harvesting all the blackberries.
I used to feel bad about that and thought that I should be helping him. But he gets to be out in the fresh air for about an hour while I’m standing at the hot stove for 4-6 hours at a time! Ha!
However don’t be discouraged, I’m usually canning several gallons of jelly every day for weeks, so your blackberry jelly canning experience it likely going to be much easier!
Even still, I wouldn’t trade it for the world, because this recipe is such a treat for us throughout the entire year! Our favorite way to eat this blackberry jelly is on warm homemade biscuits or freshly baked bread!
Homemade Blackberry Jelly
One of the reasons we make blackberry jelly instead of blackberry jam is for my dad who suffers from diverticulitis, which is often triggered by seeds and nuts.
It’s been a few years since we ditched blackberry jam and we haven’t looked back! One of my favorite things about this jelly is that it’s a great substitute for Concord jelly if you run out early, or if you don’t grow your own grapes.
Ingredients
While the ingredients for this blackberry jelly are straightforward, let’s go over them quickly as there are some possible substitutions.
- Blackberries – You can use fresh or frozen blackberries for this recipe, they will process the same way. If using frozen, thaw them in a large bowl and collect all the juice as they thaw.
- Sugar – We use organic, unprocessed cane sugar, however any white sugar will work the same way. If using honey or maple syrup, note that your jelly will not set the same way during the cooking process. You will need to heat the mixture for much longer to reduce the water content of the jelly before moving on. If using honey or maple syrup, you will also reduce the measurement by 1/4.
- Lemon Juice – This is crucial for raising the acid level and for helping the jelly to gel properly. There is no substitute for this.
Making Juice for Blackberry Jelly
Before you can make blackberry jelly you need to first make blackberry juice. This is really simple to do and only takes a few minutes.
- Wash the berries and remove leaves and bugs as best you can (I don’t worry if there are a few bugs in the berries).
- Put the berries in a saucepan and add a cup of water in the bottom. Crush the berries thoroughly.
- Cover the berries with a lid and place over medium heat.
- Check the berries after about 15 minutes. Heat until the berries are soft, then mash them with whatever you have on hand.
- Strain through a cheesecloth or fine mesh.
Once you have your juice you can continue on with the recipe below.
NOTE: I give the mash to my chickens, but you can use them for fruit leather similar to this strawberry zucchini fruit leather. If you are going to use the strained berry mash for other food products, make sure you thoroughly clean all leaves, twigs, and bugs from the berries before boiling them.
Canning Blackberry Jelly
While you can stop before the canning process if you just want to use your blackberry jelly right away, I’m going to show you how to can it for later. The process of water-bath canning doesn’t require any special equipment and is a great way to add homemade shelf-stable jelly to your pantry!
- Combine juices and sugar in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir to prevent sticking.
- Bring to gelling point (see notes below). Skim foam if needed.
- Ladle into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove bubbles.
- Clean the rim with a warm wet towel and add two-piece canning lids.
- Process pints and quarts for 10 minutes according to general water bath canning directions.
What temperature is the gelling point?
Gelling point at sea level: Take the temperature of the jelly with a candy or jelly thermometer. The gelling point at sea level is 220°, 8° above boiling.
Above sea level: For each 1000 feet of altitude above sea level, subtract 2 degrees F. For example: at 1,000 feet of altitude, the jelly is done at 218°F; at 2,000 feet, 216°F, etc
Common Questions
That’s ok! For every cup of juice, just use 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice. Don’t process more than 4 cups worth of juice at a time, as the gelling process won’t work right with more juice at a time.
While you can process more berries for juice at a time, it’s not advisable to turn more than 4 cups into jelly at a time. So you can batch process the juice, but then only make one batch of jelly at a time. This is due to the gelling process and how much water is removed during the cooking phase.
Yes! You can reduce the sugar down to 1/2 a cup of sugar per 1 cup of juice, but don’t go lower than that. Also note, that at 1/2 a cup of sugar per cup of juice, the gel set will be very loose, not like a thick jelly. You can use any amount between 1/2 a cup and 2 cups of sugar per cup of juice.
More Canning Recipes
Ready to fill your pantry with more home canned goods? Here are a few of our favorites for you to try next!
Blackberry Jelly
Ingredients
- 9 cups blackberries (which yields about 4 cups of juice)
- 6 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Blackberry Juice
- Wash blackberries and add them to a large pot with a cup of water. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Simmer berries for about 15 minutes and crush them with whatever masher you have on hand.
- Strain through a cheesecloth or seive until juice is fully removed. You should have about 4 cups of juice. Add the juice back to the pan.
Blackberry Jelly
- Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir to prevent sticking.
- Bring to gelling point. Skim foam if needed.
- Ladle into hot pint jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove bubbles.
- Add two-piece lids and clean the rim with a warm wet towel. Process pints and quarts for 10 minutes according to general water bath canning directions.
Notes
Ingredients
While the ingredients for this blackberry jelly are straightforward, let’s go over them quickly as there are some possible substitutions.- Blackberries – You can use fresh or frozen blackberries for this recipe, they will process the same way. If using frozen, thaw them in a large bowl and collect all the juice as they thaw.
- Sugar – We use organic, unprocessed cane sugar, however any white sugar will work the same way. If using honey or maple syrup, note that your jelly will not set the same way during the cooking process. You will need to heat the mixture for much longer to reduce the water content of the jelly before moving on. If using honey or maple syrup, you will also reduce the measurement by 1/4.
- Lemon Juice – This is crucial for raising the acid level and for helping the jelly to gel properly. There is no substitute for this.
What Temperature Is The Gelling Point?
Gelling point at sea level: Take the temperature of the jelly with a candy or jelly thermometer. The gelling point at sea level is 220°, 8° above boiling. Above sea level: For each 1000 feet of altitude above sea level, subtract 2 degrees F. For example: at 1,000 feet of altitude, the jelly is done at 218°F; at 2,000 feet, 216°F, etcNutrition
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Great pancake syrup, but not jelly.
Note to self: find a recipe that calls for pectin
Hi Melissa! Sounds like you didn’t boil it long enough. Ours sets up without issue. This might have also happened if you doubled/tripled the recipe.
What I would do is open the jars you did, boil it for longer and do the sheet test for the jelly, then reprocess it! No pectin needed :-)
I had enough berries for a half batch,( 2 cups of juice) I cut the sugar to 2 cups and I only used 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. I let my thermometer rise to 220 but it was a bit too long so now I’ll try it again and only have my temperature go to 215. As long as its room temperature the jelly turned out great! If it’s cold from the fridge it won’t spread. The taste is AMAZING!
Glad to hear it! Yes, I can see that with a half batch, too much water would have steamed out while reaching the right temp. Good to know!
I didn’t have enough berries so I cooked and smashed through a sifter type colander, adding water and pushing out pulp until I had two cups of juice. Halved everything and I think it turned out great! . I took video and pics of the process. Can’t say I was a pro at the “sheet test” but I tried. Pointers appreciated. https://photos.app.goo.gl/dBZm1AGx6PVn2Rt4A
Hi Laura! Great photos! Thank you for sharing! Looks like you did everything right, it looks SO delicious! Great work!
How many cups of blackberries do I need or just guess?
Hi Wendy! It can vary based on how ripe and juicy the berries are – so just until you have the 4 cups of juice. Sorry I can’t be more specific!