Blackberry Seeds and Jam Thread

[BakerAunt]

Blackberry Seeds and Jam

My husband was able to pick 2 cups of blackberries in his woodlands while fighting off highly aggressive mosquitos. He would like me to use them in jam. Two cups is not enough, but I thought that I would combine them with some blueberries for a mixed berry jam. The one issue is that my husband cannot tolerate the blackberry seeds. A few years back, I bought a device that has a wooden paddle that scrapes a sieve and is supposed to strain the seeds away and let the pulp go through when the handle is turned. I'm not sure that the mesh is fine enough. Is this the best way to try to remove the seeds?
posted by: bakeraunt on August 03, 2015 at 10:05 pm in General discussions

reply by: Lynette Bakes on August 04, 2015 at 3:39 pm
Bakeraunt, years ago we had some wonderful everbearing red raspberry bushes which were very prolific. I made lots of jam, and froze both whole berries for pies as well as seedless pulp for making sherbet. I found that my juicer worked great for separating the seeds from the pulp! I could process quart after quart very quickly. So, if you happen to have a juicer which separates seeds from pulp, I would suggest using that.
I miss those red raspberry bushes something awful! I hope you enjoy your mixed berry jam...I'm sure it will be delicious!

reply by: bakeraunt on August 04, 2015 at 8:37 pm
Hello, Lynette Bakes! It is good to hear from you again on the Baking Circle. I do not have a juicer, so I will see what else I can come up with. I may need an additional screen of some kind.

I can understand how you would miss your wonderful red raspberry bushes. That must have been wonderful jam. There are black raspberries in this area, and they are prolific in my husband's woodlands, but unfortunately, by the time we get here for our vacation, they are usually gone. A friend did pick some, and she gave us a small jar of jam that will go back to Texas with us and be served on some very good bread, when we need a reminder of the lovely summer we have been having here in Indiana. We actually have blackberry bushes my husband planted on the terrace here, but some animal(s) appear to have been eating them before they can ripen, so I appreciated my husband braving the mosquitos in his woods to get some.

I will let you know how the mixed berry jam comes out. I have never made jam before, so this is an experiment. I bought the Ball FreshTech Jam Maker on sale, so it will do all the stirring for me. I will, however, need to do the hot water processing with the traditional canning pot and rack (borrowed from a friend) and boiling water.

reply by: papag on August 05, 2015 at 12:48 pm
If you have deer up there I would bet they ate them. It could have been a coon too. My daughter who lives in the Texas Hill Country, has problems with them.... Birds can be pests... Happy Berry picken and baking on vacation. It is hot in Texas, so let's hope it is cooler when you get back...
I thought we used some mesh basket thing and a wooden tool to do dewberries when I had planted a lot at our house...... We have retired elsewhere. I miss my pear trees and and dewberries. I hope to get the garden and berries planted this fall for spring...

reply by: Lynette Bakes on August 05, 2015 at 6:15 pm
Oh, bakeraunt, I want to thank you for your kind "welcome back". I've not been baking much lately, mainly because of my health problems, not surprisingly! There's always a fine line to walk between how good it makes me feel to bake...and how bad it makes me feel to bake! I'm sure that all who are plagued with chronic health issues can relate.
One of the not-so-recent threads I read yesterday was about the Cinnamon Toast Cake. Well, if you're interested in how much it tempted me, I'm on my way over there to post.
I haven't purchased a Jam Maker, mainly because I don't grow enough fruit these days to make it worthwhile. And I'm quite sure that the hot water processing will serve you well. When you get your jam made, you need to make up a recipe or two of scones to freeze, unbaked. Having freshly baked scones for that homemade jam will be like heaven! Enjoy!!!

reply by: BakerIrene on August 06, 2015 at 5:26 pm
Cook the jam seeds and all.
Then use a tablespoon to rub it through a regular old tea strainer while it is warm. You will not be able to make a seal with arm jam but with 2 cups of berries you won't keep it that long.

Better yet make the husband rub the jam through the strainer...

reply by: bakeraunt on August 06, 2015 at 6:08 pm
Thanks, Baker Irene. I did find instructions in the Ball preserving book that said that the blackberries needed to be heated. I decided to microwave the blackberries in a glass dish, smash them, then put them through that metal sieve with the wooden piece. I think it worked pretty well. If not, I will follow your excellent suggestion next time and let my husband separate them with the strainer and a teaspoon!

I mixed the blackberry pulp (minus at least some of the seeds) with strawberries (store bought) and blueberries (picked ourselves) to get the right amount for a mixed berry jam. I do like how the Ball Jam maker did the cooking and stirring for me, even though it only makes four 8-oz jars at a time. This is my first attempt at boiling water canning; I will know tomorrow if I managed to get a good seal. My husband kept trying to talk to me while I was working on this, and I finally said, "I love you, but do not talk to me now." The phrase was repeated a couple of times.

I need to see if I have enough blueberries to try to can a quart of blueberry pie filling, using the site that Randy D. gave me last year. We were going to pick some more today, but the blueberry place, that had said it would be open until Friday, ended up closing after yesterday. Since my husband dragged his feet on going back, he will have fewer frozen blueberries for his oatmeal.

reply by: bakeraunt on August 06, 2015 at 6:17 pm
Hi, Papag. Yes, there are plenty of deer in Indiana, and the dog and I saw two young ones across the street when I took her out this morning. They might be eating those berries, but I think that the culprit might actually be a chipmunk. I hope that you get your garden planted, and that it yields wonderful fruit for baking.

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• This topic was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.

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