I have a friend that is going to let me pick all the blackberries that I can from his grounds.
Now, I want to make jelly out of them, but go figure nobody around here remembers how to do it.
I also want to make applesauce and Strawberry jelly.
First: (this is important!!) You can’t make applesauce and Strawberry Jelly with blackberries. 
I’ll dig up some of my recipes later today, but the upshot is: (for jelly as opposed to preserves or jams)
Moosh up the fruit. Simmer the fruit with water for a while (great directions huh?). Strain through a cheesecloth. Take the strained liquid, add the sugar and the pectin. Simmer more. Pour into sterilized jars.
Some tips (pending real recipes)
Use about half as much sugar as you do fruit (8 cups of fruit = about 4 cups of sugar)
Follow the directions on the pectin box…if you don’t want to use pectin…erm…crabapples(?) have tons of pectin.
Sterilize your jars!!!
Mmmmm…wild Blackberries…mmmmmmMMmm (you lucky Smurf, you!)
Fenris (I’ll post real recipes later, if no one else does in the meantime)
oooooh, this is one of those things my mom used to do but that I never learned. I’ve been thinking how much I’d love to be able to make some homemade jams and such, to be given as gifts around the holidays.
No recipes, just admiration here. Except I do know that at home I have a really useful book put out by Ball (the people who make jars, in addition to their aerospace interests) and it’s got helpful info in there. I will try to remember to consult it when I get home. Do you have a Joy Of Cooking? I’m sure it has guidelines and recipes, too.
Fenris, if I fall any more in love with you (from afar) it’s gonna start causing RL problems. Can you post less? OR at least, be duller?
<s p e a k i n g…v e r y…s l o w l y>
I f… w e… a n a l y z e… t h e… i n c i d e n c e… o f… j a m… a n d… j e l l y… r e l a t e d… c r i m e s… o f… p a s s i o n… w i t h… t h e… d e c l i n e… i n… t h e… r e f i t t e d… a l u m i n i n u m… h i n g e s… m a r k e t,… w e… c a n… s e e… t h a t… t h e… f u t u r e… l o o k s… b l e a k… i n d e e d… (t h i s… d o e s… n o t… i n c l u d e… t h e… P r e s e r v e s… a n d… m a r m a l a d e… f a c t o r,… o f… c o u r s e!)… F o r… t h e… n e x t… s e v e r a l… h o u r s,… I… i n t e n d… t o… s p e a k… o n… t h e… s u b j e c t… o f… h o w… m a r k e t… f a c t o r s… c a n… a f f e c t… t h e… f u t u r e… o f… p r e s e r v e s!
</speaking very slowly)
Boring enough for you?
(Btw: Thanks for the compliment :))
Fenris
Well, kind of. I’m a really good assistant!
Anyway, the book you want is the Ball Blue Book. It’s not expensive (the copies I’ve seen) and is well worth the money.
Also, the pectin brand Sure-Jel has directions on its packet for strawberry jam.
Check out this website or go to the rec.food.preserving newsgroup. I’ll bet they could help too!
I’m going to try to make mulberry jam this year. I love mulberries but they are so seedy. They are a pretty weedy (read: pervasive) tree here in Michigan so getting the berries themselves shouldn’t be a problem. Anyone out there ever tried it?
Fenris, it’s a good thing your so charming!
Seriously, thank you so much.
Cheesecloth, must hunt some down. I won’t get seeds and stringy stuff right?
Cranky, I unlike others around her love random flirting in my threads even when it has nothing to do with the OP (but yours kinda did) So, as Goddess of this thread, do carry on with my blessings.
Mistress Bunny, thank you so much, I am going on a search for that book. Even tho my husband walked by and swore you suggested the blue ball book. Let’s hope I don’t make that slip of the tounge whilst asking for it.
Nobody cans anymore!
Why, I remember as a child the family getting together, and peeling apples, and yelling, and boiling them, and yelling, and straining them, and yelling…Oh, nevermind, I think I found out why nobody in my family will admit to remembering how to can.
BunnyGirl has the name which eluded me–it’s the Blue Book. My 1990 version doesn’t have any specific recipes for blackberries, but it does mention them by name under the generic “Berry Preserve” recipe. It says “Blackberries and others which hold shape in cooking can be used for preserves.” It also says they have a lot of natural pectin, so you may not need to add any (which you do for other fruits).
It goes on to say use 3/4 to 1 lb sugar for each pound of berries.
My Joy of Cooking has a recipe for jam that uses blackberries interchangeably with raspberry, loganberries, or elderberries. So if others have a recipe using those, you can use your blackberries instead. It suggests the same ratio of sugar to berries (thought in cups, not pounds).
I wish I were the kind of person who had her own recipe she’d been making for 10 years…
Here’s a link to an Alton Brown (“Good Eats”, he’s the Cecil Adams of Cooking) recipe and canning tips. The recipe sounds so-so, but his canning tips are superb. I strongly recommend that you read the link (it’s short) before starting. Botulism is a nasty thing!
Fenris