Well, it sounds like you had a bit of a tough time with this batch.

First, remember with any jam that doesn't call for commercial pectin, you can pull it off the burner and stop whenever there's an interruption. You can even put it in the fridge overnight and then re-heat and continue the process the next day. Especially when you're new to preserving jams, this can be a good idea. It's hard to remember every single little detail when you're distracted.

OK, when will the jam set? If the mixture didn't reach the jell point before you put it in the jars, it won't. You'll have berry syrup.

The good news is you could pour everything out of the jars, re-heat and cook to the jell point and can it up in fresh jars and lids with no worries. It's not a safety issue.

There have been a lot of posts on how to tell jam has reached the jell point, but if you can't find them in a search let us know and we can repeat.

To help prevent jam from floating (berry bits and seeds), let it rest in the pan off the heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, before you put it in the jars.

Don't mess with the lids once the jars are out of the canner even if the rings feel loose. They're OK. Resist the temptation (LOL) and leave them alone.

Also, don't turn the jars upside down. It's true that can be done but especially when you're first learning you risk breaking the seal. If something floats, just stir it up in the jar when you open it. It may not look as terrific, but that works just fine and your family will be too glad for homemade jam to care.

Carol

I'm sure if it hasn't set up by now it's not going to. But it was boiling (foaming) for about 5 minutes, was that close? I've read some recipes that say "don't overcook it, should take only 6-7 minutes to boil, then boil for 5 minutes" and others that say to cook it for 30-40 minutes (one even said 70 minutes!).

So, if you're not using pectin, how long *do* you cook it? Does the processing time help? or does it have to reach gel stage before putting in the jars?

The jar I didn't process and put in the fridge is a little runny, but I wouldn't call it syrup. DD liked it on PBJ sandwich (for dinner - too hot to cook LOL!). Worse case, I'll label it "sauce" and tell people to use it on ice cream, use it to make a quick cobbler.

How long is determined by many factors - the type of pan, the stove temp, even the amount of humidity in the air. So you cook it "carefully" until the jell point as Carol said regardless of any # of mins.

Jell point is 220-221 degrees F if using a thermometer or until the jelly slides off the spoon in a smooth sheet. Most cooking and canning books have a picture of what jell point looks like on a spoon. Check out the link below and scroll down to Step 10 for a picture.

You can also put a spoonful in a small dish and set it in the freezer (turn off the pot meanwhile). Give it 10-20 mins. and check to see if it sets.jells.

Or you can simply use pectin like most of us do. ;)

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Jell point pic

Thanks - I had read about the saucer test and the spoon test, just forgot to do it (I even had read that website but since I couldn't find pectin I didn't follow that recipe). I don't have a candy thermometer. I'll have to hunt down some pectin (didn't see it in aisle with sugar this AM).

I just had some of the non-processed "sauce" with vanilla ice cream - yum! Except some of the berries were chewy. Cooked too long? Or maybe just b/c they weren't as juicy as they could be, we've had lack of rain (except for occasional brief T-storm like now)?

I don't know where you live. The jell point is 8 degrees above boiling, so if you're at altitude it will be different than the 220-221° Dave mentioned.

You don't need commercial pectin for blackberry jam, though you can certainly use it if you want to. The proportions of sugar to fruit will be different but the insert in the package will give amounts and directions.

If your berries are chewy, they're probably too dry. If berries are shrivelled I wouldn't use them. "Old" berries won't set up as well. Try to pick through the berries for the juiciest specimens. If you have 25% underripe berries that will improve the set because they have more pectin.

Sometimes "failures" aren't. First, you learned from the experience and second, it tastes great. So count that as a first success and resolve to apply some of what you learned next time.

Carol

I didn't see any shriveled berries (and I don't think DH picked any, though he tends to pick them underripe which is is why I figured I'd make jam). Some are small though, and may not be as plump and juicy as others. I tried to use the ones that had been sitting in the fridge a couple of days though I had to use some fresh ones too to get enough under-ripe ones (the ones I picked the other day were ripe).

3 out of 4 processed jars set up overnight! The one I turned over didn't, and the other small one loosened in a big rush (still a mass but came away from the bottom when I tilted it), but the 2 large ones look pretty solid. I didn't check the unprocessed one in the fridge.

We're only about 800ft elevation so 220 it is. I'll try to remember to test for gel stage next time. Hope to make some more this w/e, then next week will just freeze what we pick. Bad year for blueberries (though the bushes grew a lot, must have been the frost got the flowers after a hot spell beg. of April), we don't have many raspberry plants, but we can't keep up with the blackberries!

Oh, and I figured out the chewy bits. I sorted through 2 quarts DH had picked yesterday - there was about 1/4C shriveled hard berries, 1/3C soft but unripe (still some red), slightly less than 1qt ripe, and the rest (almost a full qt) looked ripe, were soft at the top but hard(er) at the tip so I put them in a container labeled "Eating berries". I hadn't really picked through the first batch, testing the tip of every berry.

No berries today - DH said he wanted to give them another day and we had a T-storm last night. Maybe make another batch of jam tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

DD and I picked a little over a quart today, I used quart I sorted through yesterday so 6C (about 20-25% of them slightly underripe). used 4C sugar, let the mashed berries sit a couple hours, then mixed in sugar, let it sit another 30 min, then cooked for roughly 40 min (added 2 TBSP lemon juice) to get to 217 (according to my meat thermometer) but did the saucer test and it gelled. Let it sit while I waited for DW to finish the jars, stirred it, put it into hot jars, it made 4 half pints (filled 6oz each to allow for headspace) plus another 3.5oz we just put into clean used jelly jar, didn't process, let cool and put in fridge (I didn't know about processing half full jar). Processed the 4 jars for 5 minutes, the unprocessed jar was really gelled by then, the lids didn't pop right away but after a while I touched them just with my fingernail (really no pressure) just to see if they were up or down and they popped. Are these going to be OK? Next time I will have to resist the temptation to touch them at all!

You probably want to calibrate your thermometer, though unless there's sufficient depth of jam in the pan it's hard to get an accurate reading anyway.

Still, for food safety with meats you need to know how accurate the thermometer is. Boil some water and stick the thermometer in. It should read 212°. If it doesn't you can tell how high or low it runs. Make a note and adjust accordingly when you use it.

A jam has a 1/4" headspace. If you've got 6 oz. jam in an 8 oz. jar, the headspace is probably too generous.

If it's really a special item I'll prep a 4 oz. jar for leftovers but putting it in the fridge is probably the best way to enjoy the extras!

Just touching is OK. Or squat down to eye level and sight along the jars. You should see an indentation. Sometimes you don't hear a pop. It depends on how full the jars are, the product, other factors.

I'm assuming you sterilized the jars if you're using a 5-minute processing time. I just get the jars hot and clean and process 10 minutes. It doesn't hurt the jam and is easier. It also seems to result in a stronger seal.

Congratulations on the great results. You've come a long way.

Carol

1 of the jars doesn't seem to have much headspace at all - I can barely see it when I get down and sight along the edge of the lid. I tried just to fill each one to the rim below the threads.

I just washed the lids and jars in my Bosch DW. It has a Sanitized light so I figured if that was on it was OK? I took them right from the DW as soon as the hour-long cycle was finished to fill 2 at a time so the jars were still hot (even though the lids were all in a baby utensil basket so I took those out all at once, the last 2 might have cooled slightly while I got the first 2 filled and closed).

But I tried a spoonful of the leftovers - they're gummy! jars don't even sloosh when I tipped one upside down. So I mixed the leftover leftover "sauce" (what we hadn't eaten on ice cream) with the gum and got reasonable approximation of jam - it was roughly half and half. Should I open all the processed jars, mix them together over low heat so I don't cook them much at all, then reprocess? Or do I have to heat to boiling to put into a hot jar and process it?

I hate to have to wash all these jars and waste the lids, DH says we can just open 2 (or 3, since 2 jars of "sauce" are pints and I only made half-pints of "gum") and mix them together, put them in the fridge and we all can eat PBJ sandwiches for the rest of the year! I can't give away jars of gum, though I did give SIL a jar of sauce.

I *still* couldn't find pectin last night at Big Lots, though they had lots of quart-sized Mason jars.

I'd go with your husband's suggestion. Why spend money and time on re-processing, especially when it's a textural issue, not a safety one.

You can also use thin jars for sauce and when you open the "gummy" ones, just stir in a tablespoon or so of warm water to thin back to a more pleasing thickness.

You can look at your Bosch book for info on its Sanitizing cycle, but generally no domestic dishwasher reaches a temperature sufficient to truly sanitize. For that you need a commercial dishwasher. The Bosch might be an exception but I'm betting it isn't.

Carol

Just looked in Targ*t since I had to go there for Rx. They had the canning supplies (I bought jar lifter, funnel, wand in a kit, and extra lids/rings) but only the "instant" pectin used for freezer jam. Can that be used for BWB processing?

I might just use a pint of "sauce" to make cobbler this w/e, then follow DH's suggestion with the remaining pint and half-pint of sauce (and/or Carol's of just water) to make the half-pints of "gum" more appetizing as we open them.

If I make any more (might wait til winter, use frozen berries) I'll be sure to boil the jars and simmer the lids - guess I can just put the lids on when I pull the jam off to cool, put the jars in the BWB so I only have 2 pots ont he stove at once. It's a little hard to reach the back burners with large pots on the front ones, and my stove (glass-topped so I have to be careful with sugar and jars) only has small burners in back. Thanks.

That's why I don't sterilize. I just heat the jars in the BWB or I use the dishwasher, pull them out warm and process 10 minutes instead of 5.

Trust me, it won't hurt the jam. The only time I might consider 5-minute processing with sterilized jars is a traditional no-commercial-pectin jelly because the jell is delicate and can break with excessive heat.

I wouldn't try using the freezer pectin. Really with blackberry jam you shouldn't need it as long as the berries aren't dead-ripe and 25% are underripe.

I am sorry you're having trouble finding what you need locally. Have you tried grocery stores? Most groceries have a kind of mini-canning section this season and will have pectins, though the price may be a bit higher. Walmart almost always carries a full range of canning supplies in season and so does Ace Hardware. Check around or phone. If you're big enough for Target, you should have some of the other options.

Carol

I bought the half-pint jars last summer when local Stop & Shop was clearing them out, they said they weren't going to carry them anymore. That's one reason I went to smaller grocery store for sugar (plus it's closer). Walmart just renovated and fabric section got smaller, they no longer carry cake decorating supplies (or even the cake boards) so don't know if I'll find pectin there. I can try the hardware store. I was surprised Target had the canners and the BBB but no "cooking" pectin, only the "freezer" kind. In fact, clerk at Target suggested local True-Value. but that was out of my way today (only went to Target b/c kids had dentist appt so I was halfway there - no pharmacies b/t dentist and home so I just went a little farther).

Something to keep in mind for future canning seasons is some stores will "ship-to-store" for free if an item isn't in stock. If you have an Ace Hardware I know they would do that with jars, if your local store doesn't have what you need on the shelves. The same may be true of True-Value. You'd need to check with them.

You can also go to the Walmart site and check which stores in your zip area are carrying pectin. Also, sometimes if you go to customer service they can arrange to bring items in on the next truck.

Carol