Blackberry Blueberry Lime Jam

Our blackberries are ripening in abundance once again this year. And once again they are… tart. Brutally tart. They are like little black lemons. Oliver loves them, but even he can’t eat that many. So what does one do with piles ridiculously tart fruit? Make jam of course. In my new jam maker I got for my birthday.

I wanted to make something a little more exciting than just plain blackberry jam. I saw two recipes on Love & Olive Oil that I found intriguing - blackberry blueberry and blueberry lime. I thought combining the two into blackberry-blueberry-lime would be just what I was looking for.

Blackberries from the garden + a ripe lime from the lime tree outside + blueberries.

Making jam was really easy with a jam maker, I just mashed up the fruit, juiced and zested the lime, and followed the machine directions. It was very convenient and looked quite pretty.

I inherited a bunch of jars and canning supplies from my mom’s old stash. I filled up my stock pot with hot tap water and set that on the stove and put the jars in. The jars need to be hot so that they don’t break when the hot jam is poured in. The lids also need to be hot for sealing. The water simmered forever so I had plenty of time to make the jam (you don’t want the jars to be in boiling water that soon). Once the jam was done I filled up the jars with the hot jam.

Then I put on the lids, screwed on the bands and put them back in the hot water. All that water took forever to boil, but finally it did and I boiled the jars for 10 minutes.

I held back one jar from the canning process of course so we could have some right away. It was AMAZING. It tastes like summer and sunshine, sweet and tangy, fresh and delicious. My life is changed forever, all I want to eat is blackberry blueberry lime jam.

We’re so in love with it, I’m going to have to make a second batch soon. I should have used larger jars, I had no idea one could go through so much jam so quickly…!

Here’s the adapted recipe (originally from Love & Olive Oil):

Blackberry Blueberry Lime Jam

Ingredients:
2 cups of blackberries
½ cup blueberries
the zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons pectin
½ tsp butter (to reduce foam)

Prepare jars by washing/sterilizing them. Fill a large stock pot with hot tap water, place on stove and put the jars and lids in the hot simmering water. The jars need to be hot when the jam is ready.

Mash blackberries and blueberries with a potato masher. Place in a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan. Whisk pectin into blueberries, and cook over medium-high heat until mixture reaches a full roiling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir in sugar, then return to a full rolling boil; boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove the jars from water, fill with jam. Add the lids and screw the bands on. To skip the canning process, the jars can go directly in the freezer. To can the jam, put the jars back in the hot water until the stock pot reaches a full roiling boil. Boil for 10 minutes then remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature.