In college, in my Organic Chemistry lab, I neglected to waft during an experiment and sniffed instead. It was a long time before I was able to smell again. These days, my nose is very appreciative of the scents that surround me: clean diapers dried in the sun, freshly cut cantaloupe, and the smell of my babies after a bath. This summer, I had determined to make 12 jars of jam. I passed that goal easily with the strawberries a few months ago, but when I got my hands on a flat of blackberries, I had to make more. I didn’t freeze as many as I had planned to, but I’d have to say that the 22 jars of jam in my canning cellar will just open up the door for me to learn how to make scones and sweet cream biscuits. I promised Matt a batch of this jam from Crunchy Chicken’s Kitchen. For some reason while I was waiting for that jam to jell, I suddenly remembered the smell of a blackberry lotion I had bought while on our honeymoon. I played around with the flavor until I found what I was looking for. Today, I used up the last drops of our store-bought jam from this past winter and I can’t tell you how excited I am to crack into my neat stash the next time I make Liam and I pb&j sandwiches for lunch!
Blackberry Vanilla Jam
- 6 2/3 cups blackberries puree (after running them through a food mill on fine)
- 8 1/3 cups sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Vanilla extract
- 7 1/2 Tbsp. Ball Classic Pectin
Once the berries have been run through the food mill, put them in a medium sized non-reactive and heat through. Gradually add in the pectin and bring to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Then pour in the sugar and vanilla. Return the jam to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Then, remove from the heat and pour jam into hot half pint/pint jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.