I’ve been making jams for 50+ years. And very well I might add. I have a great reputation from family and friends for my amazing jams and I’ve earned numerous ribbons at our local county fair for the jams I entered. I also proudly served my homemade jams in my bakery and café to crowds of satisfied diners. Suffice to say, I’ve mastered the delicious old fashioned art of jam making!
I really love making jams-it’s so rewarding…seeing those little jam jars on the kitchen counter filled with jewel toned deliciousness…just begging for pieces of toast to slather them on!
Though, in the heat of Summer when berries are fresh and jams must be made…jam making isn’t always fun. Standing at a hot stove for countless hours making batch after batch of molten sweet lava while stirring and stirring and stirring those jammy mixtures to the right temperature and consistency has become a heated task in my advancing years that I’d rather do without.
But, thanks to a Facebook group of Instant Pot users, I discovered a quick and easy, much cooler way to make jam in my instant pot. And I am never going back to the old fashioned way of making jam ever again!
An Instant Pot To Make Jam…Say Whaaaat??
I know, I know…you’re probably questioning this concept just as I did. It truly doesn’t seem possible. I doubted it until one hot day last year when I really had no energy to make jam but…I was forced into the task due to several containers of strawberries about to spoil. I had planned to make jam with them, so this was my chance to try out the instant pot jam making trend. Well folks, it worked like a fabulously easy and delicious charm! Suffice to say, I was hooked!! I’ve already make several batches of strawberry jam this year. And now a recent surprise discovery of several blackberry bushes along our pasture line spurred my hand to make another kind of jam in my instant pot…blackberry jam!
Blackberry Wishes Do Come True…
We’ve lived on our property for 5 years now. Earlier this year, I mentioned to my husband that I wished we had blackberry bushes here like we did at our former home. I always loved picking blackberries and making jam with them. Then a few weeks ago, I noticed a cluster of blackberry bushes along the fence line to our pasture. I swear I never noticed them there before. After my disbelief wore off, I sure thanked the good Lord for this blessing! And I have been picking blackberries almost every day since.
Fresh Picked Blackberries Make The Best Jam
So every night after I fed and watered my donkey and chickens, I walked down to the fence line where the blackberries are growing. I picked as many plump, gorgeous ripe blackberries as I could carry in the front of my cupped up shirt. Apparently it’s more fun for me to gather the berries in my shirt versus bringing a container to deposit the berries into. Ha, Ha!
I’m not going to discuss how many times those dastardly thorns found my finger tips while I reached for perfectly ripe berries…grrrr!! Yet, I continued…the whole time I was telling myself this is worth it! And indeed, it is totally worth it. Every time I slater homemade blackberry jam on my toast or our grandchildren ask me to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for them using the blackberry jam I just made…my heart is full and our tummies are happy!
Anyways, I knew I needed 4 cups of blackberries to make a batch of jam, so it didn’t take long until I had enough berries. Here’s the recipe I used to make the most delicious and easy blackberry jam…
Recipe for Instant Pot Blackberry Jam
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Fresh Picked Blackberries
- 2 Cups Granulated White Sugar
- 2 TBsp. Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp. Butter
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 3-4 TBsp. Ball Brand REALFRUIT CLASSIC PECTIN
Note: I used to be a loyal user of a different liquid form of pectin, until I found this powdered version at our local co-op and now I am hooked on it. It’s given me great success for every batch of jam I have made with it.
Instructions
- Rinse the blackberries, remove any leaves or insects (little buggers like blackberries too!).
- Place the blackberries in the instant pot liner. Add the sugar and lemon juice to the berries and stir.
- Cover and let them sit for about 30 minutes. This helps to release the juices from the blackberries.
- Uncover and stir the blackberry and sugar mixture.
- With the instant pot lid in place, move the vent to the sealed position.
- Set the Instant Pot to the Manual setting to pressure cook for 2 minutes at high pressure.
- When the cooking time is done, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Then carefully release the remaining pressure manually.
- When you open the lid, there will be a lot of liquid. But don’t worry, that’s what we want.
- Use a potato masher to crush the blackberries into smaller chunks. Optional but advised.
- Add the butter and vanilla. Stir well. (the butter reduces the foam that forms and the vanilla adds another depth of wonderful flavor).
- Add the pectin-Stirring to combine and dissolve. Amount varies per batch depending on liquid content. Start with 3 tbsp. Add a 4th if necessary.
- Put the instant pot on sauté mode and let the mixture come to a boil. Let it boil for about 5 minutes at most. Stir frequently as the jam thickens. Remember that jam also thickens more as it cools.
- Press Cancel to turn off the instant pot. Remove the liner from the base to cool the jam faster.
- Let the jam cool slightly, before transferring it to jars or containers to store.
- Refrigerate or freeze and enjoy!
Storing the blackberry jam…
If you’d like to use a water bath canner to process the jars for longer term storage, you are more than welcome to. I just prefer to use the jam right away-so no need to can it. Or I freeze it in plastic containers for later uses. And I often give it away to family and friends.
A secret to extra flavor in your jam…
I used bottled lemon juice in this recipe, because that’s what I had on hand. But for extra flavor, use a fresh lemon. Squeeze and zest the lemon. Add the lemon zest to the jam mixture with the lemon juice. Wow, that extra lemon flavor and texture is absolutely ahhhmazzing!!
Instant Pot Blackberry Jam Success
So that’s it folks…grab your pieces of toast, bowls of yogurt, biscuits, scones, white bread and peanut butter and enjoy this quick, easy and delicious instant pot blackberry jam! I hope you will love it as much as my family and I do!
A little funny story…
While I was picking blackberries one evening, I heard something on the other side of the fence. I looked up to see my donkey (Jasper) eating blackberries from the other side of the blackberry bushes I was picking from. It amazed me that he was so selective and only ate the darkest ripest blackberries. I wondered if he was stabbed by the thorns as often as I was? They didn’t seem to bother him at all. It was so interesting to watch. I had no idea donkeys liked blackberries. So of course, I happily shared some of my berries with him. The video below shows how absolutely gentle he is! I love this donkey more than I could ever express.
Well folks, that’s it for now. I’m off to do some more pickin’ and jammin’!! Take care, be safe, virtual hugs…
Chauncey
Update: I went back out to the pasture and picked 8 more cups of blackberries and made a double batch of jam in the instant pot. I set the cook time to 3 minutes for the extra load of ingredients and it came out perfect!
I ran out of granulated white sugar (only had 3/4’s cup…so I combined brown sugar together with the white sugar until I reached the correct amount of sugar needed. The substitution did not change the final product at all. Though, I do detect a little more of a caramelized flavor in this last batch that is very appealing. I will definitely do this again…but on purpose next time! Ha, Ha!
A double batch of jam made enough to fill six 8oz containers. I will be freezing these to use later for our family or to give away as gifts! Just remember to use a permanent marker and record the item and date on the lid for identifying later.
For a really delicious and unique recipe, check out this blog for a homemade lemon balm jelly that I made…https://frugalanddelicious.com/category/lemon-balm-jelly/
For those interested, here is the current best price I could find for the pectin…https://www.menards.com/main/grocery-home/grocery/canning-supplies/ball-reg-realfruit-trade-classic-pectin-4-7-oz/5447253/p-1642874282471541-c-1462209588021.htm
