Blackcurrant jam

The last and final work using these mega blackcurrants from my friends' kitchen garden was to make a summer version of blackcurrant jam. Tasting these blackcurrants I found them to have quiet  a fresh/sour taste, so I decided to increase the sugar level from my usual ratio of 2 parts of fruits to 1 part of sugar to a level 3 parts of fruit to 2 parts of sugar.

Ingredients:

• 400 g (Danish) blackberries 
• 300 g sugar
• 10 g gelling powder (citrus pectin, sugar and citric acid)
• 1 branch of taragon
• pinch of pepper

• Heat up the blackcurrant in a cooking pot together with a small amount of water.
• When the blackcurrant are boiling, add the gelling powder and agitate.
• It is important NOT to add the sugar at this stage, as the gelling powder need the water from the fruit to hydrate sufficiently.
• Bring the fruit to the boiling point and let it boil for 2 minutes
• It is important NOT to add the sugar at this stage, as the gelling powder need the water from the fruit to hydrate sufficiently.
• Bring the fruit to the boiling point and let it boil for 2 minutes
• Add the sugar to the fruit. It is very important, that you add the sugar little by little, while you agitate, in order to pre-gelling/gel lumps in the jam.
• Bring the fruit, sugar, taragon and pepper to the boiling point again and boil for another 2 minutes.

• Prepare the jam glasses by filling them with boiling water. I do not use any preservatives in my home-made jam, so this is important to increase shelf-life of your jam.
• Another thing you can do is to store the jam cold afterwards.
• As the jam is made from 3 parts of fruit and 2 part of sugar, the sugar content is not high enough to preserve the jam.
• Fill the glass with jam and close the glass.