Lønnestræde´s blackberry jam with lemon and balcamico

Blackberry jam ready for use

When I saw, that Kate from What Kate Baked (being the hostess of the virtual tea table) had selected the theme to be Jam, Chutneys, Curds and Conserves, I knew at once, what type of jam, which I would make for this occasion. The jam should be based on the fruit in season, and that is of cause blackberries ! 

The Tea Time Table is a monthly blogging event managed  Karen from Lavender and Lovage and Kate from What Kate Baked. It was a surprise for me to read, that Kate originally found jam making "for too hard and for too likely to fail" ! For me jam making is an easy thing, when you either can work with jam sugar or use citrus fruits as main ingredients. And it practically takes no time, within ½ hour (1 hour making citrus jam) from cleaning the fruit you will have glasses of jam ready to be eaten or given away.

For this jam I decided to use the fruit in season, which is blackberries, and which my good work colleague is having surplus from his garden.

Making a jam "just from fruit and sugar" is my mind a little boring, I want to have that little extra touch of something else in my jams. So I "picked" the minds of various work colleagues, and have up with the combination of using lemon zest, lemon juice and balcamico as the little extra touch this time.

Blackberries ready for jam cooking

The lemon zest and lemon juice is giving a wonderful juicy character to the blackberries, and the balcamico is adding complexity to the taste. You could decided only to use lemon zest and lemon juice for your version of blackberry jam.

While I was making blackberry jam, Hannibal the Cat came into the kitchen after a wet rainy day out-door, and he took part in the jam making process sleeping away with an open eye from time to time from "his" chair to monitor the jam process.

As I did not want to mash the blackberries, I was left some blackberry juice without any berries in-side, this juice I filled into a bottle, which would suit pan cakes perfectly.

Lønnestæde´s blackberry jam with lemon and balcamico:

• 1000 g blackberries
• 500 g jam sugar with pectin
• lemon (organic) - juice and zest
• 50 g water



Blackberries with lemon zest in the cooking pot

• ½ teaspoon balcamico

1. Clean the blackberries.
2. Peel the lemon and squeeze it for juice.
3. Heat up the blackberries in a cooking pot together lemon peel, lemon juice and water.
4. When the blackberries boiling, add the jam sugar and agitate.
5. Bring the fruit to the boiling point and let it boil for 2 minutes.
6. Prepare the jam glasses by filling them with boiling water. Do this step, while you start to heat the blackberries. 
7. Fill the glass with jam and close the glass.

Hannibal the Cat sleeping away, while he dreams of mouse sushi