Blackcurrant Jam Recipe for Canning (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to top and tail blackcurrants to make jam? ›

First of all, I remove the leaves and any insects crawling about in the bowl. Then I pick the currants off any stems. After that, I go through and pinch off the stem from any berries that have a lot of stem attached. I don't top and tail them as it would take far too long and isn't necessary.

Blackcurrants have enough pectin (the thing that makes jam set) in them that you should be fine with normal sugar. The usual sugar to fruit ratio for jam is 50/50, but this makes for a very sweet finished product – to let the flavour of the fruit come through more, we've taken the sugar down a bit.

There are various ways to preserve fruit. The most complex version I've seen involves making a sugar syrup, cooking the fruit gently, and finishing off by heating everything in a hot water bath. My approach is far simpler – just pick the berries from the stalks, rinse them, then cover in brandy and add a little sugar.

Blackcurrants fruit on previous years' wood, and the reason you didn't get any fruit this year was because the fruiting wood had been removed. This year's growth, though, will give you your fruit next year. So leave all new growths well alone and hopefully you will get a bumper crop next year.

So if you use pieces of fruit or whole berries, you are actually using less fruit than if it were mashed, or cooked to a mash and then measured, and you will get a firmer jell. Or you may have used more pectin than the recipe called for. For example, if you used Tablespoons of pectin rather than teaspoons.

Homemade fruit preserves can last for up to year or even longer if it is unopened and stored in a cool, dry place, such as a pantry or kitchen cupboard. However the flavour and texture of your jam will start to deteriorate after around 6 months, even if you keep them tightly sealed.

This is a very common mishap and can occur for a couple of reasons. It may be because there is not enough pectin and acid in the mixture. Or it may be because the temperature of 104C was not reached when cooking. While hot the jam will seem runny, but be patient, as it takes a while to cool and set.

In addition to its anecdotal use in traditional herbal medicine, modern laboratories have demonstrated the potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of blackcurrant constituents on a myriad of disease states.

Keep in mind that, once picked, black currants can go bad quickly. You can slow the process by storing them in the refrigerator or freezer. While black currants have a strong taste, they're delicious to eat raw when they're ripe. You can also use them in a variety of recipes.

Do I need to wash blackcurrants before freezing? ›

How to freeze blackcurrants. Tip the berries onto a tray and remove any stems or unripe or damaged berries and leaves. Weigh the berries and note the weight. Rinse in cold water and dry completely.

Grow blackcurrants in a fruit cage to protect the crop from birds. As soon as the currants start to ripen, consider putting netting over your plants, otherwise your precious crop may soon disappear. Make sure the netting is taut, so birds don't get tangled in it.

With that said, just about everyone does like black currants once they've been cooked and sweetened to make jam, juice, pie, and the like, or soaked in alcohol to make a liqueur (créme de cassis). My preference is for the raw berries, eaten straight up, in my cereal, or smooshed on bread as an instant jam.

Blackcurrant shrubs are fast-growing and may begin to give fruit in the first 3 years after planting. At maturity, the shrub measures up to 1.8m (6 feet) in height, with a spread of 1.5 metres (5 feet). Its lifespan is generally between 15 and 20 years.

Jostaberries are the child of European Black Currants and Gooseberries with Pacific Northwest native Gooseberries. Their fruit looks like a black currant but the flavor is closer to gooseberry!

Nope - you only need to remove the stalks and you can even leave them if you are making a jelly that you put through a jelly bag. Thanks, what about if I'm doing jam will they float so I can skim them off the top maybe?

Lightly pick over the redcurrants, removing any leaves and fibrous stalks— no need to top and tail them or strip them off their stalks.

Cook it again.

Wash and sterilize the jars and try again. While you can simply reduce the jam to your liking, you can also add commercial pectin or chia seeds to the reducing jam to guarantee thickening.