We Be Jammin'

The blackberry harvest is here! Picking blackberries can be very addicting. They're so delicious, they're everywhere, and they're free! Once I get started, it's hard to stop. I've made three batches of blackberry jam so far. I tried a new thing this year and bought "no sugar" pectin. You can use fruit juice or honey or artificial sweetener instead of white sugar. Since we keep bees, we have honey, so I decided to use honey. I was very pleased with the results. The texture is a little thicker than with sugar, but the taste is great. I can't say it has a "honey" flavor, but it's very yummy.

Kylie helped with the latest batches. She got pretty tired of stirring, but she was a good sport. Here's what we ended up with, and all the jars sealed! I just love that popping sound when the jars seal!

I also made a blackberry pie using honey instead of sugar. I wasn't as pleased with the results on this one. The flavor was great, but the filling was very runny.

The recipe had you make a honey custard and mix it in with the berries, so I thought that would give it a good texture, but apparently not. The pie sat on the counter for several days with only two pieces cut out of it (both eaten by me) and then it started to mold, so I tossed it. I had made a blackberry pie a few weeks earlier and added blueberries to it, which I thought was wonderful, but apparently no one else did, because I ended up eating almost the whole thing by myself. Over several days, of course. So no more blackberry pies for my family!