Boysenberry Jam

When I saw the boysenberries ripening I realized I still had some in the freezer from last summer.  Little did I remember I had a lot left from last summer!  I had to get them out of there to make room for this year's new harvest.

I had way too many (5 full zippered freezer bags) to make a simple pie, so I made some jam.

Frozen boysenberries in my biggest pot - quite a bit of ice crystals, but they didn't affect the jam

I am not in any way a seasoned canner!  I am a very basic beginner, having only canned some applesauce, apple butter, tomatoes (and sauce including spaghetti sauce) in the past.

Canning is a lot of work! It's hot, messy, and above all else, time consuming.  For me, more time consuming than for most.   First off, I started this project without checking supplies.  So, I didn't have enough sugar and had to run to the store.  Then, while the jam was cooking was not the time to get out the jars, lids, and rings!  I only had three small lids, and three for the larger wide-mouth jars.  So, that's all I could can.  The rest is in the freezer, or in coffee mugs in the refrigerator!  I'll eat it up!

Here's the recipe I used...

8 - 9 cups boysenberries

5-6 cups sugar (taste it to see how sweet you want it)

3 TBS lemon juice

This recipe does not use pectin, so the lemon juice helps the natural pectin in the fruit do its work.  Make sure to boil it as long as recommended too.

Bring to boil and simmer 35 minutes.  I do not have a thermometer, so used the cold spoon test to see if it was ready.  Take a cold spoon, put some of the jam-to-be on it, and see if it slides off like jam, or is still runny.  Like I said, I am not an experienced canner, that's the best I can describe it!

The rest is just canner procedure.  This jam took 15 minutes.  I use a water canner, just one of those big blue pots with white splatters.  I would L-O-V-E an electric water canner!  But, alas, they are a bit too costly...  It would be so much simpler, neater, quicker...  sigh... someday... maybe...   

cooking

cooling jars - cool at least 12 hours