Blackberry jam

We went blackberrying yesterday, and I made jam with the berries. The kitchen looked like a serial killer had run amok by the time I'd finished (blackberry juice looks a lot like blood) but the resulting jam is delicious.

Or at least, I think it is. It could probably be a teensy bit runnier, but the flavour is lovely. None of the rest of the family will taste it, though, which sort of spoils it for me. When I eat, a lot (most) of the enjoyment comes from the shared experience, so eating something on my own feels more boring than pleasurable. Like looking at a beautiful view - it's usually better if you have someone to share it with...

Anyway, on the off-chance that someone else would like the recipe, here's what I did:

I simmered the blackberries (about 600g) with about 3/4 of cup of water, until they were soft. Then I pushed them through a sieve to get rid of the seeds. (This was the bit that led to the kitchen looking like an abattoir.) Then I boiled the seedless mix along with about 400g of sugar and three tablespoons of lemon juice. (If I'd had jam sugar I could have left out the lemon juice - it adds pectin which makes the jam set. For runnier jam, use less lemon juice.) About fifteen minutes of boiling later, the jam was ready to jar. (To tell if it's ready, put a saucer in the fridge before you start. It's ready if, when a spoonful of jam is dropped onto the saucer, it wrinkles when you drag a finger through it once it's cooled).

Enjoy!