Friday 6 September 2013

How to make blackberry jelly


The hedgerows are dripping with ripe, juicy blackberries and it's one of my favourite fruits to forage.  The saying goes that the devil pees on them after 11th October, so my advice would be to get them while you can!

Usually I make pots and pots of jam to see us through the winter, and a few bottles of cordial, but I don't know why I've never thought of making jelly before now.  My daughter loves jelly, and if you use silicone cake cases, they are great in lunchboxes.  Of course, the advantage of making your own is that you know exactly what's gone into it and can adjust the sugar levels according to taste. I've used pork gelatine here, but if you can't eat that then get a vegetarian substitute. It's really easy to make, so why not have a go?

Ingredients:

(these will vary according to how much fruit you've been able to pick, so just adjust using this ratio)

These quanities made 2 large servings.
  • 300g fresh, ripe blackberries
  • 100g sugar (my berries were very sharp, but you may want to use less than this)
  • 3 leaves of gelatine (or according to packet instructions)


Wash your berries and remove any stalks.  Place in a pan with a splash of water, and add the sugar.

Heat over a medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Cook for around 10 minutes, until the fruit has gone mushy and released it's juices.


Strain through a muslin or clean tea towel and sieve into a measuring jug and measure the amount of liquid you have.  Mine was exactly 1/2 pint.  Your pack instructions will tell you how much gelatin to use.

For a nice, firm but wobbly jelly, I used 3 leaves of gelatine.  Soak these in some cold water for about 5 minutes.  Return your fruit liquid to a clean pan and bring to a simmer.

Add the gelatin to the juice (squeeze out the excess liquid from the jelly and discard the water), stirring until it dissolves.  Leave to simmer for 2 minutes, then pour into glasses or moulds.

When the jelly has cooled to room temperature, pop in the fridge to chill and set.



Have you been blackberrying this year?  What do you make with yours?

Link up your recipe of the week

23 comments:

  1. This looks absolutely delicious. I will print it out with a view to making it.Thank you.

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    1. Thank you Glenda. It went down a storm here! I need to go and pick some more.

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  2. Stunning! I have never thought to make my own, just buy that awful cubed stuff that feels disgusting. Lovely plate too!

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    1. Thanks Lucy. Yeah me too, I've always been scared of leaf gelatine, but it's really easy to use. Love the rich colour and it's all natural!

      The plate's from Tiger (a 'real shop' - shock!) x

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    2. Looks delicious! I have never heard of leaf gelatine. Where can I find it?

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    3. You can find it in the baking section at the supermarket, Dr Oetker and other brands make it x

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  3. That looks amazing. Will try this, thanks for sharing x

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  4. You make it look so simple - am pinning for future reference - thank you x

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  5. Looks yummy, we are off foraging this weekend if it stops raining, so will be trying this recipe :)

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  6. This looks delicious and you make it seem so easy! I'm sure I could make something go wrong in the process but it does make me want to try!

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  7. What a great way too use up blackberries! I'm going to pin this for later :-)

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    1. Thank you Gina. It's great for kids (or adults) who don't link pips too!

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  8. Lovely post with great pics. We have a zillion blackberries in the garden so this is perfect timing. Thanks for linking this up with #recipeoftheweek. Pinned and stumbled + I've showcased your jelly in this week's post. Please come and have a look and join in again!

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    1. Ahh thank you Emily! That means a lot coming from you, so glad I joined in, thanks ever so for featuring me this week x

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  9. WE have so many blackberries this year I am looking for all the recipies I can find. Thank you x

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    1. Thanks Fiona, I feel like it's all I'm cooking with at the moment!

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  10. What a fab idea! I never thought about making a jelly although I'm sure my 4 year old would love it. I wonder if It can be done with a different fruit as well?

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  11. Brilliant Liz, thank you! We have been out blackberrying the last few weekends and have quite a haul, so this recipe will come in handy. I was thinking this weekend might be the last one but didn't know about the devil peeing on them after 11October, so might still have a chance to go get some more before the devil peeing kicks in x

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  12. This is a smashing recipe! I've added it to an autumn round up.

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  13. This is a smashing recipe! I've added it to an autumn round up.

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