Wild Blackberries

On a walk with Alyssa one day, I saw a whole bunch of wild blackberries along the side of the road near our house. Because they were in between properties (on one, I'm sure, but in all the undergrowth of the unused wooded area), I went back and picked as many as I could.

I also found a patch of wild blackberry bushes in a corner of the backyard and picked those. I've also now cleared out around them and will start building up that area and hopefully encourage that patch to produce some great berries! Blackberries are Robert's favorite.

I love making jam, it is quick and easy and a great way to enjoy berries all year long.

I do also freeze a lot of berries to use later.

But this time was jam. I didn't have quite enough blackberries for a straight blackberry jam batch, so I  crushed up blueberries from the garden to make of the difference in volume.

 I've made freezer jam before, but I like making cooked jam a lot better - especially since it puts the jam on the shelf instead of taking up room in the freezer.

 I learned a lot of different canning methods from my mom growing up. We bottled peaches and tomatoes and other vegetables and we made jam.

I like the upside down method to self-seal jam jars. It's easy and it works, without having to use that large water bath and processing time. Here, you fill the jars, wipe the rims, secure the lids and turn them upside down for about 1/2 hour. Then you flip them back over and you'll hear the lids popping down, if they aren't down already. 

  You do let them sit for the 12-24 hours before moving them, but I've never had any problem with them unsealing or going bad using this method.

 I did take the scrapings from the pan for some immediate enjoyment of this deliciousness!