Black Raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) is a North American native delight! I prefer to make a seedless low sugar jam so the flavor of the berries really shines rather than being cloyingly sweet. I like to add lime zest and juice and grated ginger, which really complement the flavor. Other than that, I just follow the directions on the Sure Jell low sugar pectin insert for the recipe and canning directions (no sugar and freezer jam recipes too). Lately I have been adding more and more berry pulp to the same Sure-Jell low sugar recipe, effectively lowering the sugar content. My latest batch doubled the fruit, with juice of 4 limes, and at least 2 T ginger. It made 8 half pint jars. It has been my favorite thus far.
This seedless jam is perfect on toast of course, but it also makes for a great sweetener for a vinaigrette. I like to add it to equal parts toasted walnut oil and red wine vinegar, and a squeeze of dijon mustard, and shake until fully dissolved. It’ll make any salad complete.
And as for that pulp—there is no waste here. I use it to flavor a batch of mead, which is a tasty honey wine, though technically it is known as a melomel when we add fruit. I will link the full video for this delightful fermented beverage, along with some of my other black raspberry recipes.
Thanks for watching!
Timestamps:
00:00 Background on black raspberries
01:42 Making the jam
03:15 Canning in water bath canner
04:06 Other ideas for black raspberries
