Nature's Bounty

As we begin our second year living in West Cambridge, we have helped ourselves once again to nature's bounty in the form of some very tasty blackberries. One of the sad things about modern living is the disconnect between consumers and their food supply; simply going out and gathering what nature has to offer is an uncomplicated, wholesome pleasure. We picked some berries when my parent's visited and made the customary blackberry/apple crumble, but yesterday Todd and I went out, brought home 3.5 lbs of berries, and I tried my hand at jam-making.




Here is the recipe I followed:

Equal weights of blackberries and sugar
The juice and rind of 1 lemon

I stewed and mashed the blackberries and lemon, then added the sugar and waited until the mixture reached the 'setting point' (when a spoonful turns 'jammy' in the fridge after about 5 mins.). Apparently I needed the lemon to help with this setting process, since it adds extra pectin, which makes the jam jell. I ended up with about 8 jars of jam.

We're pretty pleased with the results, though it is SUPER SWEET!