Canning a Small Batch of Blackcurrant Jam

Our tiny half-sized freezer was filled to the brim. We needed some space so I cooked and canned up a small batch of blackcurrant jam.

The berries are from last year’s harvest. Just a few leftover bags from autumns “Saftkok”, or squash fruit juice-making, tucked away the corners of the fridge.

Cleaning up the berries and finding all the little sticks and leaves is a long chore. Almost like meditation to me, though. Quite therapeutic.

Next up is the jam-making. Tipping berries and sugar into a pot and letting it simmer until its consistency feels like jam. Not like soup, and not like jelly. Just in-between, just right. I went easy on the sugar, as I was going to can it right away. The preservation would come from the canning process, not the sugar.

Glass preservation jars with two-piece metal canning lids were filled up, according to a safe and tested recipe. One and a half 500ml jars. Not much, hardly worth the effort of canning. But some days the canning urge comes on strong, and you just go for it.

The one full jar was placed in a big pot of water, according to the water bath canning method for high acid food. The half full jar was placed into the refrigerator to be eaten straight away.

Along with the single jam jar that I was going to can, I also placed two canning jars of clean drinking water into the water bath canner. These were empty leftover jars that were sterilized beforehand.

A full jar and an empty jar takes up the same space. Never put an empty jar back on the shelf, as the old saying goes.

The results: one and a half jars of delicious homemade blackcurrant jam. Hardly worth the effort of boiling the water for the canner for this little batch. But I felt like it, and feel quite satisfied.

Happy canning!