The best black currant jam recipe! Flavorful preserves that make the most of these great summer berries.
An excellent black currant jam recipe that you probably can’t buy anywhere, so it’s better to learn how to make it yourself. The flavors are unique, different than any other jam you’ve tasted; black currants have their particular flavor, and you can really make the most of it in this recipe.
Tart, but not as tart as red currants, slightly bitter, but not so much so as to put you off, with deep earthy notes, somehow “hearty” and “smokey,” if you can actually use these words when talking about berries.
They are a real superfood containing much more Vitamin C than oranges and more antioxidants than blueberries.
The only drawback about them is that they are pretty tricky to buy. You might get lucky at the farmer’s market (if it’s a large, good one), but I have never seen them sold in the supermarket or anywhere else. That’s why I’ve planted a bush in the garden.
And should you have a glut of black currants, you could also make Crème de Cassis, Freezer Black Currant Jam, Black Currant Cordial, No-Churn Black Currant Ice Cream, Black Currant Cake, Muffins with Black Currants, or Black Currant and Apple Crumble. Or try Black Currant Jelly or Black Currant Gin.
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What do you need?
- Black currants: about 500 g/ 1.1 lb/ 3 ½ cups. I mostly weigh them rather than measure them in cups. Between 3 ½ and 4 ½ cups should be ok (See Tips).
- Sugar: we love this jam when made with only 350 g / 12 oz/ 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar. The jam is sweet, but you will have more of that fantastic berry taste. However, if you like it very sweet, you can increase the sugar to up to 500 g/ 1.1 lb/ 2 ½ cups.
- Lemon juice: freshly squeezed
- Water
How to make black currant jam?
- Prepare berries: Rinse thoroughly in a sieve. Remove the stems. Set aside.
- Sugar syrup: Bring the water and the sugar to a boil on medium-low heat.
- Cook: Add the berries, bring to a boil, and cook on medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until the jam reaches about 104 degrees Celsius/ 220 degrees Fahrenheit (or 102 degrees Celsius/ 216 degrees Fahrenheit for an altitude of approximately 300 m/ 1000 feet or more). Use a digital instant read thermometer (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
- Transfer to sterilized jars using a jam funnel (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
How long to cook the preserves?
It depends on the altitude; the higher the altitude, the lower the gel point temperature of the preserves.
- Sea level – 104 C/ 220 F
- 300 m/ 1000 feet – 102 C/ 216 F
- 900 m/ 3000 feet – 101 C/ 214 F
- 1200 m/ 4000 feet – 100 C/ 212 F
- 1500 m/ 5000 feet – 99 C/ 211 F
- 1800 m/ 6000 feet – 98 C/ 209 F
- 2100 m/ 7000 feet – 97 C/ 207 F
Tips
I prefer to weigh the berries rather than measure them in cups; the black currants growing in my garden don’t have a consistent size, some are what I would call a regular size, but many are very small. And you will be amazed at how different the results are if you try to google this gram amount converted into cups; it goes from 2 to 5 cups, which is quite a lot.
The jam will foam at the beginning. However, most of the foam will disappear during the cooking process; remove what’s left with a spoon before ladling the preserves into jars.
Recipe FAQs
Jars canned in a water bath will keep for about one year in a dark, cool place like a cellar. The refrigerated jam will keep for 4-5 months. Once you open a jar, consume it in about two weeks.
I usually don’t bother with this amount; the recipe yields only three small jars of about 250 - 300 ml/ 1 - 1 ¼ cup, which I prefer to keep in the fridge.
If you make a larger batch, use the water bath canning method and process the jars for 10 minutes. Then, carefully remove it from the water bath using a jar lifter. Place on a folded kitchen towel and leave undisturbed until completely cool. Store in a dark, cool place.
More berry jams
- Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
- Blueberry Rhubarb Jam
- Rhubarb Raspberry Jam
- Watermelon Jam (watermelon is a type of berry)
Recipe
Black Currant Jam
Ingredients
- 1 lb black currants Note 1
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar Note 2
- scant 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Prepare: Rinse the black currants in a sieve. Remove the stems.
- Cook: Place sugar and water into a pot. Bring to a boil on medium-low heat. Add berries and lemon juice, bring to a boil again. Cook on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until the jam reaches about 104 degrees Celsius/ 220 degrees Fahrenheit (or 102 degrees Celsius/ 216 degrees Fahrenheit for an altitude of approximately 300 m/ 1000 feet or more). (Note 3).
- Jars: Remove what’s left from the foam with a spoon. Transfer the jam to sterilized jars.
- Can: For a longer shelf-life, can in a water bath for 10 minutes; it will keep for about 1 year. Or refrigerate the jam; it will keep for at least 4 months.
Notes
- I prefer to weigh the berries rather than measure them in cups; the black currants growing in my garden don’t have a consistent size, some are what I would call a regular size, but many are very small. And you will be amazed how different the results are if you try to google this gram amount converted into cups; it goes from 2 to 5 cups, which is quite a lot.
- You can increase the sugar up to 500 g/ 1.1 lb/ 2 ½ cups if you wish. However, I don’t recommend it unless you have a very sweet tooth. I love the slightly bitter tartness of the black currants.
- If you cook it for about 10 minutes, the jam will have a runnier consistency. If you cook it for about 15 minutes, it will be thicker, like mine in the pictures. The cooking time depends on the pan's width; the wider the pot, the sooner the jam will be ready.
- Altitude and gel point:
- Sea level – 104 C/ 220 F
- 300 m/ 1000 feet – 102 C/ 216 F
- 900 m/ 3000 feet – 101 C/ 214 F
- 1200 m/ 4000 feet – 100 C/ 212 F
- 1500 m/ 5000 feet – 99 C/ 211 F
- 1800 m/ 6000 feet – 98 C/ 209 F
- 2100 m/ 7000 feet – 97 C/ 207 F
Roderick Green says
How do I get rid of bitterness / sour taste of black currant jam before its ready to go in jars need your help. I canned it anyway tried adding salt , butter baking soda not much different.
Adina says
I am not sure I understand. If you mean the actual slightly bitter and sour black currant taste, you can't really get rid of it, that's the genuine taste of these berries. This is a 2-ingredient recipe, you should only taste the sweetness of the sugar and the berry flavour.