I absolutely love black raspberries. Growing up, my Dad grew a ton of them in our garden, and every summer we would gorge ourselves on them, whether eating them while picking, in ice cream, in jam, or in pie. I was able to get my hands on some beautiful black raspberries this summer, so I dug out the Ball recipe in their Blue Book to Preserving to make these preserves.

It’s super easy to make, and it only has 2 ingredients, but be prepared to get an arm workout because it takes time to get this to the right consistency, and you’ll be stirring for quite a while.

This recipe can be used for any berry you want: red raspberry, blackberries, and loganberries.

Black Raspberry Preserves

2 pounds berries

4 cups sugar

Combine berries and sugar and let stand until juices begin to flow, about 10 minutes. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly almost to the gelling point. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Yield: About 4 half-pints

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