Learn how to make this exquisitely delicious huckleberry jam recipe from your freshly picked wild huckleberries!
It’s huckleberry season. And that means fresh huckleberry jam!
We enjoyed red huckleberries a few weeks ago and now the black huckleberries are ripening. Huckleberries are found in the wild throughout North America. Europe has very similar berries that go by a variety of names such as bilberries, whortleberries, wimberries and fraughans. They all share a lot in common with the blueberry and have a similar taste but slightly more tart and sometimes with larger seeds.
Huckleberries are terrific in drinks, jams, candies, pies, muffins, pancakes, teas, syrups and more.
Today we’re making huckleberry jam!
Picking huckleberries is pretty tedious work and it takes a while to gather a good amount because they’re so small. Fortunately for huckleberry jam you don’t need a lot of them if you’re just making a small batch. This recipe calls for just a cup of them but if you have some extra pairs of hands to help you pick, feel free to double or triple the recipe!
However many you choose to pick, once you’ve tasted this jam I’m sure you’ll agree that your berry-picking efforts paid off!
Let’s get started!
Place the washed and rinsed huckleberries in a pot with an equal amount of sugar (1 cup per 1 cup of berries). Add a little water (approx 2 tablespoons per cup of huckleberries). Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the berries are softened.
Mash the berries.
At this point you can go two different routes for thickening the jam: Use pectin or slow simmer the jam after adding about 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice per cup of huckleberries.
For the pectin route: Stir about 2 teaspoons of powdered pectin into the boiling jam and boil for another minute. Remove from heat and let cool until set.
For the non-pectin route: Stir in about 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice for every cup of huckleberries and simmer the jam over low heat for about an hour or until an instant read thermometer shows 220 degrees F. For canning follow the same instructions as with the pectin route.
Note: If you’re making jam with less than 2 cups of huckleberries, I find it’s usually best to go the pectin route to thicken it because smaller quantities are more susceptible to burning.
How to Can Huckleberry Jam
If you’d like to can this for long-term storage make sure the jars are sterilized and the lids are washed, screw on the rims, ladle the hot jam into the hot jars and process them in a water bath for 5 minutes then carefully remove and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours before removing the rings and storing.
Enjoy!
Be sure to also try our fabulous homemade:
- Black Currant Jam
- Blackberry Jam
- Plum Jam
- Plum Butter
- Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
- Blueberry Lemon Apricot Jam
- Peach Bacon Jam
- Lemon Lime Marmalade
Wild Huckleberry Jam
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild huckleberries, stems removed, washed and drained
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 teaspoons Fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon classic powdered pectin (if using, see instructions)
Instructions
- Place the washed and rinsed huckleberries in a pot with the sugar and about 2 tablespoons of water. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the berries are softened. Mash the berries.
- At this point you can go two different routes for thickening the jam: Use pectin or slow simmer the jam after adding about 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice per cup of huckleberries.For the pectin route: Stir about 2 teaspoons of powdered pectin into the boiling jam and boil for another minute. Remove from heat and let cool until set. For the non-pectin route: Stir in about 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice for every cup of huckleberries and simmer the jam over low heat for about an hour or until an instant read thermometer shows 220 degrees F. For canning follow the same instructions as with the pectin route.Makes a little over a cup.
- Canning: If you'd like to can this for long-term storage make sure the jars are sterilized and the lids are washed, screw on the rims, ladle the hot jam into the hot jars and process them in a water bath for 5 minutes then carefully remove and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours before removing the rings and storing.
Jacquelyn Smith says
I have never canned before; what do you mean by screw on the rims and remove the rings afterwards? I use canning jars to make moonshine mixes but I don’t understand this language lol
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jacquelyn, sorry for the confusion. Once you place the canning lids on you then screw on the rings to hold the lid in place. Once the jars have sat for 24 hours and are properly sealed you can remove those rings (the lids will stay securely in place at that point). Removing the rings enables you to clean behind them where some of the jam may have gotten trapped to prevent mold.
Amber Kelly says
Can you tell me what size jars are best for this recipe?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Amber, this makes a little over a cup of jam so that’s a 1/2 pint jar plus a little extra.
Kayla R says
Mine turned out grainy. Any suggestions? Thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kayla, huckleberries have tiny seeds and there’s no way to remove them unless you use something like a food mill or scrape the cooked berries through a fine mesh sieve.
Lorrie says
I can’t wait to try this. We picked over 20 lbs last weekend.
Richard Torres says
I will be trying this recipe. I live where Huckleberries are plentiful this year. My wife and I have picked 11 lbs. Making jam and a couple of pies.Yummy
Rain says
I used 1/4 the sugar and it turned out delicious! Thx
Lisa TAYLOR says
I travel through Montana, Idaho and Washington for work.
I always look forward to stopping in St Regis for fresh Rainier cherries and fresh huckleberries!
What areas can you find huckleberries wild? I would love to stop on my way back home to pick some!
Wild blackberries are everywhere through Washington. I stop to pick those!
David says
Coastal Washington is a good place to find these berries. I pick on my own property on the coast in Grays Harbor – good luck.
Kacey says
I am very excited to give this a go, but my berries are frozen. Do you have any suggestions for making this from frozen huckleberries?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kacey, frozen is fine. Just add them to pot and proceed as written. Happy jam-making!
Lisa Hackett says
Making it right now it looks so good hope it tastes like it looks
Jessie says
Hey there!
Going to try this recipe and wanted to know if its okay to use frozen huckleberries?
thanks!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Absolutely, Jessie!
Casey S says
Thank you so much for your quick response! I definitely will read up on that before trying it!
Casey S says
My husband and I picked 19 cups of berries a few weeks back. I’m going to try your recipe today. I shy away from sugar and will be using monkfruit sweetener (sugar replacement) for one batch and real sugar for the second batch! I can’t wait to have scones and huckleberry jam for Christmas this year when my kids and grandkids come home!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Casey, your kids and grandkids will swoon over those scones! You may already know this but just in case: As with all alternative sweeteners if you use monkfruit the jam will not set so you will need to use pectin (there are low sugar ones). If you’re canning the jam I’d also suggest researching whether monkfruit is safe for canning.
Emily S. says
Just made some tonight!! Went picking today and got about 12 cups. Heading back out this weekend to try and find more!! Made 2 cups worth of the jam-4 8oz jars!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Emily! I know, it’s a lot of work picking those little berries for not a lot of yield but the jam is so good it’s worth it!
Katie says
Hi thanks for the recipe! I had one question. Is it 2 tsp of pectin per cup of berries? I have 4 cups of berries! Can’t wait to try.
Katie
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Katie, yes that’s per cup. Or you can just omit it. I rarely use pectin anymore, I prefer the texture without it. But I provided both methods for those who prefer pectin.
ROCHELLE SPIEGEL says
This is so delicious! My husband and I just picked huckleberries and wild Maine blueberries while canoeing this past weekend. I only had 1 3/4 Cups of huckleberries, but then added 1/4 of blueberries to make a double batch of your recipe. I’m planning on drizzling this jam into freshly churned ice cream. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Perfect, Rochelle, enjoy!