Seedless Blackberry and Lime Jam

This Seedless Wild Blackberry and Lime Jam is a firm early autumn favourite recipe. It’s tangy and not too sweet and best of all contains no added pectin. There are just four ingredients:

• blackberries,
• white sugar
• limes
• bramley apples

The flavour is superb and just an hour or so of work from start to finish will result in the most deliciously versatile jam you can eat all year round.

This Blackberry Jam was developed to make use of the plethora of blackberry bushes around where we used to live. I would pick them whilst walking the dog and very quickly have enough to make a few pots of this delicious jam.

It was the first jam I truly loved as the juicy tartness of the blackberries and the zesty zing of the lime cut through all the sugar to create a really complex taste which is perfect for toast, for sandwich cakes, jam tarts and to fill my signature Blackberry Cheesecake Oat Bars, which were very popular on my market stall back in the day.

This recipe was amended in September 2026 just to reduce the quantity (it’s been halved) so you can make this jam now in small batches which is more manageable for a domestic kitchen.

How To Make a Seedless Jam

I always make a seedless blackberry jam as the seeds in blackberries in particular can be quite hard and unpleasant to eat. The trick is to heat the blackberries (along with the apples) first then, once softened, smash them through a sieve to discard the seeds before you cook with the sugar.

These are the key stages:

1. Prepare the blackberries and apples by cleaning and discarding any damaged fruit.
2. Cook the blackberries and apples until soft.
3. Remove the blackberry seeds, apple skin and pips. You can do this by passing the fruit through a sieve or food mill to get a thick smooth fruity pulp.
4. Cook the smooth fruity pulp with sugar until the right set has been achieved.

The real advantage of this method is that you don’t need to peel or core the bramley apples. They just get thrown in a preserving pan with the blackberries straight off the bat. This means you get very little fruit waste.

However, if you do a lot of preserving then I seriously recommend using a food mill, rather than a sieve, which make very light work of this process and you get even less fruit waste.

If you don’t have a food mill and are de-seeding through a sieve then you might have a bit more substantial seedy pulp left behind in the sieve. Don’t you dare throw this away you lucky ducks as it’s marvellous for making blackberry vinegar, blackberry liqueur or blackberry vodka.

If you prefer seedless jams then this method will work with all seeded berries. See my Easy Seedless Raspberry Jam or my Gooseberry Thyme Jam. For a naturally smooth jam then try Pear Jam or Pumpkin Jam.

Ingredients Needed

Blackberries. You can use fresh or frozen blackberries. Include a few unripe red blackberries in the mix along with the ripe ones and this will add a complexity of flavour, plus unripe fruit has more pectin.

If you are using wild blackberries then make sure to thoroughly check and wash and discard any damaged fruit. For hidden bugs you can soak in a bowl of water for 10 minutes, and they will escape the fruit and float to the surface. Avoid using blackberries picked from the side of the road as they are not great for eating.

Bramley apples. Apples are used here primarily to help the jam to set. I’ve said to use bramleys but really any cooking apple will suffice. The tartness of these apples helps to level out the jam’s sweetness.

Limes. I’m using limes in this recipe for two reasons. The first is that the flavour is so lovely. The citrus kick is a great way to balance out the sweetness of the jam. The other is that the juice helps the jam to set as blackberries are quite low in pectin. The extra acid is key. So we use the lime juice to help with set then stir through a little extra lime zest after the jam has finished cooking for a really fresh lime flavour.

White sugar. You can just use generic white granulated sugar here. No jam sugar is needed as we have enough pectin from the apples and limes. You can use caster sugar but it’s more expensive and unnecessary. Sugar is essential in jam making, not only for sweetness but also to create the correct setting structure of the jam and help to preserve the jam so it lasts longer in storage.

Equipment Needed

For a thorough breakdown on all the equipment you need to make your homemade blackberry jam then visit my Complete Guide To Jam Making Equipment. However, the key essentials are as follows:

Maslin pan. It’s stainless steel so a great heat conductor.

Food mill. You can use a conical sieve to push the cooked fruit through to separate from the seeds but a food mill is elite. It’s an investment but worth considering if you enjoy making jam and hate seeds!!

Jam funnel. This is essential for potting your jam to avoid spillage. They are wide funnels which fit beautifully into your jars and are relatively inexpensive.

How To Make Blackberry Jam

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Place the blackberries and roughly chopped apples in a large preserving pan. Heat gently until all the fruit has softened.

Remove from the heat, then pass everything through a sieve or food mill.

Add the smooth blackberry apple pulp back into the preserving pan. Add the lime juice and sugar to the saucepan and heat gently until all the sugar has dissolved.

Once dissolved, bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 3-5 minutes then start testing your jam to see if the correct setting point has been reached.

Once the jam is ready remove the scum from the surface of the jam and then stir in the lime zest.

Decant the jam into sterilised jars, screw the lids on tightly, cool then label and store in a cool dark place.

What To Serve With Blackberry Jam

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, blackberry jam tastes delicious with these classic serving ideas:

• Hot buttered toast
• Crumpets
• Scones
• English muffins
• Porridge

Baking with Blackberry Jam

• Jam tarts.
• Thumbprint Cookies.
• Layered in a Victoria Sponge as an alternative to raspberry or strawberry jam.
• Blackberry Bakewell Tart. Spread at the bottom of this frangipane tart between the pastry crust and the frangipane layer. I used to sell slices of this on my market stall back in the day.
• These Blackberry Cheesecake Crumble Bars are incredible. Again, a really popular offering on my market stall.

Desserts

• Swirl through this Lemon Cheesecake.
• Squidge in between these mini meringues (along with a smear of buttercream).
• Spoon over Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

More Blackberry Recipes You'll Love

Apple and Blackberry Crumble is a delightful example of a gluten-free crumble. A crisp biscuity topping is the perfect contrast to the sweet and tangy fruit jumble beneath.

This self-saucing Blackberry Lemon Pudding is such a great dessert, being both sweet and tart. It's cakey on the top with an ooey gooey blackberry lemon sauce puddled beneath.

Blackberry Ripple Ice Cream is amazingly light and creamy made from a base of Italian meringue and whipped double cream shot through with a burst of fruity blackberry.