Funny - I was just thinking about this over the weekend - planning what and how much we should can this year. I made some elderberry-port wine jelly and it makes a great sauce for meat. Melt some, add some broth, thicken and serve with grilled steaks or filets (we eat a lot of venison and this flavor goes wonderfully with that). It would be good on pork, too. I've started putting up most things "plain" - beets, tomatoes, peaches, cherries, etc. so I can tweak them however I want when I open the jar. Instead of jam, I make fruit chutneys instead. Rhubarb, gooseberry, cranberry and plum so far. DH loves them with meat or on a sandwich, and if I get my once-in-a-blue-moon craving for a PB&J, I just use one of the sweeter chutneys. They work for both sweet and savory. Great with a fruit and cheese plate, too, which we have for dessert a lot in the summer. I still make some jellies and jams, but mostly for gifts, so I make small 4 oz. jars, which everyone loves for Christmas. I finally used up the applesauce from last year. We don't eat it by itself, so I use it in quick breads (any that call for a cup of vegetable oil, I substitute 1/2 cup of applesauce for 1/2 of the oil).

Thanks JohnDeereGal and Carol, your suggestions are appreciated. I'm really surprised Certo doesn't have a recipe for this. I read where someone else used the regular recipe for jam but increased the amount of berries so I decided to go for it. Of course she was talking about cooked jam, but she said if the recipe called for 3 cups of berries, she added an extra 2 cups (total 5). I usually make a double batch, but decided to try a single first. The Certo recipe calls for 2 cups of berries so I added an extra 1-1/3 cups. I also added just a dash of vanilla extract. I figured the extra berries would be pretty tart. Other than that I followed the freezer jam recipe. I won't know for sure until tomorrow, it needs to set up for 24 hours. BUT...we couldn't wait! Had pancakes for dinner and tried some. YUM! I compared the jam I made to the syrup and the syrup is definitely a bit more tart but the slight vanilla undertone was surprisingly good. Still thin though--tomorrow I hope it thickens just a bit. Thanks again, this will make awesome Christmas gifts! Linda

I'm not Debby but check the recipes below. Here is a link that might be useful: Gobs

I know this is late, but I'll add it for a future blackberry dessert craving! Blackberry Buttermilk Panna Cottas with Blackberry Compote For panna cottas 3/4 lb blackberries (about 3 cups) 1 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk 2 3/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (from two 1/4-oz envelopes) 1/4 cup water 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 2/3 cup sugar 2 tablespoons blackberry syrup, store-bought or homemade (see cooks' note, below) For compote 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup crème de cassis 2 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1/2 lb blackberries (about 2 cups) Special equipment: 6 (6-oz) molds (preferably nonreactive) Make panna cottas: Purée blackberries with buttermilk in a blender until very smooth, then pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl and let stand 1 minute to soften. While gelatin softens, heat cream and sugar in a saucepan over moderate heat until hot, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture, stirring until dissolved. Stir cream mixture and syrup into blackberry purée, then pour through cleaned sieve into a bowl. Pour mixture into molds and chill, covered, until firm, at least 8 hours. Make compote while panna cottas finish chilling: Boil water, crème de cassis, and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, then pour syrup over blackberries and gently stir to combine. To serve panna cottas, run a thin knife along edge of molds to loosen if necessary and dip molds in a small bowl of warm water 3 to 5 seconds, then invert panna cottas onto plates and gently lift off molds. Spoon berries and syrup over and around each panna cotta. Cooks' notes: To make blackberry syrup, heat 1/4 cup blackberry jam with 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until jam is dissolved. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Panna cottas can be chilled in molds up to 1 day. Compote can be made 2 hours ahead and kept at room temperature. Linda