This Low-Sugar Rose Blackberry Jam is a fragrant, gently sweet spread that transforms fresh or frozen blackberries into something truly special with a subtle floral twist. Made without pectin and refined sugar, it’s a low histamine–friendly way to preserve summer fruit while keeping flavors bright and balanced. Whether spooned over pancakes, swirled into yogurt alternatives, or tucked into the freezer for later, this jam is equal parts nostalgic and nourishing.
For other low sugar jam recipes, also try my sweet cherry jam and vanilla blueberry jam.
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✔️ Why This Recipe is Great
Sweet Low Histamine Sauce: with fresh blackberries as the base, this is a great vegan-friendly dessert sauce for topping ice cream, chia pudding, overnight oats, or even a fruit salad. Much like the other low histamine sauces on the site, this rose blackberry jam is versatile enough to be used as a dip, sauce, or drizzle for your favorite bread and fruit slices.
Much Cheaper Than Store-Bought: It's hard to find reasonably-priced jam sauces, so making your own at home is a cost-effective way to enhance your home-cooking.
You can easily double or halve this recipe, so if you need more or less of this to make something else, just follow the steps with your fruit of choice.
🌺 Ingredients
Blackberries: you can use fresh or frozen blackberries (I used some we picked on my birthday last summer!), but make sure that they're clean before adding them to the water. These thorny blackberry bushes grow all over the DC area, where we can pick fresh blackberries into late August.
I usually go to a pick-your-own and freeze a few pounds of berries at the end of the season, when they're cheapest and farms just want to move onto the next crop. Unlike raspberries, most blackberries don't get very sweet, making them a prime candidate for turning into fruit syrups!
Date Syrup or Honey: these natural sweeteners provide gentle sweetness and depth of flavor; date syrup offers a rich, caramel-like taste, while honey adds floral notes—use in moderation and choose high-quality, additive-free options.
Monk Fruit: when you’re trying to eat low-sugar, monk fruit extract will be one of your best friends. It packs a sweetness level approximately 200x that of table sugar, so it should be used sparingly.
Hibiscus Powder: made from dried hibiscus petals, this vibrant, tart powder adds natural color and a subtle cranberry-like flavor; use sparingly and choose a pure, additive-free powder for best tolerance.
Rose Water: a fragrant, floral liquid distilled from rose petals, rose water adds a delicate aroma and subtle sweetness to recipes—choose pure, additive-free rose water for the best flavor and low histamine tolerance.
Vanilla Powder: this dried, powdered form of the vanilla bean is twice as powerful as the traditional vanilla extract, but be careful that you buy real vanilla, without added sweeteners or fillers.
See recipe card for exact ingredients and quantities.
🥄 How to Make Rose Blackberry Jam (Step-by-Step)
Step 1) Thoroughly wash your blackberries, and then cut the larger ones into thirds and the smaller ones in half (image 1).
Step 2) Place them in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and turn the heat on medium-low (image 2).
Step 3) While the pan heats up under the berries, add the date syrup to the berries and then measure out the monk fruit, hibiscus powder, and a pinch of salt into a separate bowl (image 3). Do not measure the vanilla or rose water yet.
Step 4) After a few minutes, your blackberries and syrup should start to get mushy and bubble up, and you should start stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon, lightly smashing some of the berries as they further soften. Lower the heat to low and give this mixture about 2 more minutes of simmering (if it's still boiling, lower the heat even more), continuing to crush the berries and blend them with the date syrup.
Step 5) After those 2 minutes, take your potato masher (or a large whisk) and mash all the berries. Add your monk fruit, hibiscus powder, and salt mixture and blend thoroughly (image 4). If you want a very smooth mixture, use an immersion blender to even out the texture, but keep in mind that if you blend for more than 1 minute, you may start cutting the seeds smaller and making them harder to remove.
Step 6) Add the vanilla powder, rose water, and water to the mixture and cook for 1 more minute, then turn off the heat and continue to stir the mixture for another minute or two before moving it onto a cool surface (image 5).
Step 7) You can leave out the water if your jam already seems thin enough, but if you cook much longer, you'll start to cook out the flavor. Most people do end up preferring to remove the seeds from their jam (though I personally like the texture). To do this, simply allow your jam to cool for a few more minutes and then push it through a fine mesh sieve using a spoon. Place your fresh jam into a glass jar to use immediately, and safely freeze the rest.
🧂 Variations
- Lower-Sugar Jam: Reduce or omit the date syrup or honey and rely on monk fruit or stevia for a lighter, low-sugar version.
- Honey-Free / Vegan Option: Use date syrup only to keep the jam fully vegan and low histamine.
- Milder Floral Flavor: Reduce or omit the rose water if you prefer a subtler floral note or have a sensitivity.
- Tart Berry Jam: Increase the hibiscus powder or use hibiscus tea instead for a tangier, more vibrant flavor without adding citrus.
- Chunky Blackberry Jam: Lightly mash the blackberries instead of fully cooking down for a spoonable, chunky texture.
- Thicker Jam Texture: Cook a little longer or reduce the added water for a thicker, spoonable consistency without using pectin.
🧊 Freezing or Storage
This jam is great in the freezer! It's best fresh, of course, but it loses very little by spending up to 3 months in the freezer, and I recommend saving it in an ice cube tray if possible, to make single servings easier to defrost. Alternately, if not eating low histamine it will stay good int he fridge for up to a week.
👨🏻🍳 Expert Notes & Tips
Date Syrup: you can sub honey or maple syrup, but it needs a bit of traditional sweetener alongside the monk fruit. If your stomach can't yet handle sugar, you can omit it, but the texture may be overly-thick and it won't be as sweet.
Hibiscus Powder: if you can't tolerate hibiscus, you can sub 1 teaspoon lemon juice, if tolerated.
Rose Water: you can sub ½ teaspoon orange blossom water or just use the vanilla powder, but I highly recommend first trying it with rose water.
❓ What to Serve With Rose Blackberry Jam
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this jam uses fresh or frozen blackberries and low histamine sweeteners, but individual tolerance may vary—consume soon after preparation for best results.
Yes, simply use date syrup instead of honey to make it fully vegan.
The jam naturally thickens as the blackberries cook down, creating a spreadable texture without added pectin.
Rose water adds a subtle floral aroma and flavor, enhancing the blackberry’s natural taste while keeping the recipe low histamine.
Yes, you can omit the date syrup or honey and rely solely on monk fruit or stevia for sweetness.
Have you tried this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Low-Sugar Rose Blackberry Jam (No Pectin)
Ingredients
- 1 Cup organic blackberries 6oz., washed
- 1 Tablespoon date syrup or honey
- ¼ teaspoon monk fruit extract or stevia powder
- ½ teaspoon hibiscus powder
- Pinch of salt
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla powder
- ½ teaspoon rose water optional
- 2 Tablespoons water optional
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash your blackberries, and then cut the larger ones into thirds and the smaller ones in half.
- Place them in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and turn the heat on medium-low.
- While the pan heats up under the berries, add the date syrup to the berries and then measure out the monk fruit, hibiscus powder, and pinch of salt into a separate bowl. Do not measure the vanilla or rose water yet.
- After a few minutes, your blackberries and syrup should start to get mushy and bubble up, and you should start stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon, lightly smashing some of the berries as they further soften. Lower the heat to low and give this mixture about 2 more minutes of simmering (if it's still boiling, lower the heat even more), continuing to crush the berries and blend them with the date syrup.
- After those 2 minutes, take your potato masher (or a large whisk) and mash all the berries. Add your monk fruit, hibiscus powder, and salt mixture and blend thoroughly. If you want a very smooth mixture, use an immersion blender to even out the texture, but keep in mind that if you blend for more than 1 minute you may start cutting the seeds smaller and making them harder to remove.
- Add the vanilla powder, rose water, and water to the mixture and cook for 1 more minute, then turn off the heat and continue to stir the mixture for another minute or two before moving it onto a cool surface.
- You can leave out the water if your jam already seems thin enough, but if you cook much longer you'll start to cook out the flavor. Most people do end up preferring to remove the seeds from their jam (though I personally like the texture). To do this, simply allow your jam to cool for a few more minutes and then push it through a fine mesh sieve using a spoon. Place your fresh jam into a glass jar to use immediately and safely freeze the rest.
Notes
Nutrition
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