Here is how I made my blackberry jam and please ignore the blurry photos, my iPhone didn't want to cooperate:
Rinse your berries throughly with hot water and shake the colander as rinsing. (shown in my Preserve colander)
Place half of the berries into your blender and puree for about 10 seconds. You still want the puree to be slightly lumpy for texture. When you are done pureeing the berries, place them in a pot.
Add your other ingredients to the puree:
2 tsps of agar agar powder per 2 cups of liquid
2 cups of organic sugar (I split my sweet ingredient between sugar and stevia to lower the calorie count)
Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium.
Stir until fully mixed.
Allow the mix to boil until it has reduced about a 4th.
Bring out your sanitized jars and fill each jar with 1" remaining at the top. (Mixture should fill 6 7oz jars)
Clean the edge of the jars before closing.
Place the jars in a canning pot with 1" of water covering the jars.
Bring the pot to a boil and boil for about 20-25 minutes.
When the jars have sealed you can leave them in the pot to cool or remove them to a heat resistant surface to cool.
Check the seal of one of the jars.
Enjoy!
My opinion of the agar agar powder is that it sets very quickly, is still spreadable even if it seems solid and does not change the flavor of the jam. It is about 5 times more expensive than pectin and does not have the typical gelatin texture of pectin.
I also took some photos of ridiculous amounts of plastic at Target the other day:
You receive five cents back for every bag you bring to the store. . . .that can add up over time.
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