Deb, I used to have lots of blackberry, and black raspberry bushes growing wild here. But, the guy that was mowing my fields mowed off a lot of them and I didn't realize it. We have not had much rain in the summer the last few years, and what berries we do get are so small, hard and full of seeds. I was thinking if I got some "tame" ones, put in the edge of the woods where the wild ones used to grow, they would be near enough to the house I could water them if need be.
We enjoy making unusual jam, but most of ours are just combinations of fruits... never would have thought to add chocolate!
Strawberries make a good fruit to mix in. I really like mixing 2/3 strawberry to 1/3 blackberry or even better, black raspberry. Strawberry with red raspberry is the all time favorite around here. I buy a mixture of pluots and plums, the mix those with crushed pineapple.
I hate the seeds in blackberries. When I make pie, I do something odd. I heat the berries enough to run them through a food mill to get the seeds out, then mix that pulp in with apples in the pie. The apples take on the flavor of the berries, and give it some texture so it is not like eating pie made with jam.
