Blackberry-Vanilla-Black Pepper Jam

And, the last of the blackberry jams. Hope you enjoy!

2 pounds blackberries
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Place peppercorns in a tea strainer or similar. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and macerate 1-2 hours. Bring to a boil and let boil for 5 minutes before removing peppercorns and vanilla pod (save the pod, rinsing it well, to toss in a jug of bourbon or to put in sugar for vanilla sugar). Finish boiling until it reaches the gel-point, then water bath process for 15 minutes. Makes 4 half-pints.

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