The organization of Metlife is disgusting and sends people in circles. There is no definitive number to contact them...there are a hundred and you will get all the wrong ones unless you check back with the original employer to what contact number they may have.
To prep blackberries for making a puree: Heat the blackberries, fresh or thawed, in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice for every 1 cup of berries, fresh or thawed. Heat to warm the berries through, stirring as needed. Blackberry puree can be made with or without seeds. One cup of fresh blackberries produces 1/2 cup of puree, while 1 cup of thawed berries produce 3/4 cup of puree. Store the puree, seeded or seedless, in an airtight container or jar in the fridge for three to five days.
We went in search of an easy recipe that doesn't require store bought pectin. We were so happy with the results in our red raspberry jam we decided to try it with black raspberries, blackberries, sour cherries, and strawberries. The recipe is a 1 to 1 ratio of berries to sugar with about a tbl of lemon juice.The sour cherries were the exception as they needed more lemon juice and less sugar. For sour cherry jam: heat 4 1/2 tbl of lemon juice with 1 1/2 cups- 2 cups of sugar until sugar desolves and then add fruit.or sour cherry jam: heat 4 1/2 tbl of lemon juice with 1 1/2 cups- 2 cups of sugar until sugar desolves and then add fruit.