Blueberrry Jam

How can you not fall in love with that color?

Paying $1.99 for a pint of blueberries last week got me pretty excited. Berries tend to be a bit of an expensive treat for my single income household. They were so delicious too! Usually if we do buy blueberries, you get some that are way too tart. This is an added price you pay for purchasing fruit that is not in season. In keeping with my new motivation to eat fresh and local, as well as my new canning adventure, I decided I would make blueberry jam. Especially since it was one of the only jam recipes I have come across that did not need added pectin.


I was told one of our local farms had started harvesting their fresh blueberries. Since I wanted to stick with local fruit, I made the half hour drive to the farm on Sunday morning to get my berries to use in the jam. Unfortunately they did not have any homegrown berries for me, but they did have pints shipped out of New Jersey. I guess that was better than the California berries that are on sale at the supermarket. I was also disappointed in the price. $3.99 a pint!! Not so cheap, but I already my heart set on making jam. The recipe called for 8 cups of blueberries, so I spent almost $16 on blueberries alone. Next time I will try and check some pricing before I decide what I'm making. The whole point of my canning adventure is to have fruits and veggies purchased during their peak (cheap) season last me through the winter. I did get some fresh homegrown strawberries for a low cost that I plan on drying tonight.
 **I went shopping Monday night, before I published this post, and found blueberries for $1.49 a container. Sadly, they were from California so they were not ideal, but I couldn't let that price go to waste! I bought another 4 pints to make another batch tonight.

This recipe is in a two part process. First you need to make the jam, then you need to can it if you do not plan to use it right away. If you are canning your jam, I suggest setting up your canner before you start making the jam. You will need to put your jars in the canner and fill it with water to 2 inches above the jars. Cover (do not lock lid) and bring to a rolling boil.

To make Blueberry Jam:

• 8 cups blueberries
• 1 cup sugar*
• 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice 

 Put all blueberries in a medium sized saucepan. Using a hand potato masher, press the blueberries to release their juices. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Stir in sugar, then stir in lemon juice. Continue to boil until jam reaches desired gel (see gel test below), stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir a few times during this 5 minutes to help any bubbles escape.

*the original recipe I followed called for 2 cups sugar. I was unaware that my sugar supply was low and did not realize until I had already started to cook the berries. With only 1 cup left, I used what I had and hoped for the best! Some of the jam recipes I've read state the correct amount of sugar is necessary for the jam to gel properly. My jam turned out great, so I adjusted the recipe I'll use from now on to 1 cup. Why add the extra cup of sugar if it is not needed?

It was so interesting watching my pot of blueberries turn into jam. The color transformation was amazing. It went from being the typical blue of the berry, to a pink/fuchsia, then to a deep purple. Boiling down to a gel was a bit more time consuming and messy than I had expected. Occasionally the bubbles from the boil would burst and send drops of jam into the air, which landed on my stove, walls, and arms if I was stirring. Luckily my limbs survived, but I am pretty sure some of the droplets of jam stained the paint on my walls. It is not very noticeable, unless you are looking very closely. I am baffled at how to prevent this from happening. Putting a lid on the pot may cause it to not reduce down to a gel. The only idea coming to me at the moment is to take up some sheets of tin foil on the walls surrounding the oven. Maybe next time. Please leave a comment if you have any other ideas that may help!

To Can Using the Boiling Water Method:

The recipe I followed suggested using the boiling water method of preserving. Some of my research said this method is archaic and should not be used. The recipe came out of a book that lists both the boiling water method and pressure cooking method as good systems of preservation, depending on the ingredients canned. Seems to me some foods, such as greens and meats, need specific pounds of pressure to ensure the integrity of the food stays intact. Other foods can be canned using the boiling water method safely. I am a newbie, so I plan on following the directions on specific recipes and hoping for the best! One day I hope to be able to speak with more knowledge on the subject.

1. Prep your jars. This is what I suggested to do before you started cooking the jam. Your canner will take a long time to boil and you do not want the finished jam sitting around (aka collecting bacteria) waiting for the jars to be ready. Fill the canner with jars. You want as many that will fit in the pot, no matter what your expected yield. They are going to be processed with rolling boiling water and having a filled pot will prevent them from falling over. Fill the jars and pot with water, covering the jars with at least 2 inches of water.
2. When jam is ready, remove a jar with jar tongs and dump water into a bowl with jar lids. The hot water will prep the lids by softening the seal. Stand jar on a laid out towel on your counter. 
3. Spoon jam into jar, leaving 1/4" head space. Be sure to remove all bubbles from jam. 
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you run out of jam. 
5. Use a damp cloth and wipe the edges of the jars. To ensure a proper seal, nothing can be between the lid and the jar.
6. Lift a lid out of the hot water bath with a magnetic wand and center it on top of your jar. Repeat  for all jars. 
7. Fasten rings on jars to finger-tip tight. Basically, when you start to feel resistance, stop. You do not want the rings tight at all. 
8. Lower jars back into pot and return to a rapid rolling boil. Once the boil is rolling, set a timer for 10 minutes. 
9. Turn off heat and let jars sit for 5 minutes before moving out of water.
10. After 5 minutes, remove jars and set on a towel that is laid out on the counter. You will have a little pool of water on top of the lid. Resist the urge to tip jar and pour off. The cans are not sealed yet. Tipping the jars could hinder the sealing process. You will hear the lids make a pop sound. That is the happy sound of your lids sealing.
11. Let jars cool overnight.
12. Check seals by gently pressing up on the edge of the lid. A sealed lid will not budge

I think I did a good job pressuring these half-pints. There seemed to be no signs of a faulty seal. One jar did seem to have a few droplets of water on the inside of the lid. Not sure if this is a bad sign or not, but I will definitely be keeping an eye on it. One of my jars wound up being opened the very next morning. I was packing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which is my go-to lunch option when I have nothing already cooked up on Monday's, and realized I had no open jelly. Even though I had a jar of store bought grape jelly in the cabinet, I could not resist using the new blueberry jam. It was delicious! Sophia tasted the jam as soon as it was finished cooking and said she didn't like it. I still packed her a peanut butter and jam sandwich for lunch at school and she came home with no complaints. She must not have realized she was trying something new when it was disguised as a typical pb&j.

Gel test:

Stick a plate in the freezer. Drip a small amount of jam onto cold plate and let cool. Using your finger, attempt to push the jam across the plate. If the blob of jam wrinkles, it is ready. If it smears, continue to let it cook.