For my sixth submission to the Whip It Up challenge, I made Blueberry Jam. (This also fulfills #96 on my 101 Things list: Make my own jelly/preserves.)
It could just be me, but making jam gives me a mental picture of some random woman back in the olden days, wearing a long dress and apron, her hair tied up in a sharp bun, carefully lining up glistening jars on her wooden pantry shelf. “I made jam,” she would have declared proudly as she took a step back to admire her handiwork.
Believe me, there was NO SUCH TOILING going on in my kitchen last night. In fact, this had to be some of easiest jam in the world to make. It took about 15 minutes from start to finish.
I picked up a small container of blueberries from my local Whole Foods market when I was walking home from the Metro last night after work. (Hey! I just remembered that I bought organic blueberries, which means I made Organic Blueberry Jam. Ooh-la-la!)
I rinsed the berries (making sure I removed a few mini-stems that were still attached), put them in a large bowl, and then I smooshed the berries with the back of a fork. I added the lemon juice and sugar, then let that sit while I brought the pectin and water to a boil. I stirred that mixture for a minute, and poured it over the berries. I stirred it for a few more minutes, then deposited the mixture into a clean jar. DONE.
The jam had solidified to its proper jelly-state by this morning. I’ve tasted it, and I declare it to be most delicious. Would I make it again? Sure. I might even use more berries next time and make a larger batch.
Alterations that I made to the recipe below: I only had 1 cup of berries and the recipe called for 3 cups, so I split the rest of the ingredients in thirds as well. I did, however, use much less than 1/3 of the amount of sugar it called for, and it’s still plenty sweet (adding 1/3 of the sugar the recipe called for would have been over 1.5 cups, and I used less than 1/2 a cup!).
Here’s what the jam looked like after all the ingredients were mixed and stirred:
I saved the jar from some store-bought strawberry jam and used that for my homemade blueberry jam.
Blueberry Jam
3 cups blueberries (I used 1 cup)
5 1/4 cups granulated sugar (I used about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (I used 1 tsp)
1 package powdered pectin (I used 1/3 of the package)
3/4 cup water (I used 1/4 cup water)
Crush berries in a large bowl; add lemon juice. Stir in sugar and let stand for 10 minutes. In a saucepan, mix pectin and water; bring to a full boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Mix pectin mixture into fruit; stir for 3 minutes. Pour fruit mixture into freezer containers or small canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Cover immediately and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Store in the freezer.
14 Comments
Yum! Homemade blueberry jam is one of my favorite things to eat. It is amazing how simple and tasty it is!
That is awesome! It’s a very manageable quantity, too, instead of a steaming vat of fruity lava. That’s what I picture when I think of making jam, anyway.
I might even be able to make that! And blueberry jam is probably my favorite jam/jelly.
How cool is that – we might just need to start changing your name to “Zandria Crocker” instead of Betty Crocker..haha.
I remember being a kid…my mother used to make pretty much everything from scratch, jams/jellys, pickles etc. If it could be canned, she was all over it. It’s something I’ve never done, but someday I would like to give it a try.
~K
I am a huge fan of blueberries! Thanks for the recipe…I am on it!
I can’t wait to try this recipe!! Thanks so much for posting it.
And I have the same image in my head when I think of a woman making jam. I think when I get around to making this recipe I’ll have to get me the dress/apron/bun combo and look all cool and superkitchenwoman:P
Oooh–that sounds delicious! Jam is one of those things that I just always assumed was a lot of work and therefore easier to buy. Looks like I was mistaken!
That looks absolutely wonderful!
YUMO. And hella-easy. Luv it.
Ooooh….that looks really good. If this isn’t spoken for, could I send you my mailing adrees, Z???
okay that is awesome. you are such a culinary pro these days.
ok, I’ll admit. Impressive. And organic, to boot!
The recipe looks so good! I’ll have to try it myself
Yeah, I always picture making jam to be this arduous process with a hundred jars of jam lying around afterwards. This looks great!