How To Make Scrumptious Blueberry Jam

We've been drowning in blueberries the last several days... we went blueberry picking and have since made blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, and lots of blueberry jam.  I thought I'd take a few minutes to share with you how we make our blueberry freezer jam.  It's really quite simple to do! 

My recipe is a reduced-sugar recipe, so you can enjoy more of the fresh fruit taste.  It also doesn't require Sure-jell or any kind of pectin; you really don't need to use it with blueberries.

One thing to keep in mind is that you want to work in small batches, or your jam may not set properly.  I've had good results doing six cups per batch, so...

Rinse six cups of blueberries and pour them into a large, heavy pot; set pot to medium high.

As blueberries come to a simmer, mash them with a potato masher until they are a bit soupy in consistency.  Let them simmer for 2-3 minutes, then slowly add in three cups of white sugar, stirring constantly.

Bring to an even boil, where the pot is still bubbling although you are stirring, and let boil gently for about 5-7 minutes.

When you think the jam has thickened a bit, put a tablespoon or two of the jam on a small plate and place it in the freezer for one minute.  When you pull the plate out and tilt it diagonally, does the jam try to hold it's shape a bit, or is it runny?  If it tries to hold a shape, you are ready to remove the pot from the burner.

Ladle the jam into clean jelly jars (you'll need six of them, although I used larger jars here since I was out of jelly jars), put on the lids and rings, and let sit on a cooling rack until they've reached room temperature, which may take a few hours.

Once the jam is ready, I put one in the fridge to use right away, and the others in my deep freeze for later :) 

(We've prepared peach jam the same way, using peeled and chopped peaches... both are scrumptious spooned onto a slice of homemade bread or warmed over vanilla ice cream!)

Blueberry jam over my cinnamon raisin walnut bread

What's your favorite kind of jam?

           Enjoy,





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{Linked with Finer Things Friday, Just Something I Whipped Up, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, and 30 Minute Blog Challenge}
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