Day 3: Blueberry Jam

Holy Sh%*  please tell me that is not a 5 gallon bucket filled with blueberries.  It is.  I guess the blueberry fairy, aka, the husband has been putting his morning to good use.   Looks like I am not going to the lake today.

OK, so I need to stop pussy footing around with fancy desserts that use one or two cups of blueberries if I am going to make a serious dent in this bucket of berries.  That can only mean one thing: It's time to make jam.

Canning jam like canning anything else, is tedious and time consuming, but come February when you crack open a jar of jam or tomatoes, it will make you very happy.

What you will need:

Lots of blueberries
sugar

pectin
lemon
salt (optional but I like to add a dash)
canning jars and lids
canning tools (especially the jar lifting thing and the wide mouthed funnel)
large pot with cover
food processor or blender to chop up berries or you can use a masher

For 4 pints of blueberry jam:

8C blueberries
1 box pectin (I like to use the no sugar pectin because I use a 1/3 of the sugar that most recipes call for.)
2 ½C sugar
1/4t  lemon
1/4t  salt

Clean jars and lids.  Some people like to boil them, but the dishwasher works fine in my opinion.

Fill large pot with enough water to cover canning jars by 1-2 inches.  Bring to a boil while you prepare the jam.

Rinse blueberries and pick out stems.

Add blueberries, lemon juice, pectin, 1/2 C sugar, and salt to food processor.  Pulse three or four times.  Depending on the size of your processor, you may need to process the berries in two batches.

Transfer the mixture to a heavy bottomed sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Keep stirring and do not leave unattended or pectin may cause clumping. Add 2 C sugar and stir constantly until it comes to a boil that cannot be stirred away.  Continue to boil while stirring for one minute.

Use a ladle and wide mouth funnel to fill the jars.  Leave a little space at the top or else you will have mess on your hands.

Place lids on jars and screw tops on, but not too tight

Gently lift each jar with your jar lifting tool and place in pot of boiling water. Process for 10 minutes.

Remove jars from pot and let cool. You will start to hear popping sounds as the lids seal. When jars have cooled, press down on lid.  If there is any wiggle room, you will need to reprocess.


Jam should keep for at least a year unless it is the bacon jam I made a couple years back and that would probably give you botulism.
Enjoy!