The arrival of July is a long-anticipated event in my little upstate NY kitchen. Even though strawberries are the star in June as soon as they are ripe for the picking, I'm already looking ahead. You see, July is where all the action is when it comes to fruit – late summer strawberries, red and golden raspberries, sweet and tart cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, and of course, blueberries.
It doesn't matter to me how hot it gets outside; my jam pot will continue bubbling away with preserves just about every weekend throughout the summer. My oven will be working too, baking up fruit pies, crumbles, and other fruit-centric baked goods. After a long winter that normally spills well into spring, I don't mind a little extra heat as I'm preserving away a small piece of summer to get us through the coming months when that inevitable chill arrives in the air once again.
There's nothing fancy about this blueberry jam, and that's why I love it so much. It's good old simple blueberry jam, with a little bit of lemon just to give a touch of brightness to the plump, juicy berries. Of course, you can add a pinch of cinnamon or your own favorite spice if you like – I often do when I'm cooking up batch after batch to add a little variety – that's the beauty of small-batch preserving!
This jam is perfect on your morning pancakes, but works equally well stirred right into the pancake batter for very blueberry pancakes. I often cook the jam without any commercial pectin as well (more like grandma used to make!) so that it has a softer set, making a wonderful for topping ice cream. It's also lovely folded into fresh whipped cream, or beaten into frosting for vanilla cupcakes. The possibilities are endless!
Win your very own set of FreshTECH goodies from Ball worth more than $600!
Blueberry Lemon Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons powdered pectin
- 2 2/3 cups blueberries, crushed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- lemon zest, from one whole lemon
- 3 1/3 cups granulated sugar
Directions
- In the FreshTECH Jam & Jelly Maker, sprinkle the pectin evenly over the bottom of the pot fitted with the stirrer. Pour in the crushed blueberries, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Press the Jam button. The cook time will automatically default to 21 minutes. Press Enter.
- Wait 4 minutes for the appliance to sound 4 short beeps, alerting you to add the sugar. Remove the lid and gradually pour in the sugar as the stirrer continues stirring. Place the lid back on the pot.
- The appliance will continue cooking and stirring your jam. When it beeps again, the jam is complete. Press cancel, unplug the appliance, and remove the lid.
- Carefully remove the stirrer (be careful; the jam will be hot). Skim any foam from the top.
- In the meantime, preheat your jars in the Automatic Home Canning System. Remove the inner pot and rack, and fill the inner pot with warm water to the fill line. Place the rack back into the inner pot and place the empty jars on top of the rack.
- Close and lock the lid, and press Pre-Heat and then Start. The green Ready light will flash once the jars are finished pre-heating.
- When you're ready to fill your jars, unlock and open the lid of the Automatic Home Canning System. Remove one hot jar at a time, fill it with jam to 1/4" headspace, and wipe the rim of the jar. Center the lid on the jar an twist on the band until fingertip tight. Return the filled jar to the pot. Repeat with the remaining jars.
- Close and lock the lid, and press Jams & Jellies, and then Recipe 1. Press Start to begin preserving. When the appliance beeps and the Ready light flashes, your jam has been successfully preserved. Press Stop, and unlock and open the lid.
- Remove the jars from the pot using the jar lifter, and place them on a towel. Allow them to cool for at least 12 hours. The seals should suck down (you'll hear a popping noise as they do).
This giveaway is provided to you by Ball Home Canning and Jarden Home Brands. The views and opinions expressed by contributors on Food Fanatic are based entirely upon the contributor's experiences with Ball Home Canning products. Neither the contributor nor Food Fanatic was compensated monetarily by the brand for this post, but the contributor did receive the items listed for review.
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