Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

wild blueberry jam

Recipe by
Brad Nichols
Pleasantville, NY

After dealing with my raspberries this year, a neighbor shared some of their wild blueberries...after tasting them I couldn't resist trying to capture that flavor in a bottle for enjoyment year round. Slightly more berries and less pectin than my Raspberry version to get the right set and volume for a 12 bottle batch, but otherwise very similar. The cinnamon adds a nice finish. Can be made fully sugar free without changing any other ingredients or steps!

yield 12 half-pint jars
prep time 30 Min
cook time 30 Min
method Canning/Preserving

Ingredients For wild blueberry jam

  • 8 c
    mashed berries, about 13 cups whole
  • 1 Tbsp
    lemon juice
  • 4 c
    sugar
  • 1 tsp
    cinnamon
  • 3 Tbsp
    low/no sugar powdered pectin
  • 12 jar
    canning jars and lids, half-pint size. sterilized

How To Make wild blueberry jam

  • 1
    Mash 13 cups whole berries
  • 2
    Add powdered pectin, lemon juice and cinnamon, stir until dissolved
  • 3
    Boil berry/pectin mash 5 mins- the kind of boil you can't stir away.
  • 4
    Add Sugar and stir in to dissolve
  • 5
    Bring back to boil for another 3 minutes
  • 6
    test jam for consistency. For this step I keep a tablespoon in a glass of ice water near the stove. spoon out about a half tablespoon of the jam out of the boiling pot, and let it cool on the spoon. Then turn the spoon up on edge. If the jam either sticks to the spoon or falls off in a lump (as you would expect jam to do!), then it's ready. If it runs off like liquid, keep boiling another 1-2 mins and try again.
  • 7
    Remove from heat and ladle off any foam. The foam won't hurt anything, it just looks more appealing int he jar without it.
  • 8
    Let stand for 5 mins. This little trick prevents the fruit from floating to the top of the jar, plus it's about the right amount of time to get your jars and lids out of the pot/dishwasher and set them up to fill.
  • 9
    Fill jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Be sure wipe the top edge of the jar with a clean cloth to remove any jam or it will prevent proper sealing.
  • 10
    Add metal sealers and rings and tighten down fully.
  • 11
    Within 1-2 hours all the seals should 'pop' on the jars. A good way to check is to try and push down the center of the metal sealer lid. If it flexes it's not sealed, if it has no give...you're good!
  • 12
    Keeps for 1-2 years
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