Low Sugar Blueberry Jam

Thank you to a great friend, I have been blessed with the opportunity to pick large quantities of "Patriot Blueberries" for jam making. Her father-in-law cultivated the Patriot blueberry high bush during his time as a faculty member at the University of Maine at Orono. These extra large, plump high bush blueberries are perfect for my low sugar jam recipe.


• Blueberries - 10 cups whole berries, frozen 
• Lemon juice - either fresh squeezed or bottled. 1/4 cup.
• Water - 1/2 cup (only if you use fresh berries)
• Sugar -  4.5 cups of dry, granulated (table) sugar.
• Pectin - 4 Tablespoons no-sugar needed pectin

Step one - Pick your berries. 

Remove all the stems, leaves and debris. Place in a cardboard box in freezer. The cardboard absorbs excess water. Once berries are frozen, place in plastic bags or continue on to step two of the jam making process.

Step two - Mash Berries

Set out 10 cups of frozen berries for 15 or so minutes. They will thaw enough to be able to smash them with a potato masher. You'll end up with about 6 to 7 cups of crushed blueberries. 

Note: if you want to make a smooth blueberry spread; instead of crushing the blueberries, just run the blueberries through a blender until you get a smooth consistency.

Step three - Wash the jars and lids

While waiting for the berries to thaw slightly for mashing, wash the jars in the dishwasher using a "sanitize" cycle. It would be ok to leave jars in dishwasher until you are ready to fill with jam, but I prefer to move them to boiling water  and use the "warm bath" process while filling the jars with jam. 

NOTE: Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.

Step four - Sweetener & pectin

The precise measurements are found in directions inside each and every box of pectin sold (every brand, Ball, Kerr, Mrs. Wages, etc. has directions inside). I prefer Ball Low or No Sugar pectin. Mix the 4 tablespoons of pectin with 1/2 cup sugar and set aside. 

Step 5 - Mix the blueberries with the pectin and bring to full boil

Stir the pectin and lemon juice (water if used fresh berries) into the blueberries and put the mix in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning). It should take about 5 to 10 minutes to get it to a full boil (the kind that cannot be stirred away).

Step 6 - Add remaining sugar and return to boil

When the berry-pectin mix has reached a full boil, add the remaining 4 cups of sugar and then bring it back to a boil. Boil hard for a couple of minutes.

Step 7 - Jarring Jam

Fill them to within ¼-inch of the top, wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Then put them into the boiling water canner!

Step 8 - Process the jars in the boiling water bath

Keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the water boiling. In general, boil them for 5 minutes.  Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. 

Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. But after about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. They still are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them in the first 6 months after you prepare them!

-- republished from http://www.pickyourown.org/blueberryjam.htm