Simple Canning- How to Make Homemade Blueberry Jam!
It is blueberry season and if you have access to fresh blueberries, now is the time to can some fresh blueberry jam! My mother and I got together this past weekend and did just that. Here is her easy recipe and tutorial for making and canning fabulous blueberry jam!
Want to know how? Mom learned from her mom and has lots of great tips to make the perfect jam.
Start with fresh blueberries. We braved the heat and mosquitos and picked about a gallon of blueberries at the local blueberry farm.
To do canning, it is good to have the proper supplies. We bought small canning jars and lids, and put water on to boil. The pot on the left is full of water, the canning jars and the metal parts of the lids in order to sterilize them. Bring the water to boil The pot in the middle holds the canning rack where we will place the filled jars to seal them. Fill this pot about 3/4 full and bring that water to boil. The pot on the right is going to be used to cook the jam.
One final pot holds the round seals for the lids. You want this water to get hot, but do not boil them.
Wash the blueberries! You will have to sort through them and get rid of any little sticks or stems, mushy berries and unripe ones. One of us, and I’m not naming any names here, picked a lot of sticks.
Just saying.
For this Recipe we used:
4 cups crushed fresh blueberries
1 package of Sure Jell Powdered Fruit Pectin
4 cups sugar
We used a food processor to crush the berries. Just a couple pulses of the food processor is plenty. You don’t want it to be totally smooth. Measure out 4 cups of crushed berries.
Pour the berries in your pot and set your burner on high heat. Pour in the fruit pectin and stir constantly. You want the mixture to get to a rolling boil that you cannot stir down. Stir until it comes to that point. Then pour in the 4 cups of sugar all at once. Continue stirring until it comes back to a boil. Boil for one minute, then remove from heat- it now needs to be tested to see if it is done.
Now for an old family secret! You see berries are not all alike. If you have a wet season, the berries have more water in them. Sometimes they have more natural pectin in them than other times. In other words, the cooking time can vary depending on the berry. A glass plate that has been sitting in the freezer will help you to check for proper consistency. Simply add a spoonful of the jam onto the frozen plate and put it back in the freezer for just a few moments. Then check the consistency. If it is the consistency of jam, it is done! If it is too thin, just put the pot back on the burner for another minute and try again.
Once the jam is ready, pull a sterilized jar out of boiling water with a set of tongs, and ladle the jam into the jar using a funnel. Fill to the lower rim of the jar and then use a warm cloth to wipe the top of the rim clean before putting on the lid.
Put the sterilized lid on the jar. (It does not have to be real tight). Place the jars in the canner and lower them into the boiling water using the canning rack.
The water needs to be about 2″ above the jars. Add water if needed. Boil for 10 minutes. Gently lift the jars out one by one with tongs and put on the counter to seal.
You know they have sealed when you hear a “ping”!
Now all you have to do is eat it! Nothing better than fresh berries on a biscuit!
This recipe made 7 jars of jam. We actually ended up making another batch for a total of 14 jars and even had some berries left over for cereal. Fun project!
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I love your recipe….I have just recently started canning just call me city girl gone country. I notice in your recipe you call for a packet of fruit pectin could you tell me what the measured out portion that would be.
Thank you can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi Paulette!
Yes, those are half pint jars. Any size would work though. Enjoy!
suzy
I was also wondering what size jars you used. They look like 1/2 pints but I’d like to be sure. Thanks! Paulette
My rule of thumb is: for every cup of sugar, substitute 3/4 cup honey. urns out pretty good almost everytime.
Excellent recipe!! Your checking method is ideal as well.. Thanx for sharing.. jam came out perfect God Bless
My recipe calls for sugar. I’m not sure what substituting honey would do. You could certainly try it, but I can’t guarantee the outcome.
suzy
Can you use honey instead of sugar? And how much?
what size jar did you use?
I froze my blueberries! Can I still use them for the jam still?
Thanks for the tutorial! I just ordered 12 pints of blueberries from my local CSA and I was going to freeze them, but I may end up making this jam instead. It looks delicious, and I love the beautiful color of blueberries when they’re cooked and blended. Thanks for linking up to This is How We Roll Linky Party!
Your jam looks awesome. I love canning and made mango jam this year and have made others including strawberry freezer jam, that was great.
Thanks for linking up to Wake Up Wednesday,
Bev
I’ve never made homemade jam, although I do want to start. 🙂
I LOVE homemade jam, and this looks so yummy! I would love for you to share this over at my new link party Making Memories Mondays going on now!
Cathy
I made this tonight. I used turbinado sugat (sugar in the raw). I tripled the recipe. It’s delicious! My daughter said that tasting it made her day.
I have some fresh blueberries from last season in my freezer.. could I use those.
If you get the sure jell sugar free pectin it tells how to make sugar free or reduced sugar jam
Hi Stephanie,
Yes, sugar is necessary for this recipe. You may be able to find a sugar free recipe somewhere on the web, but I’m not sure what they would substitute it with.
suzy
Hello,
I was wondering if you have to add sugar? Sugar-free blueberry jam? Or is the sugar necessary jam making?
Hi Tabatha,
No, this is not freezer jam. It is meant to be stored in your pantry. It is good for about a year as long as the jars are sealed.
suzy
Hi thanks for the great tutorial! Is this meant to be stored in the freezer?
Hi Brandy!
I’ve never tried freezer jam, but have heard lots about it. I tend to do things the way my mom does and canning is something that she does every year. One year she surprised us with 12 different homemade jams. She called it her own personal jelly of the month club. ha!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Thank you for making this so simple! I have made freezer jam many times, but I keep getting this eery feeling that we’ll get a big hurricane this year and I’ll loose everything I’ve put into the freezer. So I have decided to give canning a try. My parents and grandparents did this often. I want to learn so I can pass this on to my kids. Can’t wait to see what else you come up with!!
Looks really yummy!!
It did turn out very tasty. I had some on an English muffin . I’m looking forward to canning some more tasty things with you.