Blue(berry) Sunshine Jam

 

 

 

I occasionally teach canning classes locally and this easy combination jam and marmalade never fails to please my students with its simplicity and bright flavors. I even shared it last year on Pomona’s Pectin’s website. All of which hasn’t prevented Blue Sunshine (in both regular and sugar-free) from being one of the most popular jams I sell through Freakin’ Flamingo, both at farmers markets and online, as well! Go figure.

So, it kind of surprised me to realize that I haven’t yet shared the recipe with all of you, right here. An omission we’re going to fix right now, while blueberry season is in full-swing. And if you’ve been freezing your berries, you should “Pin” and “Yum” this recipe while you’re thinking about it, so you can make a batch in January or February, when you’ll need a bright taste of summer to get you through the dreary winter!

What’s a “Yum”? Well, do you see that Yum button with the rest of the social sharing buttons at the bottom of of my posts? If you click on it, it will take you to Yummly, a recipe search and organizing app, that “…puts every recipe in the world in your pocket. The most powerful recipe search, the recipe sites you love, your digital recipe box, recipe recommendations just for you, and a smart shopping list – all with you wherever you go. Yummly has the #1 iPhone, iPad and Android recipe apps.” (according to Yummly’s FAQ)  You can use the Yum button to save my recipes to your personal recipe box! Visit the Flamingo Musings page on Yummly to have central access to all of the recipes on my blog, all in one place.  And I’m still going back in my archives to populate it, so if you’re a new reader, you won’t miss a thing. 🙂

And now, on to the jam!

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Blue Sunshine Jam

(Makes about 3 half-pints)

Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 smaller lemons
• 2 ½ cups water
• 2 Tbs bottled lemon juice
• 2 cups blueberries (about 12 oz by weight)
• 1 ½ cups sugar, divided
• 2 tsp. Pomona’s Pectin calcium water
• 1 tsp. Pomona’s Pectin powder

Preparation:

Place 2 or 3 small ceramic or freezer-safe glass plates into the freezer.

Wash and dry the lemon(s). Cut off the ends and discard. Cut the lemon into thick slices, cut the slices in half, and pulse in food processor until finely chopped.

Put the chopped lemon, water, and bottled lemon juice into a non-reactive medium saucepot (about 4 quart size). Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat to medium-high, and allow to boil for 10 minutes.

Add the blueberries, Pomona’s calcium water and 1 ¼ cups of the sugar to the pot, stir well until the sugar is dissolved, and boil for 10 minutes.

Mix the remaining ¼ cup sugar with the Pomona’s Pectin powder until thoroughly combined and scatter over the blueberry mixture. Stir well until dissolved. Allow to continue to boil for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat while performing gel test:

Take one of the plates out of the freezer, place a small spoonful of the hot jam onto the plate and return to the freezer for 2 minutes. If the jam on the plate doesn’t run and wrinkles when you push it with the tip of a spoon or your fingertip, you’re ready to can.

*(Recipe Note:  I only use Pomona’s Universal Pectin in my jam and jelly recipes. Each box consists of 2 packets: one smaller packet that contains the calcium powder to be mixed with water – 1/2 tsp. calcium powder mixed with 1/2 cup of water  (that’s the “calcium water”), and one larger packet that contains the pectin powder.)

Small-Batch Canning Instructions:

• Place a stock pot filled about 2/3 with water on the stove and bring to a boil. Make sure that there is a rack or a pot holder in the bottom of the pot, so your canning jars do not come into direct contact with the bottom of the pot, itself.

• Sterilize three half-pint jars by placing them in the boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes.

• Heat the jar lids in the boiling water for a minute or two.

• Empty the water out of each jar, then fill with the hot jam, leaving 1/4″ to 1/2″ headroom at the top. Place a hot lid on top of the jar and screw on the lid ring, finger-tight.  Place the filled jar back into the pot of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.

• Remove the jar(s) from the boiling water and place on a towel or newspaper-covered surface to cool and seal. You should shortly hear the *ping* or *pop* of the lid sealing. When completely cool, store on a shelf or in a cupboard, away from heat and direct sunlight. If a jar does not seal within 24 hours, refrigerate and use within 3 weeks.

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You need to try this, because I know you CAN.  (See what I did there?)

All opinions, recipes, text, and photographs are my own and original to RJ Flamingo and her real-life alter-ego, and are copyrighted materials, not to be reproduced in any form without express permission from the author. Links contained in this post may be affiliate links to my Amazon store. If you start here and buy anything on Amazon, I get a small commission. This does not increase your price, but does help me pay my web host. And buy food. Thank you for your support!