I had planned on making yet another batch of my family’s favorite strawberry vanilla jam this weekend, but Friday morning it was too brisk for this Florida girl to venture out to the farm. Luckily my daughter had insisted on quite a few pints of blueberries at our recent market trip, so blueberry jam it is! Word of warning – this is by far the most vividly hued preserve I make and it usually leaves my enameled pot somewhat stained.

Also, I put the cinnamon down as optional, but I love the subtle flavor it adds!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pints of blueberries

1 T lemon juice

5 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

1 box powdered pectin

optional – 1/2 t cinnamon

Yield ~ 5 half pints

1) Sterilize canning jars and prepare two-piece canning lids according to manufacturer’s directions.

2) Measure sugar and set aside.

3) Crush blueberries a layer at a time in pot. I just use a potato masher for it.

4) Add lemon juice, water, and cinnamon (if you’re using it).

5) Stir in pectin and bring to a full rolling boil, stirring frequently.

6) Add sugar, return to full boil, and boil hard for one minute.

7) Remove from heat, skim foam, and ladle into sterilized jars.

8) Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a Boiling Water Canner for 5 minutes.

Note – another nice combo is to add lavender. To do this, I measure out the sugar the night before and bury about 2-3 T in a sachet deep in the middle of the sugar. When it’s time to make the jam, I remove the sachet, boil about 1/2 cup of water, and steep the lavender for about ten minutes. Strain and use this “tea” to make up some of the 3/4 cup of water called for in the recipe. Yum! I always omit the cinnamon if I’m doing this, but have been known to add vanilla. Because, really, you can’t go wrong with vanilla!