The Blueberries are ripe! - or - Blueberry jam anyone?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Woo! The teenager went with friends to pick blueberries today. He brought home four pounds. I’ve been snacking on them through the evening. Most are quite sweet. Now and then I get a tart one. :eek: Heh.

I couldn’t make jam tonight as it was awards night for the swim team. (He had a good season.) So tomorrow night we are having blueberry pancakes for dinner and making blueberry jam after.

Here is my favorite blueberry jam recipe:
2 lbs fresh blueberries
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon
5 to 5 1/2 cups sugar
1 package fruit pectin

Wash and crush fresh blueberries. Put blueberries in a large deep stew pot. Add water to reach 4 cups prepared blueberries, usually about 3/4 cup. Add lemon juice and cinnamon. Add fruit pectin, stir until dissolved. Bring to full rolling boil. Stir in sugar, continue to stir and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir and skim foam off. Pour into warm, sterilized jars, Cover quickly with lids, apply screw bands.

After the jars cool, test the seal. If you press the middle of the lid, it should be firm and curved down slightly in the center. If it “pops”, it is not propperly sealed.

This makes us 6, 8 ounce jars. Yum!

Our other favorite is blackberry jam:

3 cups blackberries
2 cups water
5 cups sugar
1 package fruit pectin

Wash and mash blackberries. Put into a large saucepan, add water and fruit pectin. Stir until pectin is dissolved. Heat to boiling, boil 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and add sugar. Stir until disolved. Boil 3-5 minutes until thick, stirring frequently.
Pour into sterilized jars to within 1/4 inch of top. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight. Turn upside down until the lids get hot (3-5 minutes) and put back upright. You’ll hear the lids popping over the next few minutes.

Makes 6 and a part of 7th, 8 ounce jars.

Is the fruit in season where you are?
Do you make jam?
What’s your favorite recipe?
Wanna share a memory?

Come on in!

2

I’ve got a story for you.

I’ve been known to disappear into Pisgah National Forest* in North Carolina for a few days of so. I’ll usually drag myself out a few days later and drive to the nearest fast food restaurant and gorge myself.

Once on my return hike, I was shocked to find hordes of granola types with modified milk jugs picking blueberries in normally secluded parts of the forest. Not a huge deal, just different than what I’m used to. I passed a family who had taken some of their harvest and grilled up some blueberry pancakes. The nice lady noticed my scruffy appearance and offered me one.

That was the best thing I have ever put in my mouth.

*Webcam will not work at night (EDT), since Cold Mountain is not lit.

3

We just saw a recipe for blueberry-lime jam that we’re going to try!

4

Never had any blueberry jam - I love blueberry pies, though. :slight_smile:

5

Oooh! Where are you? Don’t think they’re ripe here yet (well, there never ripe here because they don’t grow in Chicago, but by “here” I mean Northern WI and Michigan).

I wish they would grow in Illinois…

6

Bruce_Daddy The view from that link is beautiful.

CrankyAsAnOldMan How much lime juice? Is it about the same as the lemon juice in mine? Sounds good anyway.

Urban Ranger Which kind of blueberry pie? The chilled kind or the baked kind? We tend to prefer chilled this time of year, it’s already hot as Hades here most of the time.
pipper I am near Houston, Texas. The blueberries were picked at a farm in Conroe.

7

How 'bout a blueberry jam:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 shoe

Directions:
Put blueberries on the floor.
Carefully jump on blueberries until you’ve jammed them.
Scrape off of floor and shoe and enjoy.:smiley:

8

I spent yesterday making apricot preserves. I’ll tell you what they’re like as soon as I open a jar.

Personally, I’m waiting for the strawberries. We don’t live in prime blueberry territory.