I’m back with another post that feels a bit like cheating 
Having had success with my raspberry jam last weekend, I wanted to have a go at blueberry, as I have a lovely recipe coming up for you later in the week that uses it 
Again I chose to use frozen fruit, as blueberries are very much not in season at the moment! Similarly to the raspberry jam recipe, you cook the fruit gently until it releases some juice (enough for the sugar to dissolve into). Having very little patience, I decided it would be a great idea to put the sugar in whilst the berries were still pretty much frozen. Oops. I persevered with my purple sugary mush until the berries had defrosted properly
Here comes the jam science people Blueberries are a fruit that are quite low in natural pectin (the natural setting agent for jam). This wasn’t a problem for the raspberry jam as raspberries are naturally high in pectin. In order to help the blueberries in their jam quest, I added the juice of a lemon to the mix. Citrus fruits are high in pectin and the lemon also cuts through the sweetness of the sugar. You could of course use jam sugar (with added pectin). This is a naturally ‘soft set’ jam, so definitely use the jam sugar if you like your jam more jelly like
Ingredients:
- 350g fresh or frozen blueberries
- 350g sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
Method:
- Sterilise 2 glass jars by washing thoroughly and placing in an oven at Gas 3/170C for 10 minutes. Place 2 saucers in the freezer to chill. Cook the fruit and lemon juice in a saucepan gently until a lot of the juice is released. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Lightly crush some berries, but leave others whole for texture.
- Boil the jam rapidly for 5 minutes. Test the jam by placing it on a saucer and leaving for 2 minutes. If it ‘wrinkles’ when pressed, it has reached setting point.
- Pour the jam into the jars using a jam funnel (an amazing invention!), put the lids on and leave to cool completely. The jam will keep in a cool place for up to a month.
Enjoy as a cake filling (see recipe coming soon!), on toast or just out of the jar
ok – the only thing better than raspberry jam may be blueberry. Luckily, I have a HUGE carton of blueberries in the refrigerator. I think I know their destiny.
JAM SCIENCE! Love it Joy!
It’s the chemistry teacher in me! I can’t help it
This is just a gorgeous post. From the photos to the recipe, LOVE.
Thank you so much Aimee, that means so much
This looks so tasty, I think you may have inspired me to start making my own homemade jam! Lovely photos
Thank you
Was finding it pretty tricky to photograph so am really pleased you like them 