Preserving the flavors of summer...
We look forward to visiting Maine every summer! The weather is beautiful, the food is fantastic and there are always fun activities to enjoy (including making blueberry jam). Time just seems to slow down there and everyone relaxes. We are able to leave our hectic schedules at home and just slow down. It’s as if time is suspended in mid-air when we are there. We are able to enjoy some of the simple pleasures of the summer. If you have never visited, the summer is the perfect time.
Some of these simple pleasures are activities such as swimming on a warm summer afternoon, digging for clams to make chowder, and picking blueberries for pancakes, muffins, and our favorite, blueberry jam. Our Maine summer activities are only dependent on the tides, the weather, and our whim. One way to capture the flavor of Maine is to make, can and serve delicious blueberry jam. We process our jam in 8 oz jars so we can share a little bit of Maine with others. Here is the recipe for our lower sugar blueberry jam.
Maine Blueberry Jam
Ingredients
- 10 cups blueberries 6 1/2 cups of mashed
- 1 package plus 1/5 package of 25% less sugar fruit pectin Sure Jell
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups Splenda
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp. butter
Instructions
- Clean blueberries (get rid of stems etc.). Use a food processor on pulse to chop blueberries. For best results, chop half of the blueberries at a time. Place fruit in a large pot. Stir in lemon juice and water.
- In a separate bowl, mix together splenda and remaining 1 3/4 cups of sugar. Set this aside (you will add this sugar mixture after you bring the jam to a boil).
- In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup of sugar (from the 2 cups) and fruit pectin. Add this to the fruit mixture in your pot. Add the butter (to keep the jam from foaming as much). Stirring constantly, bring the jam to a boil over high heat. Add the remaining sugar mixture you set aside. Continue stirring and bring jam to a boil and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat. Skim off excess foam (place this in a small bowl as the sample for toast in the morning!) Ladle jam into prepared jars, seal with sterilized lids and process jam for 10 minutes in the water bath. Make sure that the water in the canning pot is at least an inch or so over the top of the jars. Bring the water in the canning pot to boil and process for 10 minutes. Carefully remove jars from the water bath and set them on a towel to cool. Let the jars of jam stand at room temp for 24 hours. You will hear the jars pop as they seal.
Notes
Early August is typically the best time of the year for blueberries in Maine. One of our traditions is picking blueberries and turning the fruit into delicious blueberry jam. The blueberries grow on bushes like clusters of grapes in this part of the country. Everyone gets involved in the process from planting and picking, to jam production and canning then, of course – sampling. This tradition is a favorite and the spoils are shared with family and friends throughout the year.
