Blueberry season almost over? What???
No, I don’t agree!

How I love those little juicy blue bites of deliciousness. Recently even my husband found out that “they are rather good if REALLY ripe” – and you have to know that he is no fruit-friend. My little toddler adores them too. They are currently ranking on no 1 of his food hit list. That means, he would spit out any other food he happens to chew on, if he suddenly finds blueberries on the table. Making space for the berries! That’s what I call clear priorities ;–)

But food is not always just about taste, is it?

It’s the emotions and memories that flood your body and mind when you eat this one special dish. This specific enticing smell that takes you back to your childhood days.
How your hands remember the feel of those lovely smooth-skinned first blueberries of the season. This sensual feeling of sweet bursting berries in your mouth. How your fingers turned all purple from plucking them in the forrest way back in time with your Granny. How you enjoyed to spend those hot Summer days with her in the cool green of the trees, crafting little baskets out of maple leaves to carry home some berries for later…

I know, I am getting a bit carried away here. But those are my Blueberry Moments :–)

And as I live in denial of this year’s blueberry-season-ending, I decided it was time for a recipe that is catching those memories. What would be better than a jar (or many jars) full of  blueberry jam? Sounds like just the right thing to lighten up grey Autumn days ahead, indulging in reminiscences of Summer sun and a soft forrest breeze…

As you will see in the recipe below, I cut down the amount of sugar A LOT compared to traditional jam recipes. Why? Because I do not like it so sweet (and obviously less sugar is always better for you – right?). Seriously, only when I started to make jam myself, I ate it on a regular basis. Before I just couldn’t stand the sugar crash… Especially as breakfast it wasn’t exactly making me feel great for the day ahead ;–)

The downside of not doing a sugar-fruit-ratio of 1:1 is that food spoilage is more likely. To be honest, when I make jam it is usually used up within a few weeks in our house. That said, I do not know if the low-sugar-jam would last up to a year like the traditional ones. Yet. When I made my last batch I was forcing myself to lock away a few jars for testing. I am checking on them regularly (it’s been 6 weeks now).

I will keep you posted on how long the jam will last :–) anyway, what I can report already is that it tastes AMAZING (on bread, in yoghurt, on overnight-oats, on porridge, on pancakes…)!

Here we go: my BlueberryMo Jam  – enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 kg blueberries (preferably wild berries if you can get them)
• 50 g whole cane sugar (or to taste)
• 24 g pectin (see tip below)
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 vanilla pod (scratched-out seeds and pod)
• 1 tsp fresh finely chopped rosemary
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• twist-off jars for about 1000 ml of jam in total

Directions:

1. Prepare jars: there is many ways to do that. I like to boil water in the kettle, set up all (clean) jars and lids in the clean sink and fill them all up with the boiling water directly from the kettle. Once the water has cooled, I discard the water and transfer the jars and lids upside down to a clean tea towel. Very important: do not touch jars or lids on the INSIDE, or germs might spread despite your efforts.
2. Get a funnel and a spoon/scoop ready (also well cleaned).
3. Sort through/wash berries and only then weigh to be sure you really have 1 kg.
4. Put berries in a big saucepan along with all other ingredients except the sugar and mix well. Bring to a boil, while stirring constantly.
5. Add sugar and bring to a boil again still stirring. Keep boiling and stirring for about 5 minutes. Discard vanilla pod.
6. Using the funnel, fill the HOT jam into the prepared glasses IMMEDIATELY and put on the lid right after. Be very sure not to get any of the jam on the edge of the jars. A headstand (of the jars obviously ;–)) is not necessary. The conserving vacuum will build anyway. You will realise that, once you hear your jars going PLOPP!
7. Finally, store your jam in a cool and dark place.

Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 25 minutes
Yields 1000 ml jam

Tip pectin:
There are different products available and each comes with a slightly different description of how it should be used. It would be a good idea to also consider the instructions on your package. Mine says 24 g pectin for 1 kg fruit with 340 g sugar. As you know, I reduced the sugar quiet a bit and it still worked beautifully :–)