Blueberry Jam How-to

Blueberry Jam (Yvonne; Sneem, Ireland)

Blueberries

Jam Sugar

*Equal amounts of each

Sterilization process:

Get a big pot and put a towel along the bottom of the inside to keep the glass from cracking in the heat.  Carefully put all the glass jam containers and lids into the pot.  Add water to the pot until everything is submerged.  Heat the pot until the water is boiling.  Once the lids and jars have been in boiling water for awhile, turn off the stove and carefully remove them from the hot water, placing them on a cloth to cool.  The sterilization process keeps bacteria from contaminating the jam and not allowing it to keep as long.

Jam:

-If starting with frozen berries, heat enough in a saucepan to cover the bottom of the pot to keep the jam from burning.

-If starting with non-frozen berries, put berries and sugar in a pot and allow the combination to stand overnight.  The sugar draws out the natural juice of the berries.

Warm the pot with berries and sugar on medium to high heat.  Stir the mixture consistently.  Once there is more liquid forming, you don’t need to be as vigilant about stirring.  Leave on the flame until all the sugar has dissolved and the jam has settled.  You can tell the jam is done if you put a little on a plate and it sets properly.  Once it’s done, ladle the jam into jars, seal them with lids, and turn them upside down until they’re partially cooled.  Flip them right side up for the finished products.