This homemade blueberry jam is so easy to make and tastes delicious!

Homemade Blueberry Jam

To make this blueberry jam, you will need:

4 cups of blueberries
2 cups white sugar
2 TBSP lemon juice

When using fresh blueberries, select ones that are firm and plump. Look for ones that are deep blue-black in colour as ones with a reddish tinge won’t ripen any further. Ones that have a silvery blush on the, as the best ones to choose. This blush is the fruit’s natural protective coating, so its a good thing.

After preparing your jars, wash and dry the blueberries.

Place the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepan.

Heat, on medium heat until the fruit starts to warm up and the sugar started to melt.

Take a potato masher and mash the blueberries to the consistency that you want. The more you mash, the smoother the jam will be, having less lumps.

When the sugar has melted, turn up the heat and bring to a rolling boil.

Boil for 15 minutes while stirring to prevent the jam from burning on the bottom of the saucepan.

If you have a candy thermometer, it needs to read 105°C (220°F), though you will need to keep a close eye on the mixture when it starts getting around this temperature.

If you don’t have a thermometer, you can use the jam / cold plate test. Before starting your jam, simply place 3 or 4 small plates in the freezer. When you think the jam may be ready, place a small teaspoon amount of jam onto one of the cold plates from the freezer and let it sit for about 30 seconds. Then run your finger through the middle of the blob of jam. If the line starts to fill back over, it means the jam is too runny and is not ready yet, so keep cooking and repeat again in about five minutes. If the line remains, then the jam has reached setting point and is ready.

Fill your sterilised jars with the jam and seal them while still warm.

Getting Jam to Set

For jams to thicken and set, they need a substance known as pectin. Some fruits naturally contain more pectin than others. When making jams and jellies with low-pectin fruits, often lemon juice is added.

If you are using low-pectin fruits in your jam, such as with this one, you should also add some lemon juice or perhaps mix in some high-pectin fruit to help your jam to set. Alternatively, using jam sugar with low-pectin fruit works well.

To make jam, you need to soften the fruit first. We like our strawberry jam relatively smooth, so while softening the fruit, I used a masher to mash it to a smooth puree, though this is just our personal taste.

The mixture will then need to boil and thicken and you will need to stir it frequently so that it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pot. If you have a candy thermometer, it needs to read 105°C (220°F), though you will need to keep a close eye on the mixture when it starts getting around this temperature.

This jam needs to be placed into sterilised jars. This recipe makes about 1 x 450ml jar of blueberry jam, so you won’t need too many jars. It will need to be stored in the fridge and should last about 1-3 months this way. Though, if you follow the correct instructions for canning (the hot water bath method), you will be able to store it in the pantry for up to two years.

Sterilisation

It is important to sterilise your jars to prevent mould from forming. Make sure your glass jars are ones with an airtight lid and don’t have any cracks or chips.

There are a few ways to sterilise your jars, this is the one I use.

Wash the jars and lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse the jars in hot water and place upside down on racks in an oven heated to 120˚c. You can line the racks with baking paper first if you want. Heat the jars for 20 minutes. Do not place cold jam into hot jars or they may crack and break.

If you wish to can this recipe, please follow canning instructions, leaving ¼ inch head space and canning for the correct amount of time.

Blueberry Recipes

Other Jams and Spreads: