Making your own blueberry jam is a great alternative to buying. It may not be the cheapest, depending on the fruit, but it’s good to know what you’re putting in your jam. And you can get more creative too.
Origins:
The recipe below is based off of old fashioned ingredients and methods. One of the main ingredients is honey. After all, honey has been used as a preservative and sweetener since 6000 B.C.E. That’s around 8000 years. So why not keep using it?
Ancient Greece took part in canning and preservation by mixing honey with fruits and then storing in jars. This form of preservation improved as other countries added more steps such as cooking the mixture together.
Today there are a variety of modernized recipes with new ingredients such as pectin and gelatin. But for now, we’ll keep it simple and old fashioned.
Homemade Blueberry Spread
Ingredients
- 1 pint of blueberries
- 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons of honey
Instructions
- In a saucepan over low heat, pour the blueberries and start crushing with a masher.
- Crush until blueberries become mostly liquid with a few clumps of blueberries. The number of clumps left is a matter of preference.
- Add the lemon juice and honey and stir until mixture becomes thick. Remember to taste and test so the jam can be to your liking.
- Once the mixture has been stirred, allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir once again. If the mixture hasn't thickened, leave to simmer again.
- Take mixture off of stove and pour in jar. Refrigerate to solidify the spread.
