Blueberry Jam

I am on a roll making jam.  This was my effort with blueberries.  I found the recipe online at the site  Taste of Southern.

I tend to like jam made the old fashioned way, without pectin.  So the ingredients are simple; blueberries, sugar and lemon juice.  The ratio I  used was 6 cups of blueberries to 4 cups of sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

First sort through the blueberries and remove any bad berries, leaves and stems.

Wash the berries in cold water.  Drain in a colander, then transfer to a large bowl.  Using a potato masher mash them up a little in order to let the juice out.  How much you mash depends on what kind of consistency you would like your jam to be.

Measure the crushed berries.  It is important to measure after you have crushed the berries otherwise your ratio with the sugar will be wrong.  I had 6 cups of crushed berries.

Transfer the crushed berries into a large pot and place on medium heat.

Add 4 cups of sugar all at once.

Add 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.

Once the sugar is fully dissolved, increase the heat to cook the berries as quickly as possible, stirring frequently to prevent sticking to the bottom and scorching.  The jam can also boil over very quickly, so you will need to pay constant attention.

Cook the syrup of the juice and sugar down to a "gel" point.  I used the cold plate method to determine when the jam was thick enough.  (If you don't remember what this is:  place a plate in the freezer.  Periodically remove the plate from the freezer and place a small amount of jam on the dish.  Then run your finger through the jam and if the jam does not run together, it is done.).

When the jam is done, remove the pan from the stove.  If there is any foam at this point it should be removed with a spoon.  ( If you don't it just won't look as good as a finished product).

Fill your sterilized jam jars and enjoy!