This has been a rough year for us as far as berry picking goes. Usually we are at the u-pick farms as soon as they open, and find ourselves going back again and again. But this year has been very different. Summer came late, and by the time strawberries were ready we had swim lessons taking up our mornings, making it hard to find time to go picking. I went just twice this year, when usually it would be at least double that. I did get more berries than I ever have before though, so maybe there is something to say about power picking! Next came raspberries, and a sudden heat wave, which made the unpleasant picking of this stubborn berry even worse. I went just twice, both times for less than an hour, before deciding I was done for the year. Next up was blueberries, which started early to mid July. But just like the berries before it, something always managed to come up that prevented us from getting out to pick those beautiful blue berries. Suddenly it was early August, and I knew that if I didn't act soon the season would be over and we would miss out entirely. The kids and I headed out early Friday morning to Blueberry Hill, a u-pick place that I have gone the last 2-3 years. In the past, picking has been somewhat easy there, although I wouldn't go so far as to say it was plentiful. But it never did disappoint, and we always walked away with buckets full of blueberries. Until this year. Because, you know...its been a rough year for us as far as berry picking goes.
The kids and I searched and plucked and roamed for 20 minutes before we finally threw in the towel. Those bushes were totally picked over, and I am not a fan of playing hide and seek with my u-pick fruits! We checked out with a paltry 4 pounds of berries....hardly impressive. We headed back home, totally dejected, with me starting to stress about where and how I was going to pick enough berries to fill up our freezer. I started searching for a new patch to pick, and saw some information for a small little farm that was just 5 minutes down the road from us. They were closed, but would be open the following day so I crossed my fingers that we would get there Saturday morning and find berries a plenty.
This little place did not disappoint! The berries were heavy on the bushes, literally I just had to run my hand down the clusters and they would fall into the buckets. Working together, the kids and I stripped bush after bush of its berries, and we filled bucket after bucket. After about 2 hours I figured we had enough and we headed to the checkout. We had picked 30 pounds of blueberries last year, and my goal this year was to get to 40 pounds. They weighed the berries and we were at 35 pounds. Along with the previous days picking, we had 39 pounds of berries which was close enough for me!
Over the next few days I washed, sorted and froze the berries on cookies sheets. Once they were all individually frozen, I packed them into freezer bags at about 5 pounds per bag. We got 25 pounds frozen and ready for winter and spring snacking! I made two desserts, a blueberry crumb bar and a peach and blueberry crisp. I was unsure of what to do with my remaining berries, until I stumbled upon a thread on a canning forum where people were talking about the deliciousness that was Blueberry Lime Jam. Hmmmmm. Its in the Ball Blue Book so I had seen it before, but its not something I ever would have tried. But all these people couldn't be wrong, so I decided to give it a shot. I also found a recipe for Blueberry-Spice Jam and thought I would whip up a batch of that while I was at it.
Both recipes call for an ungodly amount of sugar - more sugar than there are berries! In the blueberry lime batch I used a low sugar pectin, and just 2 cups of sugar instead of the 5 that the recipe called for. I am hoping that it sets up okay. For the Blueberry-Spice I followed the recipe as is because I want to see if there is any difference between making blueberry jam with regular or low sugar pectin. I confess that I haven't ever had blueberry jam before, so I am excited to see how they turn out!
Here are the recipes I used. The Blueberry Lime is from the Ball Blue Book.
Blueberry Lime Jam
4 1/2 C blueberries (measure after crushed)
1 T grated lime peel
1/3 C lime juice
5 C sugar
1 package powdered pectin
Crush blueberries one layer at a time. Combine crushed blueberries and pectin in a large sauce pot. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in grated lime and lime juice. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Adjust two piece caps. Process 15 min in boiling water canner. Yield about 6 half pints
The second recipe is from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
Blueberry Spice Jam
2-1/2 pints ripe blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg or cinnamon
5-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 box (1-3/4 oz) powdered pectin
Wash and thoroughly crush blueberries, one layer at a time, in a saucepan. Add lemon juice, spice, and water. Stir pectin and bring to a full, rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add the sugar and return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, quickly skim off foam, and fill sterile jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust two piece caps. Process 5 min in boiling water canner. Yield about 5 half pints. **This actually yielded almost 9 half pints! Matthew was canning with me again (awesome!!!) and we double and triple checked our measurements....I don't know why it made so much more. I could only fit 7 jars in the canner so of the two we didnt process I put one in the fridge, and gave the other to Matthews sister to try, along with a blueberry lime jam. Its fun sharing the bounty of the season with people we love!
The kids and I searched and plucked and roamed for 20 minutes before we finally threw in the towel. Those bushes were totally picked over, and I am not a fan of playing hide and seek with my u-pick fruits! We checked out with a paltry 4 pounds of berries....hardly impressive. We headed back home, totally dejected, with me starting to stress about where and how I was going to pick enough berries to fill up our freezer. I started searching for a new patch to pick, and saw some information for a small little farm that was just 5 minutes down the road from us. They were closed, but would be open the following day so I crossed my fingers that we would get there Saturday morning and find berries a plenty.
This little place did not disappoint! The berries were heavy on the bushes, literally I just had to run my hand down the clusters and they would fall into the buckets. Working together, the kids and I stripped bush after bush of its berries, and we filled bucket after bucket. After about 2 hours I figured we had enough and we headed to the checkout. We had picked 30 pounds of blueberries last year, and my goal this year was to get to 40 pounds. They weighed the berries and we were at 35 pounds. Along with the previous days picking, we had 39 pounds of berries which was close enough for me!
Over the next few days I washed, sorted and froze the berries on cookies sheets. Once they were all individually frozen, I packed them into freezer bags at about 5 pounds per bag. We got 25 pounds frozen and ready for winter and spring snacking! I made two desserts, a blueberry crumb bar and a peach and blueberry crisp. I was unsure of what to do with my remaining berries, until I stumbled upon a thread on a canning forum where people were talking about the deliciousness that was Blueberry Lime Jam. Hmmmmm. Its in the Ball Blue Book so I had seen it before, but its not something I ever would have tried. But all these people couldn't be wrong, so I decided to give it a shot. I also found a recipe for Blueberry-Spice Jam and thought I would whip up a batch of that while I was at it.
Both recipes call for an ungodly amount of sugar - more sugar than there are berries! In the blueberry lime batch I used a low sugar pectin, and just 2 cups of sugar instead of the 5 that the recipe called for. I am hoping that it sets up okay. For the Blueberry-Spice I followed the recipe as is because I want to see if there is any difference between making blueberry jam with regular or low sugar pectin. I confess that I haven't ever had blueberry jam before, so I am excited to see how they turn out!
Here are the recipes I used. The Blueberry Lime is from the Ball Blue Book.
Blueberry Lime Jam
4 1/2 C blueberries (measure after crushed)
1 T grated lime peel
1/3 C lime juice
5 C sugar
1 package powdered pectin
Crush blueberries one layer at a time. Combine crushed blueberries and pectin in a large sauce pot. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in grated lime and lime juice. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Adjust two piece caps. Process 15 min in boiling water canner. Yield about 6 half pints
The second recipe is from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
Blueberry Spice Jam
2-1/2 pints ripe blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg or cinnamon
5-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 box (1-3/4 oz) powdered pectin
Wash and thoroughly crush blueberries, one layer at a time, in a saucepan. Add lemon juice, spice, and water. Stir pectin and bring to a full, rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add the sugar and return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, quickly skim off foam, and fill sterile jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust two piece caps. Process 5 min in boiling water canner. Yield about 5 half pints. **This actually yielded almost 9 half pints! Matthew was canning with me again (awesome!!!) and we double and triple checked our measurements....I don't know why it made so much more. I could only fit 7 jars in the canner so of the two we didnt process I put one in the fridge, and gave the other to Matthews sister to try, along with a blueberry lime jam. Its fun sharing the bounty of the season with people we love!