Blueberry Jam Without Pectin

Easy Blueberry Jam

This fresh blueberry jam is made without added pectin and simple ingredients! It’s yummy served on toast, with oatmeal or on ice cream!

My grandma has close to one hundred blueberry bushes that produce delicious big blueberries!  Every blueberry season she sells them to the local community and has her family and closest friends come and pick them. We love trying out new blueberry recipes every year and this delicious blueberry jam is a new favorite!  This easy homemade blueberry jam is made without pectin and uses a handful of ingredients! It’s a great way to use fresh fruit while it’s is in season and what’s better than a fresh spoonful of jam? 🙂 

Ingredients Needed:

• Blueberries
• Sugar
• Lemon Juice
• Pinch of Salt

Tips for Making this Easy Blueberry Jam Recipe

• Frozen or Fresh blueberries – for this recipe you can use either! It’s a great recipe to use year round.
• For best results use a cold plate to test when your jam is set enough to be added to the canning jars. Simply put a small plate in the freezer while your jam cooks. Add a small amount of hot jam to the cold plate. Carefully run your finger through the jam. If it comes back together quickly you can continue to cook it for another 1 to 2 minutes. You want the gel stage to come back together slowly. 
• Use fresh lemon juice or bottled lemon juice – while most of the time I would say fresh is best the bottled lemon juice is actually a good option here!  Bottled lemon juice has a more controlled pH level vs how much it varies in fresh lemons.  For more information as to why pH levels matter you can see it here. Basically adding a touch of lemon juice helps the blueberries release natural pectin and helps the it thicken. 

HOW TO MAKE THIS FRESH BERRY JAM:

1. Place a small dish in the freezer to use for testing the jam.

2. In a medium saucepan, add frozen or fresh berries, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring often. Once boiling, cook until it thickens, about 10 minutes or until a digital thermometer reaches 220 degrees. 

3. The cups of blueberries in this recipe cook down to make a chunkier jam. If you want your jams a bit smoother you can carefully use a potato masher as the berries cook down 

3. Remove mixture from heat and put a small spoonful of the jam onto the frozen plate and let sit for 30 seconds. Run your finger in the jelly. If it fills the space quickly cook for another minute or two. If it moves slowly it will be ready. Transfer to heat-proof clean jar such as mason jars. 

4. Cool to room temperature with the jars unopened. Once the homemade jam is at room temperature, seal jars and store in the refrigerator. 

5. The jam might take 24 to 48 hours to fully set up, but it can be eaten immediately.  This recipe is also a great freezer jam! You can keep your jam in the freezer for up to one year. 

This is a great small batch blueberry jam recipe perfect for any blueberry lover! It is delicious on crackers, toast, ice cream and more! I hope you give this easy recipe a try!