Thursday, December 23, 2010

Blueberry Jam

I scrounged all over the county and made several clerks check the back rooms, but I came away with my jelly jars and fruit pectin.  That's the trouble when you decide to do something out of season.   We do have blueberries growing at several u-pick farms in the area--again, not at this time of year.  Next year I will do more planning ahead when it comes to making jelly and jam for Christmas gifts.  So I had to rely on a large bag of frozen blueberries from Sam's club.  Next year though, I can pick my own wild black raspberries and blackberries.  I have persimmons too.  Does anyone know of a persimmon jam or persimmon butter recipe?

I have to say, I was pleased with the outcome--half a dozen jars of spiced blueberry jam.  They've already been delivered to the Toolman's coworkers.  And I got permission to use one of my Christmas presents early--a Cricut Expression to make the gift tags.   Let me share what I learned about pectin.  Sorry if this is obvious to you veteren canners, but I wasn't the only one in our canning class that didn't know this.  Pectin should be used in the season you purchase it.  You cannot substitute liquid for powdered pectin (or vice versa) in recipes.  Each seasons pectin has its own binding power, dependant on the fruit for that year, so use the recipes that come in that season's pectin package and don't save the papers from year to year.

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