Low Sugar Blueberry Lime Jam

Another summer fruit that I prefer eating in season and locally, blueberries are bursting with flavor when they're grown nearby, and you can learn which varieties you like best. If you've read my other recent Instructables you'll already know I'm canning with low sugar recipes this year. A new favorite is this Blueberry Lime Jam, sweet and tart from the berries, nice and bright from the lime zest and juice. If you're new to canning, this is a fairly easy recipe to start with.

This is a perfect breakfast jam to start your day on a good note, enjoy it on toast, bagels, English muffins, etc. Warm it and serve over French toast, pancakes, or waffles. Eat it with yogurt, or ice cream, on pound cake. Make salad dressing from it, or add it to oatmeal or other grains. Skies the limit with this jam, I hope it brightens your day soon!

Makes 4 to 6 cups, use 4- or 8-oz. canning jars

Recipe slightly adapted by Cortney Timmer from Daily Pea

5 cups organic blueberries
1/4 cup organic lime juice (it takes about 3 limes to make 1/4 cup of juice)
1 tablespoon organic lime zest
2 teaspoons calcium water (calcium powder is included in the box of Pomona's Pectin)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Pomona's Universal Pectin

Wash and dry jars, then sterilize by placing on a clean cookie sheet in a 225-degree oven for a minimum of 20 minutes. Leave jars in the oven until you're ready to fill them. Prepare your water bath by filling it 3/4 full with water, then cover and bring to a boil. Technically, because the jam will process more than 10 minutes you don't need to sterilize the jars, but you do need to keep them warm until right before filling. Either keep them in your hot canning pot water or the oven.

Make calcium water by mixing 1/2 cup water with 1/2 teaspoon calcium powder (found in your Pomona's box) and set aside. You'll only need 2 teaspoons, but the rest will keep for months in the refrigerator.

In a small mixing bowl, stir well to combine sugar and pectin and set aside.

You can crush the blueberries in the large saucepan you'll cook them in, but since I do several batches of jam, I find it easiest to use my food processor, do a few cups of blueberries at a time, and pulse until they're crushed, don't purée them.

Transfer to a large saucepan. Stir in lime juice, zest, and calcium water.

Bring blueberries to a full rolling boil and stir in sugar/pectin mixture. Stir vigorously and constantly for two minutes, bringing back to a full rolling boil. Turn the heat off as soon as the jam reaches a full boil after the sugar/pectin is added. Remove the pan from heat.

Using your jar tongs, remove one hot jar from the oven and set on the counter on top of a clean towel.
With your ladle and funnel, fill jar to 1/4" from the top with jam. Repeat for the rest of the jars.

Once all of your jars are filled, take a damp clean washcloth and wipe all jar rims clean. They won't seal if there is any jam residue on them. Take your spatula and run it along the inside edges of the jars to remove air bubbles.

Adjust lids and screw on bands fingertip tight. Transfer to canning pot, cover, return water to boiling and start timer. Process 15 minutes, turn off heat, remove cover, and let jars sit in the water for 5 minutes.

Remove jars to a clean kitchen towel and let sit for 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove bands, check seals and wipe lids with a damp towel. Label and store, in a cool, dark environment for up to one year. Once opened, refrigerate the jam.