Blueberries - Fresh, Frozen and Jam

This was a great year for blueberries!  I pick with a friend at Blue Ridge Growers in River Falls, WI and the crop this year was tremendous.  It was hard to stop picking, even when your back ached and you really wished you hadn't had that third cup of coffee on the way out there.  Because the picking was so good, I got about 3 gallons of berries.

Blueberries are may be the best berries for pickers.  They grow on nice thornless bushes that can be tall enough that you don't have to bend over much.  The berries sometimes grow in clusters, so in a plentiful season, you can almost pick a handful at a time!   Blueberries also don't squish on you the way raspberries and blackberries do.

The family ate a lot of the berries fresh, but I froze bunches.  They are easy to freeze.  Rinse them (ours were grown without chemicals) and drain them in a colander.  Pick out any under-ripe or damaged ones.  Save the under-ripe ones in a bowl on the counter and they will usually turn within a day or two.  Spread a layer on a cookie sheet (with sides!) and put in the freezer until they're hard.  Pop into freezer bags (zip type or vacuum seal) and then the freezer.  Repeat until all the berries are done.  This way they don't stick together.  If you are good and can dry them after rinsing, freeze them in the bags and they won't stick either.

I also dried some in the dehydrator.  This was not entirely successful but good to try.  The first batch got a quick dip in boiling water to crack the skins.  Maybe I didn't do it right, but I ended up with a smooshy mess on the dehydrator tray.  It also took a long time to dry and we didn't end up with individual berries, more of a lumpy fruit leather.  

For the next try, I just dumped washed berries onto the tray with no other prep.  These actually turned out better than the first batch and didn't take quite as long.  All in all, though, I think we'll buy any dried blueberries we need.

The jam/jelly was really rewarding, though!  We had berries in the back of the freezer  from last year, so in the interest of rotating stock, I used them for jam.  Same with last year's raspberries from the garden.  The recipe and process was the same for both, just different berries.

Berry Jam

11 cups berries (frozen or fresh, but unsweetened)

2 cups sugar

2 cups unfiltered apple juice (from the natural foods store)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/3 boxes pectin for low-sugar jams

9 half-pint canning jars with rings

water bath canner setup

Note: These instructions assume some knowledge of canning and jam/jelly making.  If you haven't canned or made jam/jelly, read up about the general processes and equipment needed.  It is frustrating to find you don't have what you need, information- or equipment-wise, in the middle of your work.

2nd Note:  This recipe makes a pretty juicy batch.  I strained the hot jam through a small sieve to make 2 jars of "jelly", returning berries to the pot.  The rest went into 7 jars a little heavier on berries than they might have been and 2 jars of cloudy, but tasty, jelly.

1.  In a large non-aluminum pot, crush the berries a layer at a time to release the juices.  This should yield about 6.5 or 7 cups of berries.  
2. Mix 1 box of pectin plus 1 tbsp with 1/4 cup of the sugar.  Add to the berries along with the apple juice and the lemon juice.
3. Heat mixture to a full boil over medium-high heat.
4. Add the remaining sugar and return to a boil.  Boil for 1 minute.  [Test for jelling using a cold spoon.  If it doesn't jell enough, add 1 tbsp more pectin mixed with a little sugar and boil 1 more minute.]  Remove from heat.
5. Fill clean, hot jars* to 1/4" from the top, wipe lip, seat lid and tighten band.
6. Process in a hot water bath for at least 5 minutes.  Remove from bath and cool**.  

 Notes:

* Wash your jars then put them on a cookie sheet and into a 250 degree oven before you start.  Wash your lids (new ones!) and bands and put them in a pot of simmering water to hold until needed.  Keep your canning funnel in the simmering water, as well.
**Lids should "pop" when they seal and the middle of the lid shouldn't depress if the jar sealed.  Refrigerate any that didn't seal.

Enjoy!