How To Make Low Sugar Blueberry Jam

Remove stems and wash blueberries.

I mash my blueberries by pulsing them in a food processor.

Bring fruit with calcium water to a boil. Then add pectin-sugar.

Submerge filled jars in boiling water.

Fresh Blueberry Jam Without All the Sugar

I was so excited to finally see blueberries being sold in large baskets for a very reasonable price. Usually they are so expensive I would never even considering buying enough of them to make jam. But last week I found big, plump blueberries begging to be canned!

By now you have probably seen my low sugar recipes using Pomona's Universal Pectin. This is the only pectin I've ever found that allows you to make jam using as little as 3/4 cups of sugar to 4 cups of mashed fruit which is about 1/4th of the sugar used in the "low sugar" Sure-Jell recipes. By being able to use a small amount of sugar, you can really taste the fruit. Sure-Jell is so sweet you can't really tell what kind of fruit you are using. You can probably make jam out of your old sneakers and it would taste the same.

See my Sugar Free Apricot Jam, Low Sugar Plum Jam, and Low Sugar Strawberry Jam recipes, all using Pomona Universal Pectin.

Best PB&J Ever!

You and your kids will love this fresh and healthful blueberry jam on peanut or almond butter sandwiches. Doug and I had almond butter and blueberry jam sandwiches for lunch today and they was amazing! Home made blueberry jam is also excellent on pancakes, muffins and even as a topping for ice cream.

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Low Sugar Blueberry Jam

[makes 3 pints or 6 cups]

6 cups of mashed blueberries (about 9 cups of blueberries)

6 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/4 cups organic cane sugar

1 package Pomona's Universal Pectin

The package of Pomona's Universal Pectin contains pectin and calcium powder. You will make calcium water from the calcium powder. For the above recipe you will use:

3 teaspoons pectin powder

3 teaspoons calcium water

The following recipe was derived from the Pomono package.

Before starting, make calcium water:

1. Put 1/2 t white calcium powder and 1/2 cup water in a small, clear jar with lid.

2. Store in refrigerator between uses. Lasts a number of months – discard if settled white powder discolors.

3. Shake well before using.

Instructions for making low sugar blueberry jam:

1. Wash and rinse jars. Bring lids and rings to a boil; turn down heat and let stand in hot water.

2. Prepare blueberries. Remove stems, wash well, rinse and mash. You can pulse in a food processor if you have one. Measure 6 cups of mashed blueberries and put into a pan along with the lemon juice.

3. Add 3 teaspoons of calcium water into the pan and stir well.

4. In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix 1 1/4 cups sugar with 3 teaspoons of pectin powder.

5. Bring fruit to a boil. Add pectin-sugar mixture: stir vigorously 1 to 2 minutes while cooking to dissolve pectin. Return to boil and remove from heat.

6. Fill jars to 1/4 inch of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2 piece lids and put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 feet about sea level). Remove from water and let jars cool. As they cool, the seals-lids should be sucked down (you'll hear them pop). Lasts about 3 weeks once opened.

Per tablespoon: 18 calories, 0 g fat and cholesterol, 0.1 g protein, 4.6 g carbohydrates and 0.4 g of fiber.