Blueberry Vanilla Jam

Did you know that 300,000,000 pounds of blueberries are grown in the United States & shipped in country & around the world each year? In Canada we produce roughly 323 million dollars worth for export. I learned that British Columbia produces the largest yields of Highberry bush fruit & that Nova Scotia is the biggest harvester of Wild Blueberry crops. As well, Lowbush blueberries are fire tolerant & actually increase their yields after a fire. They are considered a super fruit because they are packed full of antioxidants. What a crazy little thing a blueberry is.

So of course I have decided to make jam with my little gems. My friend Patti made vanilla extract with the pods still in the jar, & what a better way to have it than with blueberries? I am using wild blueberries in my batch, so I am not going to get a large yield here. I picked quite a lot at my Aunt's cottage in Thunderbay this summer. They grow all over the Trout Lake area. So this is a very special batch for me.

Ingredients:

5 cups of crushed blueberries

2 cups of refined sugar

1 package of No Sugar Fruit Pectin

(This way you can really reduce on the sugar you use)

2 tbsp of vanilla extract.

I used 4 cups of the fruit & blended it so it would be juicy & flavourful  I like to keep the last single cup of fruit aside so that I have it suspended in the jam. I have always been a fan of thick cut fruit jams. However if you like run the whole pack through a blender until it's pulpy & juicy.

Heat process as you normally would.

Watch for jell on this one. You may need to keep an extra bit of pectin around to ensure consistency  This recipe sometimes works right away & sometimes not depending of the water content of the fruit.

I got 4 decent sized jars out of my batch.

Best served on scones with clotted cream if you can get it.