This is Allison Carroll Duffy’s second guest blog on the Pomona’s Pectin website. As a Jam Notes subscriber, you will get an “update” via email for  Allison’s occasional guest blogs. You can sign up for Jam Notes in the sidebar to the right of this page.

Here’s Allison:

Having grown up on the coast of Maine, when I think of blueberries I tend to think of the small, low-bush, wild berries that grow abundantly in these parts. Available commercially only in Maine and some of Canada, they're a key crop for the state, as well as an important part of the state's culinary heritage. And they are indeed delicious -- I have fond memories of my grandmother's wild blueberry glaze pie and wild blueberry jam. But hard as it is for me, as a Mainer, to admit, lately I have really been enjoying the larger, cultivated, high-bush blueberries that grow here as well.

Every year at the end of strawberry-picking season, my boys start asking when we can pick blueberries. And while you can pick wild, low-bush berries by hand, they're very small, grow close to the ground, and are typically harvested with a special kind of rake. Perhaps because of this, there are very few pick-your-own wild blueberry farms around. Pick-your-own high-bush blueberry farms, on the other hand, are relatively plentiful, and often boast gorgeous stands of mature bushes (5 or 6 feet tall is common) ready for the picking. The cultivated berries are large and grow in lovely, blue clusters so picking is a breeze -- even for very young fingers.

Earlier this week my two boys and I headed for a nearby high-bush blueberry farm. It was a beautiful afternoon, we were out in the middle of a gorgeous field, and amazingly we were the only ones there. After some leisurely picking (and a little eating, of course), we came home with a few quarts of beautiful blue, plump fruit, ready for preserves. It was a blissful afternoon for sure, and while I imagine I'll always have a fondness for the wild variety, each time we share an afternoon like that, I fall just a little bit more in love with these delightful, delicious, quieter cousins.

Blueberry-Maple Preserves

Blueberries are a favorite fruit and I make a lot preserves with them. So I was especially interested in coming up with a version sweetened with something other than sugar. I thought maple syrup would be a good option and indeed, the maple-blueberry flavor combination is quite delightful. The maple flavor in this recipe does not overpower the blueberry flavor, but rather complements it in a lovely, understated way.

Yield: 4 to 5 cups

To do ahead of time: Prepare the calcium water. To do this, combine 1/2 teaspoon white calcium powder (included in the Pomona’s Universal Pectin package) with 1/2 cup water in a small, clear container with a lid. Shake well before using. Note that you will have more calcium water than you will end up using in this recipe; simply store it in the refrigerator for later use.

Blueberry-Maple Preserves Ingredients

2 1/4 pounds blueberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons calcium water
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons Pomona's Pectin powder

Blueberry-Maple Preserves Directions

1. Wash and rinse jars, lids, and screw bands. Set screw bands aside until ready to use. Place jars in boiling water bath canner with a rack, fill at least 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize (add 1 additional minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level), then turn down heat and let jars stand in hot water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small pan, bring to a low simmer, and hold there until ready to use.

2. Rinse blueberries, then remove and discard stems.

3. Place blueberries in a sauce pan along with the 1/4 cup of water. Bring the berries up to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and very gently, to avoid crushing the berries as much as possible. Continue to cook the berries, stirring occasionally, just until the berries have softened and have begun to release their juices -- about another 1 to 2 minutes. Then remove pan from heat.

4. Measure out 4 cups of the cooked blueberry mixture. (If you have any left over, you can use it for something else.) Pour the measured blueberry mixture into a large sauce pan. Add lemon juice and calcium water and stir to combine.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup and pectin powder. Mix well and set aside.

6. Bring blueberry mixture to a full boil over high heat. Add maple syrup-pectin mixture, then stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, still over highest heat, to dissolve pectin. Return preserves to a boil, then remove from heat.

7. Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with preserves, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to "fingertip tight" (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).

8. Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, return the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)

9. Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then remove jars from canner.

10. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Then confirm that jars have sealed. Enjoy your preserves! Or store properly for later use.

Recipe by Allison Carroll Duffy. To print the recipe only, click here, scroll to the bottom of the page that comes up, and click the Print button.

You can read more from Allison on her blog: CanningCraft.

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