Blueberry Balsamic Black Pepper Jam

Ingredients:
8-10 cups whole, picked over blueberries
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 box liquid pectin (6 oz. should be 2 little packets in the box)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2-1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
Pour the berries into a bowl. Mash with a potato masher. Measure it out. It should yield about 6 cups of mashed berries. Add the sugar and blueberries to a large pot. Prep jars/lids for canning. Cook the sugar and blueberries to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the pectin. Continue cooking at a low (rolling) boil for 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and pepper. Fill the jars. Process in the hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Yield: about 7 8-oz jars

Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can. Here is a bunch of other canning books and equipment I find useful.

My thoughts:

I have to admit, I made this jam well over a year ago. I had lots of other things to post so I didn't share it then but over the year, I ate it and it was so good, I thought it was worth sharing. It is a beautiful inky blue-purple and the balsamic and pepper cuts the sweetness just enough. It lends itself well to both sweet and savory uses. I've slathered it on bread, in pies and even over meat.