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.
mmmmm….great;)
The combination of flavors in this sounds intriguing. Thanks for sharing!
Girl – Your jams drive me wild and this is another great one!
Outstanding!
Rachel, thank you thank you THANK YOU.. for posting this recipe in your blog…It's simply amazing.
I made this jam…first, because I was curious about making a jam with balsamic vinegar. Well, that and I had a riot of blueberries and I knew that I had plenty of fruit if it tasted awful, I would still be able to make plenty blueberry jam.
However, after making it, this will be the only blueberry jam I will ever make, it's simply one of the best tasting jams I have ever tasted.
The balsamic vinegar only ads a pleasant aromatic & tart complement to the jam, nothing off putting or strange by any means….The black pepper is a little that quietly reveals itself on the back of your tongue moments after you swallow.
Mouths and palates all over the globe will dance with delight for years to come with this recipe. Well Done!