Blueberry jam recipes

Blueberries are a Russian berry with amazing healing properties, which, unlike its sisters, cranberries, lingonberries and cloudberries, grows not only in the north, but also in the south, in the Caucasus mountains. Blueberry jam for the winter can be prepared in many unique ways: without cooking, without sugar, without water. It goes well with many fruits and other berries. A recipe for thick blueberry jam for the winter is the dream of many housewives, because the berries contain a lot of juice and the delicacy, prepared according to standard recipes, often turns out liquid, almost like compote. The rest of the article will describe some of the secrets of making such a thick dessert and preserving it for the winter.

Benefits of blueberry jam

Blueberries are an incredibly healthy berry. It contains large quantities of vitamins C, A, E, PP and group B, quite rare minerals such as selenium, manganese, sodium, magnesium, iron, chromium, zinc, sulfur and phosphorus, as well as many organic acids - succinic, cinchona, oxalic acid, tannins. The presence of melatonin helps fight cancer cells and normalizes sleep.

Its most important healing property is considered to have a positive effect on vision. Regular consumption of blueberries increases visual acuity and the ability to see in the dark. The berry normalizes eye blood circulation and restores retinal cells.

In addition, blueberries are capable of:

• alleviate the condition of diseases of the upper respiratory tract;
• prevent the formation of blood clots and improve the condition of the cardiovascular system;
• help with both diarrhea and constipation, by normalizing digestive processes;
• help with heartburn;
• support the body's strength in case of anemia and liver diseases, rheumatism and gout;
• improve concentration and memory.

All these properties of berries are completely transferred to blueberry jam, if you prepare it correctly, without subjecting it to too much heat treatment. You just need to remember that every product, including blueberry jam, can bring not only benefits, but also harm.

Calorie content of blueberry jam per 100 grams

The calorie content of blueberry jam is determined by the amount of sugar used in different recipes.If the calorie content of pure blueberries without added sugar is 44 kcal per 100 g, then for jam prepared according to a traditional recipe, this figure is already 214 kcal per 100 g.

How to make blueberry jam

Blueberry jam, like any similar dessert, can be cooked in a variety of ways. You can sprinkle the berries with sugar and leave them to form juice. You can prepare sugar syrup of different concentrations and cook blueberries in it. You can create sugar syrup using water, or you can use blueberry juice.

But it should be remembered that thick blueberry jam according to any of the recipes is difficult to obtain if water is used in its preparation.

The thickness of the resulting jam is determined, surprisingly, also by the shape of the container in which the dessert is prepared. It is best to prepare blueberry jam in a flat, wide basin or large bowl. In this case, the surface area from which water will evaporate while the jam is boiling will be maximum. And with maximum evaporation of liquid, the jam has a greater chance of becoming thick.

How to prepare berries

If blueberries were collected on your personal plot or in the forest on your own, or were donated by acquaintances or friends who collected them themselves, then there is no need to worry about the purity of the berries. And if there is such an opportunity, then it is better not to wash the berries at all, but only carefully sort them out, removing leaves, twigs and other possible plant debris.

After each wash, it is recommended to dry the blueberries thoroughly to avoid excess moisture getting into the jam.

At this point, the actual preparation of blueberries for processing can be considered complete.

How much sugar to add to blueberry jam

The amount of sugar used plays a decisive role in ensuring that the blueberry jam turns out thick. The traditional ratio of blueberries to sugar is 1:1. But for real thick jam this is not enough. Experienced housewives recommend adding 2 kg of sugar per 1 kg of blueberries. In this case, blueberry jam will thicken without difficulty and will be able to be stored in the winter even without swirling in a cool room, but its taste may turn out to be too sweet.

As an alternative, you could try adding 1.5 kg of sugar per 1 kg of blueberries. The jam will be quite thick and not overly sweet.

How long to cook blueberry jam?

Finally, the last factor that directly affects whether blueberry jam will be thick is the duration of its cooking. Prolonged cooking for an hour or more can increase the thickness of the finished dish, but will sharply reduce its nutritional value. In order to take full advantage of the healing properties of blueberry jam, you should not cook it for more than 5-10 minutes at a time.

To create a thick jam, use other methods.

Recipes for blueberry jam for the winter

This article describes in detail only those recipes with which you can easily get delicious blueberry jam for the winter with a fairly thick consistency.

Five-minute blueberry jam

This recipe for five-minute blueberry jam for the winter is the most traditional when it comes to such a healing berry as blueberries.

You will need:

• 1 kg blueberries;
• 1.5 kg granulated sugar.

Manufacturing:

1. Blueberries are covered with 750 g of granulated sugar and left for 10-12 hours (overnight) to soak and release juice.
   
2. In the morning, the released juice is carefully drained, the remaining sugar is added to it and heating is started using low heat.
3. After boiling, remove the foam and cook the syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved for at least 10 minutes.
4. Blueberries are carefully placed in boiling syrup and boiled for no more than 5 minutes over moderate heat.
5. While boiling, five-minute blueberry jam is placed in sterile jars and sealed with simple metal lids for the winter.

Thick blueberry jam

There are several additional tricks for making especially thick blueberry jam.

A simple recipe for thick blueberry jam

According to this recipe, thick jam for the winter is obtained by following some technological tricks.

You will need:

• 1 liter blueberries;
• 3 cups granulated sugar.

Manufacturing will not take much time, but will require vigilant attention throughout the entire process:

1. Blueberries are sorted and freed from debris. If necessary, even rinse and then dry thoroughly, freeing from excess moisture.
2. Place the berries in a container with a thick bottom. This condition is mandatory, especially if large batches of jam are prepared at once, since no water will be used during the cooking process.
   Attention! For small volumes, it is possible to use a regular enamel bowl, subject to constant presence near the stove and continuous stirring.
3. Pour 1 cup of granulated sugar into a bowl, mix well and turn on very low heat under the container.
4. From this point on, the berry mass must be constantly stirred, preferably with a wooden spatula or spoon, to control the dissolution of sugar.
5. At some stage it will become obvious that the berries have released juice. At this moment, it is necessary to increase the heat and monitor even more intensively so that the sugar does not stick to the walls of the dish.
6. Soon there will be a lot of juice and the fire can be turned up to maximum.
7. After boiling, you should wait exactly five minutes with the product gurgling quite intensely and pour the next glass of sugar into the bowl again.
   
8. While stirring the jam, do not forget to periodically remove the foam from it.
9. As soon as the jam boils for the second time, again time it for exactly 5 minutes, not forgetting to stir the jam systematically.
10. After the allotted time, add the last third glass of sugar, stir it thoroughly and again wait for the next boil to begin.
11. After waiting for it, finally let the jam simmer for the last 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
12. Thus, all excess liquid that appeared on the surface due to the addition of sugar was evaporated by boiling three times.
13. When hot, the jam is poured into jars and stored for the winter. Because when cooled it will already be a very thick mass.

From the number of ingredients presented in the recipe, you end up with one 750 ml jar of thick blueberry jam and a small rosette for eating.

Blueberry jam with pectin

For those who cannot afford to use too much sugar in jam, but want to enjoy a thick blueberry dessert, this recipe has been created for the winter. Adding pectin allows you to preserve all the vitamins and even the aroma of fresh blueberries, while the consistency of the jam will be so thick that it will be more reminiscent of jam.

You will need:

• 1 kg blueberries;
• 700 g sugar;
• ½ sachet of gelfix (pectin).

Manufacturing:

1. The blueberries are sorted, rinsed as necessary and slightly dried.
2. Using a crusher, crush some of the berries. For the same purposes, you can use an ordinary fork.
3. Add sugar to the berries, mix and place the container with them to heat.
4. Bring to a boil, add half a sachet of gelfix, mix thoroughly again and remove from heat.
5. Delicious blueberry jam is ready.
6. For winter storage, it is distributed into sterile jars and hermetically sealed.

Thick blueberry jam with apples

Another way by which you can quite easily get thick blueberry jam for the winter is to use natural pectin, which is found in large quantities in apples.

You will need:

• 1.5 kg apples;
• 150 ml water;
• 1.5 kg blueberries;
• 1.5 kg granulated sugar.

Manufacturing:

1. Apples are cored with seeds and cut into small slices.
2. They are filled with water and cooked for 10-15 minutes until soft.
3. Then cool and rub through a sieve.
4. Mash the blueberries with a wooden spoon, mix with the apple mixture and place on the fire.
5. Cook for about 15 minutes after boiling.
6. Add sugar, mix and boil the fruit and berry mixture for another 10 minutes.
7. Place into jars while hot.

Liquid blueberry jam

The proposed recipe cannot definitely be called a liquid version of blueberry jam. It is very original, first of all, in terms of the composition of the components and the resulting product after cooling can be classified as thick jam. But preparation will not take too much time, and no one will doubt the healthfulness of preparing it for the winter.

You will need:

• 1 kg blueberries;
• 1 glass of natural honey;
• 2 tbsp. l. Roma

Manufacturing:

1. The blueberries are sorted, washed under running water and dried on a paper towel.
2. Mash the dried berries in a bowl until the juice appears.
3. The bowl is placed on low heat and honey is gradually introduced into the berries - one spoon at a time, stirring constantly.
4. After all the honey has dissolved in the berries, the jam is boiled for another quarter of an hour.
5. Then turn off the heat, pour in the rum and pour the finished dish into sterile jars.

Blueberry jam with whole berries

To keep blueberries in jam intact, there is a special technique. Dissolve 1 tsp in a glass of boiled cold water. table salt. Cleaned blueberries are immersed in water for 12-15 minutes. After this, the berries are thoroughly washed under running water and dried.

You will need:

• 800 g blueberries;
• 1000 g sugar.

Manufacturing:

1. In an enamel bowl, mix blueberries pre-treated in a saline solution and dried and half the dose of sugar prescribed according to the recipe.
2. Leave the bowl in a cool place for several hours.
3. During this time, the berries will release juice, which must be drained and placed on the fire in a separate container.
4. After boiling, add the remaining sugar to the juice and, after waiting for it to completely dissolve in the syrup, boil for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Then allow the resulting syrup to cool to room temperature.
6. Carefully add blueberries to the syrup and stir.
7. Place on low heat, heat until boiling and boil for 5 to 10 minutes.

Frozen blueberry jam

Frozen blueberry jam turns out no worse than fresh, especially if you add interesting additional ingredients to it in the form of blackberries and ginger.

You will need:

• 500 g of frozen blueberries and blackberries;
• 1000 g granulated sugar;
• 100 g ginger.

The manufacturing process itself is very simple and takes a minimum amount of time:

1. Defrost, sort and rinse the blackberries.
2. Defrost and puree blueberries.
3. The ginger rhizome is grated on a fine grater.
4. Mix blackberries, grated ginger and blueberry puree in one container.
5. Add sugar and leave for about an hour, stirring.
   
6. Heat the mixture over medium heat and after boiling, cook over low heat for another 5 minutes.
7. Place in sterile jars and seal hermetically for the winter.

Blueberry jam in a slow cooker

The consistency of blueberry jam prepared in a slow cooker differs from the traditional one in the direction of thickness. At least for this reason, it’s worth trying this recipe for the winter.

You will need:

• 1 kg blueberries;
• 1000 g sugar.

Manufacturing:

1. The berries are sorted out of debris and washed if necessary. But in this case, they must be dried on a paper napkin.
2. Place the prepared blueberries in a multicooker bowl, add sugar and stir.
3. Turn on the “Quenching” mode for 1.5 to 2 hours.
4. Transfer to dry and clean jars and seal hermetically for winter storage.

Raspberry and blueberry jam

The combination of blueberry jam with many other berries turns out to be very successful. The taste and aroma become more intense, and the beneficial properties of the finished product increase. So the recipe for blueberry and raspberry jam turns out to be simple, but very useful.

You will need:

• 500 g blueberries;
• 500 g raspberries;
• 1 kg sugar.

Manufacturing:

1. Raspberries and blueberries are sorted and freed from debris.
2. Combine them in one bowl and grind using a blender, mixer or wooden masher.
3. Add sugar to the berry puree, stir and begin to heat slowly.
4. Constantly stirring the blueberry-raspberry jam according to the recipe, bring it to a boil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until slightly thickened.

Using a similar recipe, you can easily make blueberry jam with other berries: strawberries, wild strawberries and currants.

Blueberry jam with lemon

Lemon will add a stunning citrus flavor to the blueberry jam in this recipe.

You will need:

• 1 kg blueberries;
• 1 lemon;
• 1.5 kg of sugar.

Manufacturing:

1. The blueberries are sorted and cleared of debris.
2. The lemon is scalded with boiling water, the zest is peeled and the juice is squeezed out.
3. The blueberries are partially crushed with a wooden masher.
4. Then combine with chopped zest and lemon juice.
5. Add sugar, stir and leave for about an hour.
6. Heat over moderate heat until boiling and boil for 3-4 minutes, skimming off the foam.
7. Set aside until completely cooled.
8. And boil again for about 10 minutes.
9. Hot jam is distributed into sterile jars and sealed for the winter.

Blueberry jam with orange

Exactly the same technology is used to prepare delicious blueberry jam with a set of ingredients from the citrus family.

You will need:

• 1 kg blueberries;
• 2 oranges;
• 1 lemon;
• 1.5 kg granulated sugar.

Blueberry-banana jam

This very unusual recipe allows you to combine in one dish seemingly completely incompatible components - fruits and berries from almost opposite climatic zones. But the result is a very tasty and quite thick jam.

You will need:

• 1 kg peeled bananas;
• 300 g blueberries;
• 3 tbsp. l. lemon juice;
• 300 g sugar.

From this number of components comes 3 jars of 0.4 liters of finished jam.

Manufacturing:

1. Blueberries are mashed into puree using an electronic (blender) or manual (fork, masher) tool.
2. Do the same with peeled bananas.
3. Mix banana and blueberries in one bowl, pour in lemon juice, and add sugar.
4. Heat over medium heat until boiling and skim off the foam several times.
5. Boil the jam for a total of 15 minutes and immediately place it in prepared sterile jars.

Terms and conditions of storage

Hermetically sealed jars of blueberry jam can be stored in a cool place without light for two to three years. If there are exceptions to this rule in individual recipes, they are mentioned in the description.

Conclusion

It’s easy to choose a thick blueberry jam recipe for the winter from a whole series of suitable options described in the article. Blueberries are a very flexible berry and you can experiment with them endlessly, adding new ingredients. You just have to remember the basic principles and rules for obtaining a thick and healing preparation from this forest berry.

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