Fresh Blueberry Quick Jam

Fresh blueberries always remind me of summer.  Well, that and the well-known children’s book “Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey, which I must have read to my boys 1,000 times when they were little.  Blueberries are a wonderful, tasty summer fruit.  Loaded with fiber, potassium, iron, vitamin C, and vitamin B6, they are believed to help protect against heart disease, and cancer and may help maintain bone strength, mental health, and good blood pressure.

My youngest son very much reminds me of the main character (Sal) in the storybook: inquisitive and ever-so-slightly mischievous. My son was also the reason I decided to make blueberry jam because he is a jam-lover. Strawberry tends to be his favorite, but he had some fresh homemade blueberry jam at a breakfast stop while we were traveling, and his world was forever changed. By the end of the meal, he was trying to scoop whatever was left by the spoonful, savoring every last drop.

So I decided to make a simple blueberry quick jam recipe to take advantage of all those beautiful summer blueberries that are in season right now.  I don’t can my food; I don’t have the patience, and I’m afraid of botulism!  So with that in mind, I made this a quick jam.  Like my strawberry-orange quick jam, it is a quick cooking process; no sterilization and sealing, with the finished product to be consumed soon, not saved for winter.  The sugar acts as a preservative so the quick jam will keep for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.  This jam is on the thinner side.  I use a small amount of gelatin, but not much.  Feel free to adjust that as desired.  I wanted a less jelly-like feel.

While this quick jam is perfect on toast or waffles, I poured some into my unsweetened overnight oats and it was exceptional. The versatility of jam is endless, so go ahead, and get creative.  The season runs through August.