Fruits of No Labor

by Jane Adams

It was a bumper crop.  
After my husband pruned the blueberry bush, bunches of delicate little white flowers emerged, bringing forth a bounty of tiny firm berries, too many to count.
We snacked as we picked them and then made blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes, put blueberries in everything.   

And we still had bowls full.
 
Deep inside my mind, the thought of making jam resurfaced; a thought which I suppressed once I remembered the involved labor of jarring, canning, sterilizing and all the work associated with making preserves. 

But then I found a box of Pomona's Universal Pectin in the bottom of my spice drawer.

I read the insert. I figured I could make a small batch of jam and not can it, but rather, simply eat it fresh. I could make it with the pectin or without. 

Jam will keep  two weeks in the fridge, and you can freeze the excess. The insert included No-Cook Freezer recipes, low sugar recipes, and recipes with honey. 

The pectin contains no artificial ingredients.

And if the mixture doesn’t turn out quite thick enough, you can drizzle it over fresh ice cream, incorporate it into a glaze for meat or drizzle on brie or goat cheese. 

Besides, I thought my neighbors would love some which was good enough reason to embark on the endeavor. 

No excuses. No more excuses for not using the succulent bounty of fruit straight from my back yard to replace the stiff grocery store jar which was in my fridge. I set to work one morning before breakfast and was done before I drank my second cup of coffee. 

The process was simple. Stir. Mash. Stir some more. Cool. 

In about 30 minutes I had a vibrant colored dip, which cooled to a luscious deep purple. I spooned into dollar store to-go containers. 

I was hooked.  Next time... peaches!

Berry Easy Blueberry Jam

• 1-4 cups white sugar (sweeten according to your preference. I prefer a little sugar but on the lower end of the spectrum)
• 4 cups blueberries, mashed
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tsp pectin powder (or according to instructions in pectin insert)

1. Wash and mash blueberries. 
   
2. Add sugar. Mix and let stand 10 minutes.  
   
3. Mix lemon juice and pectin, add to blueberries. 
   
4. Stir until boils. 
   
5. Turn off heat stir. 

Follow directions in insert. Will keep in fridge one to two weeks, will freeze up to one year. Thaw in fridge.
   


No Pectin Berry Easy Strawberry Jam

• 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
• 4 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Wash and then crush strawberries. 
   
2. Mix strawberries, lemon juice and sugar.  
   
3. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved.  
   
4. Boil. 
   
5. Cool. 
   
6. Refrigerate.

http://www.pomonapectin.com/