Blueberry Jam

Blueberries are mostly found in North America, but their cousins, bilberries, are found all across Europe and are highly praised in berry-gathering, preserve-loving Russia. The Russian Wikipedia informs us that in 1964, Soviet Union issued a stamp representing bilberries, and the Great Soviet Encyclopedia mentions that bilberry juice can be used for the dubious purpose of coloring wine.

This blueberry jam is pretty low in added sugar — I find that many jam recipes are overly sweet. Try it with blini and tvorog!

Blueberry jam
Yields 1 pint

3 cups blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
5 g powdered apple pectin
12 oz sugar

• Crush the berries with a hand blender or a food processor. Do not process too long, as you want to keep chunks. Add the berries and lemon juice to a saucepan, sprinkle the pectin and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add the sugar progressively, bring back to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Let cool for 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a sterilized pint jar, seal and process in a 200 F water bath for 15 minutes.
• Let cool for 30 minutes, refrigerate upside-down for 30 minutes, and flip.