Blueberry Lavender Jam

Making Jam

I recently visited my parents and their goat farm, and while I was there my mom and I made  far more  jam than anyone should make in such a short time.  It was great fun making the jam though.  For my next few posts, I’ll be sharing the recipes we made and letting you know my thoughts on the process and how they turned out (spoiler alert: deliciousness is involved).  The first jam we made was a blueberry jam.  I found a recipe here for a blueberry lavender jam, and we tweaked it a bit to make it our own.  This is also the first time I have used lavender in food, and I was amazed at how delightful it was.  I’ve always loved the smell of lavender; I even went through a phase where the only scent I used was lavender based.  I just never really thought of using it in food like this.  I have really missed out.  Now I have to find other ways to use this aromatic herb.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did.  Let me know if you make it and what your thoughts are.  If you make any tweaks of your own, feel free to share them here.  I love hearing how you make it your own.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp dried lavender buds, ground

8 cups blueberries

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

4 ¼ cups granulated sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 package (1.75 oz) pectin

½ - 1 tsp butter

Tools:

8 half-pint jars with lids and rims

2 large stock pots, one filled with water

Canning rack, placed in large stock pot full of water

Blender (can use immersion blender if desired)

Jar tongs

Ladle

Funnel

Instructions:

1. To prepare your jars, begin by boiling the water in the pot with the rack.  Place the jars and lids on the rack and allow to sit in the boiling water for 10 minutes.  Use the jar tongs to remove and place on a clean towel.  This may need to be done in batches and can be done at the same time you are preparing the jam mixture.  Do the same thing for the lids and rims.
2. Combine the pectin with the ¼ cup of sugar in a small bowl, set aside.
3. In a stock pot, combine the blueberries, lemon zest and juice, and ground lavender buds.  Use an immersion blender, and pulse until blueberries are crushed. You can use a blender and pulse to crush the blueberries prior to adding to the stockpot.
4. Stir in the sugar-pectin mixture and butter.
5. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
6. Add in remaining sugar all at once and return to a rolling boil.
7. Boil for 1 minute.
8. Remove from heat, and ladle jam into prepared jars, using funnel to minimize spilling.
9. Wipe rims of jars and use prepared lids and rims to close.
10. Place the filled and closed jars back on the rack in the boiling water bath of the other stockpot.  Allow to boil for 10 minutes.
11. Using the jar tongs, remove from the water and place on a clean towel.
12. Allow the jars to set overnight.  The tops of the lids should “pull in” - when pressed, they do not push in or bounce back.