An easy recipe for homemade blueberry preserves, made with wild blueberries, and spiced with vanilla, cardamom and cloves. This delicious blueberry jam is wonderful as a cake filling, served warm with vanilla bean ice cream and pound cake, or slathered onto freshly baked blueberry muffins.
You might also love these recipes for seedless cranberry jelly, bourbon cherry jam, and peach apricot jam.
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Wild Blueberries vs Cultivated Blueberries
How are wild blueberries different from regular blueberries? Wild blueberries (also called “lowbush”) grow on small bushes, and are indigenous to the region where they’re found. They’re commonly found in colder northern regions of the US, such as Maine. They’re also smaller in size, with less water content, so they not only pack more flavor, but more antioxidants, too. Wild blueberries have a more intense and sweet flavor than cultivated blueberries, which is captured when they’re frozen right after picking at their peak ripeness. They can be more difficult to find, but you’ll often be able to get big bags of them in the freezer section of your local grocery store.
The blueberries you buy in the produce section at your grocery store are cultivated (also called “highbush”) blueberries. They’re bigger in size, and, due to their higher water content, have less flavor than wild blueberries. Cultivated blueberries are usually picked weeks before they’re ripe, and shipped to stores around the country.
So Which is Better?
Both types of blueberries are great for just eating plain, but when it comes to cooking and baking, it’s really just going to depend on your preference, and if fresh or frozen berries are available. For pies, jams, preserves and compotes, you can use either fresh or frozen berries, and since wild blueberries are usually only available frozen, they’re perfect for today’s homemade blueberry preserves for an intense blueberry flavor. For baked goods like muffins and cakes, I prefer to use fresh blueberries, since frozen tend to bleed and discolor the batter.
TIP: For more tips on making homemade jam, be sure to read my post How to Make and Store Homemade Jam and Fruit Preserves.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Blueberries. Wild or cultivated, fresh or frozen, they all work great in this jam recipe.
- Lemon Juice. Adds tartness to enhance the flavor of the blueberries.
- Spices. For a little more depth of flavor, I added a pinch of cloves and cardamom, as well as coarse Kosher salt to balance the sweetness, and a little vanilla extract.
- Pectin. I only use “classic” powdered pectin in all my jam recipes, which sets the jam to a thicker, spreadable consistency.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness, helps the jam to set, and also acts as a preservative.
- Butter. Just a little butter helps to reduce any foam on top of the jam after cooking it.
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, combine the blueberries with the lemon juice, spices and salt.
- Over medium heat, bring the fruit to a simmer, and simmer for a few minutes until soft and juicy. Mash the blueberries slightly, but be sure to leave whole berries, too.(If you’re using wild blueberries, you probably don’t need to smash them at all, but with larger cultivated blueberries, you’ll want to smash some of them to thicken the texture of the preserves.)
- Sprinkle the pectin over the bubbling fruit, and stir it in, then add the sugar. Increase the heat to high, and bring to a vigorous boil, while stirring constantly (wear an oven mitt to protect your hand against splatter and steam burns). Once the fruit is boiling hard enough that the bubbles can’t be stirred down, continue to boil and stir for 1 full minute. This boiling process activates the pectin to “set” the jam. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter (to reduce any foam).
- Immediately ladle the hot jam into clean jars. Wipe the rims of the jars clean, and screw on the lids.
Resources
A helpful resource on making and storing homemade jam and fruit preserves, with a guide on types of pectin, tips for freezing and canning jam, and links to favorite jam recipes:
How to Make and Store Homemade Jam and Fruit Preserves
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Wild Blueberry Preserves
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Hot Sterilized Jam Jars with Lids/Rings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs wild blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 small lemon)
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tbsp "classic" powdered pectin (more pectin may be needed to set the jam, depending on the brand)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, combine the blueberries with the lemon juice, spices and salt.
- Over medium heat, bring the fruit to a simmer, and simmer for a few minutes until soft and juicy. Mash the blueberries slightly, but be sure to leave whole berries, too.(If you're using wild blueberries, you probably don't need to smash them at all, but with larger cultivated blueberries, you'll want to smash some of them to thicken the texture of the preserves.)
- Sprinkle the pectin over the bubbling fruit, and stir it in, then add the sugar. Increase the heat to high, and bring to a vigorous boil, while stirring constantly (wear an oven mitt to protect your hand against splatter and steam burns). Once the fruit is boiling hard enough that the bubbles can't be stirred down, continue to boil and stir for 1 full minute. This boiling process activates the pectin to "set" the jam. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter (to reduce any foam).
- Immediately ladle the hot jam into clean jars. Wipe the rims of the jars clean, and screw on the lids.
Notes
- Refrigerator: If eating the jam right away, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
- Pantry: To store the jam at room temperature for up to 18 months, like in your pantry, or to give away as gifts, be sure to can the jars of jam in a hot water bath, according to standard canning procedures. This ensures the lids are properly sealed to protect against contamination.
- Freezer: If you want to avoid canning the jam, and you have the freezer space, you can simply freeze the jars of jam for up to 12 months. To store the jam in the freezer, be sure to leave 1/4 inch “head space” at the top of the jars to allow for expansion as the jam freezes. Thaw out in the refrigerator overnight before eating.
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