wendabout: Making Blueberry All-Fruit

Summer is canning season. Jam, jelly, pickles...I like canning. There is something so satisfying about seeing that line of beautiful jars after you take them out of the hot water bath and hear that little 'pop' I like knowing what is in the jam I feed my kids all year and having great gifts for family and friends at hand anytime.

So last week a friend and I braved the chiggers and picked blueberries at another friends house. They have these massive blueberry bushes that I have been picking at for years. Yes I got chiggers. Yes it was worth it to have a good stock of Jam. Yes I will be heading back to stock my freezer with frozen blueberries for muffins and pancakes through the winter.

Picking blueberries with children is a little bit of an endeavor. Madeleine, my 2 year old eats and eats and has a grand time. Justus who is 10 months chases the dog and then cries to be held. I wear him in the Ergo and try to pick as fast as I can. This is generally how life works anyhow. I decided to make all-fruit after the kids went to bed. Less whiny that way.

So, I have recently discovered Pomonas Universal Pectin. I love love love it! With it I can make jam with anything. I can add as much or as little sugar as i want. I can make jam with honey. I can do pretty much as I want with jam. They have great all-fruit recipes in the packet that I used to make the blueberry jam. So all that is in it is blueberries, grape juice and lemon juice. Perfect.