Wild Blueberry and Lemon Preserves

I love the whole exercise of preserving things even though it seems so old-fashioned.  Fresh summer fruit, preserved in all of its sweetness.  It’s taking the beauty of a gardens harvest and ‘putting it up’ at the peak of freshness.  And the process is so simple.

I use preserves for a lot of things.  Raspberry preserves (here) on a sponge cake, in cobblers, pies and of course as a filling for cupcakes (these were filled with an amazing pineapple sauce)!  I can use these goodies all year round and nothing banishes the winter blues like spooning some blueberry preserves over your hotcakes.  Lovely.

Today I made some Wild Blueberry and Lemon Preserves.  This recipe takes maybe an hour from start to finish and so worth the time.

I used wild blueberries.  I had a little bit of  fresh picked local berries that I threw in this batch as well.

I do a mixture of 250 ml and 500 ml jars.  When I need just a little, I can open a small jar and it usually gets gobbled up pretty quickly.  If I need to use it for a layer cake or to fill cupcakes I open a bigger jar.  Seems to cut down on waste and my husband is always saying our fridge has more condiments than food in it!

Homemade Wild Blueberry and Lemon Preserves

*adapted from Paula Dean

5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (thaw frozen berries in the refrigerator the night before)
6 1/2 cups sugar
Zest of two lemons
Juice of two lemons
2  envelops liquid fruit pectin, such as Certo
7 (250 ml) canning jars with lids, washed and full of boiling water

In a large heavy bottomed pot put berries, sugar, juice and zest.  On medium-high heat bring berries to a full boil (stirring frequently).  Add liquid pectin and boil one minute longer.  Remove from heat and skim any foam if necessary.  Ladle into prepared jars and leave 1/4 inch head space.  Place the caps on the jars and process in a canner of boiling water for 15 minutes.

Store in a cool dark place.