Yes... you read right! You make this Blueberry Jam in your Bread Machine! This is so easy I might never buy jam again! And it is absolutely delicious!
The fresh fruit really comes through. Jams with a lot of sugar I find, taste like sugar with a hint of the flavour... not this one!
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What Makes This Recipe Special?
- 4 ingredients... an hour and a bit, and you have blueberry jam.
- It is a low-sugar jam; only 1 cup to 4 cups of fruit.
- You can make it diabetic-friendly using monkfruit sugar.
How To Make It
- You put all the ingredients in your bread machine, and it does all the work
- The cycle heats the fruit mixture, stirring it, so it saves you standing at the stove, stirring until the fruit breaks down.
- You could obviously do the same thing on your stovetop. Those recipes call for you to stir your fruit and ingredients constantly while coming to a boil, and then boil for 1 minute. But that means you have to stand there for up to 20 minutes or so for that 1-minute boil!
- The recipe, as written, is meant to be refrigerated or frozen, but I have water-bathed it with success. (Sugar is one of the preservatives in regular jam. Since this is low-sugar, you don't have that aspect at work for you here, so best to refrigerate or water-bath it.)
Aside: I feel like one of those joke diagrams where someone starts to do one thing, gets distracted and starts something else, and that goes on foreve,r so the trail they leave looks like a scribbled mess! I had no idea when I woke up this morning that I was going to make jam. In fact, we are in the middle of a massive heat wave!
But I saw the recipe and was so intrigued... and I had all these fresh blueberries in my fridge... and the pectin in the cupboard... so it seemed like it was meant to be!
This makes 3 half pints, so it is no big ordeal. I heat 4 half-pint jars on a silicone-lined sheet in my oven at 275 degrees for 20 minutes, so the jars are ready when the jam is ready. The extra jar is to have a Plan B if you have just over the 3 half pints!
Chef's Tips for Bread Machine Blueberry Jam
- The recipe says you can substitute other fruits. I have only tried the blueberry so far. The pectin insert says to add lemon juice to strawberry, raspberry and blueberry jam. If you are making rhubarb, peach, pear or pineapple you don't need the lemon juice.
- You can use fresh or frozen and thawed fruit so you can make this any time of the year.
- This is a low-sugar jam and does not include any water bath processing. Sugar is a preservative as is the water bath processing. That means you need to treat this jam like a freezer jam. It will keep in the fridge for 30 days but more than that it needs to be frozen. (See the FAQs... you can water bath it for 15 minutes to make it shelf stable if you like.)
- Use Low-Sugar Pectin for best results. I have used regular pectin and the end result is very loose.
- The jam is VERY hot when it is done in the bread machine. So use gloves to remove the little pail. I set my jars on parchment paper (I usually use a tea towel) because blueberry stains so badly if you have any drips or spills -which I did! So, clean up was a cinch.
- You can use a funnel to fill your jars but mine is white plastic and I was afraid it would turn 'blueberry' forever, so I used a stainless steel ladle to pour it.
- Leave a ½" from the top of the jar to allow for expansion during freezing.
I served my Blueberry Jam with this delicious Bagel Bread.
I think it would be awesome with pancakes too. And...I am also going to try it as a topping for a cheesecake. The taste is so fresh and fruity. I love that it is not cloyingly sweet! It is rather fluid, though so it would end up being a kind of drizzle affair down the sides but I can work with that!
FAQs
Yes. See the recipe card for different kinds of fruits and how to adjust the recipe.
There is no reason you can't water bath the finished jars. I have had success using standard water bath techniques that you find can find here for 15 minutes.
I have made this several times using frozen blueberries so fresh or frozen fruit will work.
Low-sugar pectin is preferred, and it will give you a thick jam consistency. Regular pectin makes for a very loose 'jam', more like a sauce.
Related Recipes
Bread Machine Blueberry Jam
If you tried this, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know it went in the 📝 comments below!
Save Print Pin FacebookEquipment
- 3 sealable jars such as Mason jars
Ingredients
- 4 cups fruit crushed (thaw and crush if using frozen) See Note 2 below for other fruit recommendations.
- 1 cup sugar See Note 3.
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1.5 oz low-sugar powdered pectin (=4-5 Tbsps) see Note 1 below.
Instructions
- Rinse and remove any stems from blueberries. (Or defrost if using frozen). Crush fruit roughly. I used a potato masher.
- Add the sugar and lemon juice and allow berries to sit for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the pectin till evenly mixed.
- Add berries to bread machine and start jam cycle. (This cycle is basically 15 minutes of stirring berries constantly in high heat. The mixture stews for 50 minutes being stirred occasionally. The heat seems to increase during last 5 minutes or so.) If your bread machine doesn't have a jam cycle you can cook on your stove top, preferably in a non-stick pan.
- While berries are simmering heat 3 half pint jars on a silicone lined baking sheet in your oven at 275° for 20 minutes. (You may want to add an extra in case you fill slightly more than 3). Use tongs to handle hot jars and covers. Cover jar lids and bands with boiling water 5 minutes before you are ready to fill your jars.
- Carefully remove the pan from the bread machine. Mixture is VERY hot. Ladle jam into jars, clean jar rims and sides. Position the lid and screw the band on finger tight. Dry the jars and lids.
- Allow jars to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. You will hear the lids pop as they seal.
- Tighten the bands by hand and refrigerate for up to 30 days or store in freezer if you won't use it in 30 days. See Note 4 about water-bathing.
MrsK
In the process of making it now. I’m not sure of the requirement for leaving in the refrigerator if it is sealed in a mason jar.
Carolyn Hetke
Hi. Canning best pratices say you have to water bath the jam in order to make it shelf-stable. There are probably people who have been doing their own thing for years without a problem but I am not taking any chances here!
MrsK
Thank you. Unfortunately my jam did not set. But, the taste is great and we can use it on ice cream or Greek yogurt
Carolyn Hetke
Hi Mrs. K. I updated the recipe to specify low-sugar pectin as preferred. I have made it many times with regular and it is very loose, more like a sauce. So, I made it with low-sugar pectin this time and it is comes out a very thick jam texture. Thanks for your feedback!
Jan Lighton
i have made this blueberries and then tried fresh cherries. I used a bit too much pectin in the blueberry try so we called it blueberry glue. was still good, just very thick. with the cherries I did about 5 cups of stemmed, piled and halved cherries with one 1.75oz package of sure-jell pectin and followed the rest or the recipe as it. it made about 5 small jars of cherry jam and it was delicious! thanks for the recipe.
Carolyn Hetke
Thanks for the ideas. I am surprised by the 'blueberry glue'... mine is always a bit loose but I make it all year round, often with frozen blueberries, so maybe mine has more liquid than fresh. I will add a note for others since I suggest in the notes I increased the Pectin. Thanks for the feedback!
mitch Gee
thanks for the recipe.. I am looking at my store bought jams in the garbage.
Rob
Why does everyone feel we need their life story before the recipe, cut to the chase and start with the ingredients and instructions. Yes I'm a dick, thank you. Fact is every time I look up recipes I have to read someone's life story.
thewineloverskitchen
Alas Rob - sorry you missed the Jump to Recipe button which would have saved you such angst. In my own defense - of the 6 or 7 paragraphs in the post most pertain to making the recipe and only a couple of sentences are personal. From your email address it would seem that you make a practice of this criticism... so your choice to visit again or not. I hope you will... but maybe 'dontcare' either.
DJT
Rob is an idiot....
Just me
At the top if you don't want to read the story there is always a button "jump to recipe" - it's not very difficult to find, so if you don't want tips and tricks that the person who wrote the recipe shares along the way it's not that hard to use the internet properly!
Jan L
is it 4 cups prior to crushing or after crushing? it makes a difference!
Carolyn Hetke
It is 4 cups crushed... so after crushing.
Maya Ghoudsifar
Will the blueberries stain your bread machine pail?
thewineloverskitchen
Hi Maya - My pail is metal with a non-stick coating and it is totally unaffected by the blueberries.