Blueberry Sauce

This recipe is from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, aka my canning bible. This stuff is superb on pancakes, waffles, ice cream, and even in sweet tea! Have you ever had blueberry sweet tea? It's divine. Give it a try and thank me later.

Blueberry Sauce

makes six half-pint jars

7 C. Whole Blueberries
2 3/4 C. Unsweetened Apple Juice (or water)
1 Tbsp. Grated Lemon Zest
1 1/4 C. Granulated Sugar
2/3 C. Corn Syrup
1/4 C. Lemon Juice

Prepare canner, jars, and lids. Crush blueberries. Combine crushed blueberries, juice (or water), and lemon zest. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. While maintaining a constant but gentle boil, add sugar, stirring until completely dissolved. Continue boiling gently while stirring in corn syrup and lemon juice. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 15 minutes. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, if necessary. Wipe rim, center lid on jar, and apply band to fingertip tightness. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove lid and let stand in canner for additional 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool, and store.

Fresh Peach Jam

makes 5 half-pints

4 C. Finely Diced/Crushed Peaches

1 1/2 C. Sugar

2 T. Lemon Juice

1/4 Tsp. Butter or Margarine (to keep foaming down)

1 Pkg Ball Low Sugar Pectin OR 3 Tbsp.

Prepare jars, and lids. Combine peaches, butter, and lemon juice in a large pot. Whisk in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly. Add entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove lid and let stand in canner for additional 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool, and store.

Mead (Honey Wine)

makes 6 gallons

9 lb Honey
12 c. White Grape Juice
12 c. White Granulated Sugar
6 tsp. Acid Blend
6 tsp. Yeast Nutrient
6 Campden Tablets, crushed
3 tsp. Pectic Enzyme
1 pkg Wine Yeast (I used Red Star Cote des Blanc)

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT wine yeast in primary fermentor. Specific gravity should be between 1.092-1.099, if below add sugar as necessary. Cover primary. After 24 hours, add yeast. Cover primary and attach airlock.

When ferment is complete (specific gravity has dropped to 1.000 - about 3 weeks) siphon into clean secondary. To aid clearing, siphon every two weeks for the next two months or until wine is clear. Bottle. Can be enjoyed immediately or aged to mellow.

*If preferred slightly sweetened, add 1/2 tsp. Stabilizer per gallon, followed by 1/2 c. sugar per gallon.

Formula for wine alcohol percentage:
(Starting SG - Ending SG)/0.8 = Alcohol Percentage!

Berry Wine

makes 6 gallons

15 (12oz) cans Berry Juice (I used a mixture of Blueberry and Triple Berry Blend)

10 c. White Granulated Sugar
6 tsp. Acid Blend
6 tsp. Yeast Nutrient
6 Campden Tablets, crushed
3 tsp. Pectic Enzyme
1 pkg Wine Yeast (I used Red Star Cote des Blanc)

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT wine yeast in primary fermentor. Specific gravity should be between 1.092-1.099, if below add sugar as necessary. Cover primary. After 24 hours, add yeast. Cover primary and attach airlock.

When ferment is complete (specific gravity has dropped to 1.000 - about 3 weeks) siphon into clean secondary. To aid clearing, siphon every two weeks for the next two months or until wine is clear. Bottle. Can be enjoyed immediately or aged to mellow.

*If preferred slightly sweetened, add 1/2 tsp. Stabilizer per gallon, followed by 1/2 c. sugar per gallon.

Formula for wine alcohol percentage:
(Starting SG - Ending SG)/0.8 = Alcohol Percentage!

Blueberry Muffin Jam

makes 6 half-pint jars

4 c. Crushed Blueberries

1 c. Finely Chopped Apples (roughly two apples)

2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 pkg (OR 3 Tbsp.) Ball Low Sugar Pectin
2 1/4 c. Sugar
4 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Prepare jars, and lids. Combine blueberries, apple, cinnamon and lemon juice in a 6- or 8-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly. Add entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove lid and let stand in canner for additional 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool, and store.

Strawberry Mint Black Pepper Jam

Okay, so this jam may sound a little strange to you. It certainly sounded strange to me - but I'm typically drawn to the unusual. The pepper and mint give this strawberry jam a very complex (dare I say fancy?) flavor. You taste that something is different, but if you didn't know exactly what it was, you may not be able to quite put your finger on it. I had it this morning on homemade toasted bread I purchased at our local rendezvous yesterday. My husband and I look forward to the rendezvous every year. Patrons dress up as French Settlers and Indians, have reenactments, play music, and set up shops and tee-pees to sell and barter handmade goods. It's this nerdy girls dream come true. 

 "Rendezvous is a re-creation of the traditional French fur trapper’s holiday of the Eighteenth Century, and is one of the oldest and largest events of its kind in the United States. Join with the buckskinners, militiamen, artisans, and entertainers as they celebrate life in the shadows of the great fortress known as Fort De Chartres."

That quote is from the official Rendezvous at Fort De Chartres website, which you can visit here. If you happen to live in the Southern Illinois area and have never been to the Rendezvous at Fort De Chartres, GO! It's a very neat experience. Someday, I would love to be a part of it. Perhaps I can sell jam or honey (have I mentioned bee-keeping is on my list of to-do's? It seems to be pretty much all I talk about these days).

Back to the jam. It really is divine. IF you're a little hesitant about making an entire batch of this unusual (but very, very tasty) jam, remember you can always halve the recipe. It would make a wonderful birthday gift, Christmas gift, Tuesday gift, etc. 

Strawberry Mint Black Pepper Jam

makes 6 half-pint jars

5 c. Crushed Strawberries
1 pkg (OR 3 Tbsp.) Ball Low Sugar Pectin
2 1/4 c. Sugar
4 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

20 cranks of black pepper corn (from a pepper corn grinder)

10 Large Mint Leaves, finely chopped (I used Sweet Mint)

Prepare jars, and lids. Combine strawberries and lemon juice in a 6- or 8-quart saucepan. Whisk in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly. Add entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove lid and let stand in canner for additional 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool, and store.

Strawberry Lavender Jam

Once again I caught strawberries on sale - $0.99 a pound, people! Blueberries happened to be at an all time low on price as well (blueberry cinnamon jam, anyone?), so I stacked several of those in my cart as well. Thirty pounds of berries hogged most of my cart space. I looked like a berry crazed fiend. Hulling twenty six pounds of strawberries isn't what I would call a wild Friday night, but it was certainly worth it. I started a six gallon batch of strawberry wine, made two batches of strawberry jam, and have a few pounds of crushed strawberries on reserve in the deep freezer should any strawberry emergencies arise. Score. 

I'm in love with my deep freezer. We just bought it a few weeks ago and until three days ago, it was all empty and sad. Then I harvested the broccoli from the garden, blanched it and divided it into bags (one pound each) and put it in the deep freezer. Such a beautiful sight. And now there are gorgeous crushed strawberries in there, too! Anyone else get a rush from harvesting, prepping and freezing food? Anyone? Surely I can't be alone in this! 

Strawberry Lavender Jam

makes 6 half-pint jars

5 c. Strawberries

1 pkg (or 3 Tbsp.) Ball Low Sugar Pectin

2 1/4 c. sugar

4 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp. Dried Lavender Flowers (or 2 Tbsp. Fresh Lavender Flowers)

1/2 tsp. Butter or Margarine (optional - keeps foaming down)

Prepare jars, and lids. Combine strawberries, lavender, lemon juice, and butter (if using). in a 6- or 8-quart saucepan. Whisk in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly. Add entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove lid and let stand in canner for additional 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool, and store.