Homemade Blueberry Apple Jam is just the perfect spread for toast on crisp Fall morning! I make several jars of this jam to last few months and we not only use it for breakfast, brunch or a spoon sweet but also on desserts!! In my native language we call this jam Recel Me Boronica Dhe Molle!
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Mediterranean Jams
I grew up in Albania and I was so accustomed to homemade jams all year round. My mom would always buy plenty of fruit at the end of the season and make several jars of jam. Never too much to get bored from it, but always plenty to eat over warm bread and butter:).
Here are some of my jams & preserves I have published so far:
A typical feature of most Mediterranean jams is that we don’t use pectin in making our jams. Everyone makes them at home usually and if you make 1-2 jams a month using seasonal fruit, you have enough for the whole year.
We love treating our guests with something sweet, water & coffee. If we really don’t have any proper pastry, baked goods or cookies than a small plate with a spoon of jam works too:).
Usually, we make proper spoon sweets where we try to preserve the shape of the fruit as well and that’s more common in treating guests than pure jam. But jam will do if you’re in a pinch! You always offer something sweet as a symbol of hospitality.
Tips & Best Practices
Homemade jams like this blueberry apple one have less sugar (a lot less) than store bought jams. Also, as you become more familiar with making jams at home, you learn to adjust the sugar quantity to the sweetness level of the fruit.
To achieve perfect jam it’s better to use blueberries that are a bit on the softer side but not so soft that you wouldn’t eat them. If you bought them when they are really firm, wait a day or two before making the jam. Fruits are a lot sweeter after their peak.
You can use frozen blueberries, but keep in mind that this might require a lot more sugar to make the jam as fruits are frozen before they reach their peak sweet potential.
Peel the apples and chop them in bite size pieces to use in the jam but keep the peels too. Make sure to remove the peel in big pieces as we will throw that into the jam. It helps release natural pectin to thicken the jam. While the apple itself will mix with the blueberries into the jam, we will remove the peel from the jam once it’s ready.
Canning
If you are making a big batch for this jam, then make sure to can using safe canning practices. I like this guide for canning tips.
I tend to use equipment I already have home ( a deep pot, cooling rack etc). These are usually the extras I buy for canning:
- Jars
- Lids & Rings
- Jar Lifter
Blueberry Apple Jam
Equipment
- Large pot
- Jars, lids and rings
- Jar tongs
Ingredients
- 4 lbs fresh blueberries
- 2 apples
- 1 lemon
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Clean blueberries from stems and remove bad ones. Place them in a colander. Then peel the apples and chop them in bite size pieces. Keep the peels aside. Cut lemon in half, squeeze half a lemon and zest the other half.
- Get a large pot with heavy bottom to prevent sticking. Add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Set to boil. As soon as sugar dissolves, add blueberries, apples and apple peels. Mix well and as soon as everything is boiling, lower heat to medium.
- You can use a masher to make the jam smoother or leave blueberries as they are for a chunky jam. Add about 2 tbsps of lemon juice and 1 tsp of lemon zest. Once you cook about halfway through, add the last half cup of sugar. Mix well.
- Cooking time varies a bit by amount of water and how much jam you're making. Usually when I make just a jar of jam, it takes about half an hour to reach the desired consistency. However, since this batch is a lot bigger then it takes about 2 hrs to reach setting point.
- Sterilize the jars and lids on boiling water on another pot. Remove carefully and place over paper towel. Add jam up to 0.5 inch from the top. Close the jar with the lid and rings tightly (don't overdo it). Place jars in a deep pot full of boiling water, use a round cooling rack that fits in the bottom of the pot so jars don't break. Boil covered for about 10 minutes. Remove carefully with tongs, place on a counter and let cool overnight. Check the seals, if the center doesn't pop up jar is safely sealed.
- Enjoy jam over toasted bread with butter or ricotta, on a cheese board or as a filler for pastry.
Notes
- Serving is estimated to 1 tbsp of jam. Usually this recipe yields about 40 ozs of jam which is approximate to 60 tbsps of jam.
- Please follow safe canning procedures. I go over briefly on how to can the jam but the main purpose of this post is the recipe, not the canning procedure.
- If using 4 lbs of frozen blueberries instead of fresh, then you can increase the sugar to about 2 cups since frozen fruit is a bit more tart and not as sweet as fresh.
- Once you open a sealed jar of jam, place the jar in the refrigerator and jam will last 2-3 weeks.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
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Maria
I made this jam exactly as written but my apple peels cooked to a mush, so I didn’t even have to remove them. The jam it is even better than I imagined. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe, it is a keeper!!!
Sherry
Can this be frozen instead of canned
Sonila
Yes you can freeze in airtight containers. I have frozen mango jam in the past but not the blueberry one. It was still good 6 months later. I have read that it can last up to a year but I haven’t tested it that long.
María
Homemade jam is one of the things that is never missing at home, and this combination of fruits that you tell us for the blueberry apple jam is delicious for sure. I will try it very soon, that just today I don’t have enough blueberries at home.
Sonila
Thank you Maria:), I hope you like it. This recipe if for about 4 lbs of blueberries, but you can make less. If you have any berry farms or farmers markets close by it helps to get a big qty of blueberries for cheap.
GABY
Looks so delish! I will try to make the blueberry jam the next weekend. Thanks for the recipe.
Yasmari Bello
I love your recipe for Blueberry Apple Jam! So delicius, easy and not too much sugar
Lizet F. Bowen
Mmm. I love homemade jams. And I’m always looking for recipes that don’t use package pectin because I can’t find it in Paraguay.
I can’t wait to try this blueberry apple jam.
admin
Thank you so much Lizet!! Yes, I grew up with jams that didn’t use pectin so now I try to keep up with those recuperating from my childhood.
Sofía
Que buena esta mermelada de manzana y arándanos, yo suelo poner menos azúcar de lo que dice cualquier receta, incluso hay veces que hasta pongo solo un tercio, es mejor pecar de poco que pecar de mucho, muy buenos consejos para envasar las mermeladas.
Saludos
Sofía
Enriqueta E Lemoine
Every time I come to your blog I feel like I have my blogger soulmate! Love your blueberry jam. On my bucket list for next summer.
admin
Thank you so much my friend!! It means a lot to me:))