Blueberry Orange Freezer Jam

I spent a large part of my weekend cleaning and freezing 15 pounds of blueberries. Our local strawberry farm said they had connections with a Michigan farmer and made a trip up there on Friday to bring back tons of blueberries for local residents to purchase. Ten pounds for $30, cheaper than what we usually pay in store and they were fresh, just picked on Friday evening.

Of course I was afraid one box wouldn't be enough so it didn't take much convincing to grab another. I did end up selling half of one box because it really was a lot of berries. All of Saturday I pretty much rotated pans of berries in and out of the freezer, storing them in freezer bags. I now have 9 quart sized bags of blueberries to last us through the winter.

But I also wanted to try out a new jam recipe I spotted in my recent Simple and Delicious magazine. Citrus pairs so well with blueberry that I knew this had to be good! I did make a few changes to the original, mainly decreasing the amount of sugar because when using fresh, ripe fruit you don't always need as much sweetener.

Check out the fruit in there. You can mash up the berries and oranges more but I like my jam a little chunky. I tried it out on our blueberry pancakes this morning, it was the perfect combination. This will be an awesome treat to enjoy especially in the winter months.


Blueberry Orange Freezer Jam

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 medium orange
2 cups fresh blueberries, crushed
3 oz. pouch of liquid fruit pectin

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place sugar in a baking dish and bake in oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl add 2 teaspoons of finely grated orange peel. Peel and chop orange, add to bowl. Add in crushed blueberries. When sugar is done, dump into bowl and stir until combined. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Add in pectin and stir constantly for 3 minutes. Immediately fill three half pint jars within 1/2 inch of their tops. Cover with lids and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Store jam in fridge for up to three weeks or in freezer for up to 1 year. Makes 3 half pint jars.