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These old-fashioned blueberry preserves are a delicious, lower-sugar, and fresh-tasting fruit spread, made without pectin. Canning homemade blueberry jam is one of my favorite and simplest ways to preserve the summer harvest. My easy blueberry jam recipe can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries.
This blueberry jam is THE blueberry jam recipe you’ve been searching for. My easy recipe for fresh-tasting preserves uses less sugar than traditional recipes and is the perfect project for even the most novice canner.
Can you stir fruit in a pot? Congrats, because you are now qualified to make old-fashioned blueberry preserves. Let’s do this!
And if you decide in the end that you’d prefer a no-canning or no-cook jam, check out our blueberry freezer jam recipe. It’s super duper easy and absolutely delicious.
Let’s Make Blueberry preserves!
*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.
Canning Prep
Prepare your water bath canner by filling it with water and setting it on the stove. Turn the burner to high. Once it reaches a boil, reduce it to a simmer. You want to keep the water hot so that everything is ready when the jam is.
Wash and sanitize your jars. You’ll want to keep them warm to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water or place them on a tray in the oven at 170˚F.
Wash your lids and set them aside in a clean place. You no longer need to simmer lids in water to keep them sterile. Woot!
Making the Blueberry Preserves
My favorite kitchen tool for this part of the recipe is this heavy-bottomed pot. It will heat the preserves evenly, and it’s deep enough to avoid boil-over accidents. If you’ve ever had to clean sticky hot jam off your stovetop, you’ll know that we want to avoid a boil-over at all costs!
Canning Blueberry Preserves
For this part of the recipe, you’ll want a funnel (this is my favorite) and canning tongs. In a pinch, I’ve used generic silicone cooking tongs, but your life is going to be much easier with actual canning tongs.
Add your jars to the boiling water, and put the canner lid on. Pro tip: you must have at least 1 inch of water over the tops of the jars for safe canning. Processing times will vary based on altitude. See the chart below.
Canning Times for Blueberry Preserves
| Processing Times at Altitudes Of | ||||
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | 0-1,000 ft | 1,001-6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
| Hot | Half-pint or pint | 5 min | 10 min | 15 min |
| *Source: National Center For Home Food Preservation | ||||
Once the processing time is up, remove the canner from the heat, remove the lid of the canner, and let the canner sit for 5 minutes. Use canning tongs to remove the jars and place them on towels on the counter. Make sure you put them where they can be undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
The lids will likely start to pop within 20-30 minutes of being removed from the water. That popping sound is music to your ears, as it tells you that everything has been sealed. It’s a reward for all your work!
After the jars have rested for about 12 hours, press down in the middle of each lid. If it “gives” at all, the jar didn’t seal. Either enjoy it that day, put it in the fridge, or reprocess it using a brand new lid.
Once you find yourself addicted to making preserves (it’s inevitable!), check out all of my other jam recipes. Spoiler alert: there is a metric butt ton of beloved and tested recipes!
Old-Fashioned Blueberry Preserves (No Pectin)
Ingredients
- 8 cups blueberries {2-2.5 lbs}
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
Instructions
Making the Blueberry Jam
- Rinse the blueberries. Remove any leaves, stems, etc.8 cups blueberries
- Add the blueberries, water, lemon juice, and lemon zest to a heavy-bottomed saucepan.1/4 cup water, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp lemon zest
- Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often to prevent the blueberries from burning. Add additional water, 1-2 tbsp at a time, as needed to prevent scorching.
- As the blueberries soften, they’ll start to split. You can use a pastry cutter or potato masher to gently smash them while they cook.
- Once the blueberries are mashed to your preference, add the sugar, and increase the stove temperature to medium-high, stirring frequently for 3 minutes.1 1/4 cups sugar
- Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook the blueberries down, stirring often, for 15-25 minutes or until the mixture has thickened and the volume has been reduced by about 20-30%. Skim any foam off the surface.
Canning Blueberry Jam
- While the jam is cooking, start your canning prep.
- Prepare your water bath canner by filling it with water. You need to have enough water to cover the jars by 1 inch once the water is boiling.
- Set the canner on the stove with the lid on. Turn the burner to high. If it reaches a boil before you’re done making the preserves, reduce it to a simmer, keeping the lid on.
- Wash and clean your jars. You’ll want to keep them warm to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water, or place them on a tray in the oven at 170˚F.
- Wash your lids and set them aside in a clean place.
- Using a canning funnel, ladle the hot preserves into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Headspace is the distance between the top of the food and the top of the jar.
- Clean the rim of the jar very well with a hot damp rag.
- Place a new clean lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.
- Using canning tongs, add jars to the boiling water, and put the canner lid on.
- Process pints and half-pints based on the elevation guide below:*0-1,000 ft = 5 minutes*1,001-6,000 ft = 10 minutes*6,000 ft+ = 15 minutes
- Once the jam has processed for the appropriate amount of time, remove the canner from the burner, carefully remove the lid, and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
- Using canning tongs, carefully remove the jars, and place them on a thick towel in a place where they can be undisturbed for 12 hours.
- After the jars have rested for about 12 hours, gently press down in the middle of each lid. If it "gives" at all, the jar didn't seal. Either enjoy it that day, put it in the fridge, or reprocess it using a new lid.
Notes
- You can use frozen blueberries.
- Once the jars have sealed, remove the rings. Label and store sealed jars in a cool (best results are 50-70˚F) dark place for up to 12 months.
- Once you open a jar, refrigerate the jar for up to 3 weeks.
- Makes 4 half-pints.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
