July is “Blueberry Month” and this is a big deal in New Jersey. This is the time to pick blueberries, eat blueberries, cook with blueberries, bake with blueberries and preserve blueberries for the long winter months. Blueberries can be dried, frozen or made into jams, jellies and conserves. Here are two Blueberry Conserve recipes. Get cooking!
Blueberry Conserve
2 cups of water
4 cups of sugar
½ lemon thinly sliced
½ orange thinly sliced
½ cup of seedless raisins
1 quart of stemmed New Jersey Blueberries
Bring water and sugar to boiling. Add lemon, orange and raisins;
Simmer 5 minutes. Add blueberries and cook rapidly until thick,
about 30 minutes. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.
Pour, boiling hot, into sterilized Ball jars (sterilize jars for 10 minutes) leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in hot water bath.
Yield;. About 4 half-pints
Blueberry-Pineapple Conserve
1 quart of stemmed New Jersey Blueberries
2 cups of finely chopped, cored, pared fresh pineapple (one small)
5 cups of sugar.
Combine fruit and sugar; slowly bringing to boiling,
stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly until thick,
about 30 minutes. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Pour boiling hot, into sterilized Ball jars (sterilize jars for 10 minutes) leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in hot water bath. Yield about 4 half pints.
Adapted from Ball Blue Book, 1969.