Like a warm hug or a bottle of love, nothing takes you home like a jar of blueberry preserves with brown sugar. Brown sugar jams work with any fruit, including strawberries and peaches.
I love jam. Actually, I ADORE jam. I grew up with homemade jam. Every morning, as a kid in Iran, I would make little lavash bites with feta and jam.
I continued this morning ritual when we moved to the U.S. using toast, as we could not find lavash, and cream cheese instead of feta. Today, I use jam sparingly, trying to cut the calories, but I still have a soft spot for a jar of homemade jam.
On a recent trip to Costco, I got a little excited with the fresh fruit and bought more than the five of us could eat. My massive clamshell of blueberries were starting to suffer, so I knew what I had to do. Make blueberry jam!
Why this recipe is so awesome
I come from a family full of jam makers – it’s what we do. It could be strawberry-rhubarb jam, peach jam or quince jam we love our jam. Traditionally, jam is made with regular granulated sugar.
Store-bought jam doesn’t bring the memories or nostalgia as homemade jam. Whenever my aunt visits, she has a jar of jam for me. I happily take it and savor each morsel.
Love in a jar.
It doesn’t last long in my possession. And, I don’t have share it with the kids! I am the only jam eater in our house, and I happily consume it, all by myself.
Eat this blueberry jam straight out of the jar, mop it on a bit of bread, sandwich a dollop in a scone, or mix a lump into your yogurt.
Ingredients you need
- Blueberries: Fresh fruit at the peak of its season is always the best choice when jam making. You can make jam with frozen blueberries, but I prefer fresh.
- Brown sugar: I used light brown sugar in this recipe. Dark brown sugar has more molasses and moisture and can be used, as well.
- Lemon juice: Citrus juice naturally contains pectin, which is why it is added to fruit to make jam.
Step-by-step directions
1. In a small pot combine blueberries, brown sugar and lemon juice over medium heat.
2. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to low heat, crushing the blueberries to release the juices. Cook until jam thickens, about 20 minutes.
3. If you are going to store in the refrigerator, cool until room temperature first then transfer to an airtight container. Or, if you are canning your jam, click here for directions on click here for directions on how to can using boiling water.
Recipe tips and FAQs
Not only does brown sugar have more moisture, because of the molasses it is also darker in color. This can affect how some of your jams will turn out. Your strawberry and peach jams might have a darker color than jams made with granulated sugar.
This doesn’t affect blueberry jam made with brown sugar because, well, it’s a dark jam.
Brown sugar and white sugar also have different flavors. It is subtle, but brown sugar gives a deep, caramel or toffee-like flavor because of the molasses. So if you just want to add sweetness, stick with white sugar.
You can also make jam with honey. So many sweetener options. Check out my recipe for blueberry jam made with honey here.
Brown sugar is a mixture of white sugar and molasses. Although technically speaking, brown sugar contains slightly fewer calories than white sugar, the difference is pretty slim. Brown sugar has more moisture than white sugar, which will affect whatever you are cooking or baking. So you see, you can totally make jam with brown sugar.
Jam is basically fruit cooked down with sugar. Traditionally, granulated sugar is used. But you can create a syrupy jam with other sweeteners like brown sugar, agave nectar and yes, even honey.
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Blueberry Preserves with Brown Sugar
Like a warm hug or a bottle of love, nothing takes you home like a homemade jar of blueberry preserves with brown sugar. Brown sugar jams work with any fruit, including strawberries and peaches.
Ingredients
- 1 lb blueberries
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 TBS lemon juice
Instructions
- In a small pot combine blueberries, brown sugar and lemon juice over medium heat.
- Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to low heat, crushing the blueberries to release the juices.
- Cook until jam thickens, about 20 minutes.
- If you are going to store in the refrigerator, cool until room temperature first then transfer to an airtight container. Or, if you are canning your jam, click here for directions on click here for directions on how to can using boiling water.
Notes
Brown sugar can be used to make jam for any kind of fruit. It works especially well with strawberries and peaches, too.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 21Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 0g
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