I didn't feel like digging through my recipe books since I was already sitting at my desk in the office, so I turned to the internet. Only what I stumbled upon was a badly cut and pasted recipe on a large, well known site. They were in such a hurry to cut and paste, they didn't realize the font made many of the ingredient amounts into random symbols and characters; making the recipe useless.
That led to me trying to find the original source so I could see what the missing amounts were.
That led me to a new-to-me pectin for jam making; Pomona's Pectin.
And lastly; why it was 'new to me' is that according to their store locator widget on their website, I would have to drive to Oklahoma to find it sold locally as it's available all over the country, but not near me.
While on their website, I found the most delicious and yet 'pretty' sounding jam and since it was a low sugar jam, that piqued my interest even more! Blueberry-Lavender. You can click to their site at the source link below.
"Blueberry-Lavender Jam is a low-sugar or low-honey cooked jam made with Pomona’s Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener. See below for where to buy."
Before You Begin: Prepare calcium water. To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well. Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
Blueberry-Lavender Jam
Source: here
Yield: about 2 ½ cups
2 cups mashed blueberries
1 Tablespoon lavender buds
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon calcium water
1/3 cup up to ½ cup honey or ½ cup up to 1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Pomona’s pectin powder
Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small sauce pan; cover and heat to a low boil. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.
Measure sugar or honey into a separate bowl. Thoroughly mix 1 teaspoon pectin powder into sweetener.
Wash and mash the blueberries; measure fruit into saucepan. Add lavender buds, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon calcium water to the fruit and stir well.
Bring to a boil and simmer to soften lavender buds, about 5 minutes.
Bring fruit to a full boil. Add pectin-sweetener mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
Apricot-Lavender Jam Option: Can be made using 2 cups washed, chopped, mashed apricots for the blueberries. To soften firm apricots, bring prepared apricots to boil with ¼ cup water and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Also, use 2 teaspoons calcium water and 1 ½ teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin powder.
Where to purcahse Pomona's Pectin - From their site;
Pomona's Pectin is available at natural food stores (like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and many others), food co-ops, farm stands, Williams-Sonoma, a growing number of conventional grocery stores with natural food sections (like Wegmans, QFC, Fred Meyer, and others), and from our website, as well as from other online sellers.
(Since the nearest listed locations to me are in Oklahoma, I've posted Amazon links below, which is where I am ordering mine from.)
Preserving with Pomona's Pectin: The Revolutionary Low-Sugar, High-Flavor Method for Crafting and Canning Jams, Jellies, Conserves, and More
Pomonas Universal Pectin, 1.1-Ounce Container (Pack of 6)
Pomonas Universal Pectin, 1 Ounce (3 Pack)
