Kirplink, Kirplank, Blueberry Jam

Last weekend we headed down to Ward's Farm in Sharon to pick strawberries. They were no longer in season, but we had so much fun as we picked blueberries. As we said, "Kirplink, Kirplank, Kirplunk," we had more blueberries to pick than we knew what to do with. They were on the sour side, so my son, a huge fan of Blueberries for Sal and Bread and Jam for Frances came up with the bright idea to transform them into blueberry jam. Despite cooking my whole life, I have never made jam (though my father once tried to make beach plum jam and ended up with sour soup) or canned anything. Canning seemed to be too high maintenance and hard for my 3 year old. So, we just stored it in a glass container. And at the rate that we are eating it, it will be gone soon. Most recipes called for a ratio of 2 cups of sugar for each cup of blueberry. But I try to keep the sugar level low when I cook for the kids, so you will see much less in my recipe. Part of what made this so good is that the blueberries shine through, as opposed to tasting more like blueberry syrup.

Blueberry Jam
3 cups blueberries
1 packet of pectin (available at the supermarket)
3 cups sugar

Heat on medium heat until it boils. Turn to low and simmer for about 5 minutes until it starts to thicken. Take off the heat and let it cool. Pour into a glass pan. It will last for about one week. We ate it with ricotta on bread, on pancakes, and spooned onto yogurt.