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Blueberry lime jam with less sugar, no added commercial pectin, and a little patience is a delicious way to preserve fresh blueberries!  I make all my jams the traditional way without adding pectin and just patiently and gently boiling them until they turn into jam.  

It’s a very simple method that guarantees your jam sets up rather than relying on store bought pectin additives to gel your jam that sometimes leave you with a sad syrup you really didn’t want.  This jam recipe has 3 ingredients: fresh blueberries, fresh lime juice, and a sugar source (I used raw unrefined but you can use honey or maple syrup, too!)  The addition of lime to this jam recipe is *chef’s kiss* for me.

Rebel Canning

This blueberry jam recipe can be considered rebel canning due to the methods used not being directly tested by an agency and also not having 1:1 amounts of fruit to sugar or just shy of it.  This means this exact recipe has not been evaluated nor approved by the USDA or NCHFP.  Does the mean this recipe is unsafe?  Sure doesn’t, as its one I and many others use and consume.  What it does mean is as with any home canning, you should can at your own risk and use common sense.  

Make your own decisions because what I do and say I’m doing in my own home should not affect what you do in yours.  If you are not comfortable with rebel canning, please don’t follow this recipe.   In the end, you will have canned something you are afraid of and you will not eat it or use it and you will have essentially wasted your time and money.  

Let’s make some homemade blueberry jam!

Equipment You Might Want

• Stock pot
• Half pint jelly jars
• Canning lids and screw bands
• Ladle
• Jar Funnel
• Jar Lifter
• Steam Canner
• Water bath canning pot

Ingredients

• 8 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 limes, juiced

Step 1:  Prep

Rinse blueberries with cool water and set aside in a strainer to drain.

Combine berries, sugar, and fresh squeezed lime juice in a stock pot.  Give it a good stir, cover the pot, and set it aside to macerate for 30-60 minutes.  You can even mix, cover, and place in the fridge over night.  Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar and the type of sugar you add to your preference and taste.  Honey would work fine as well.

Step 2:  Cook

After macerating, place pot over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves and to prevent burning.  Bring mixture to a gently boil.  If you blueberries and sputtering and splattering everything TURN YOUR HEAT DOWN because you have it way too hot.  GENTLE and patient.  This bOiL hArD thing the pectin boxes make you do is wild and I always ended up getting burnt.  Calm down and take the lesson in patience.

Pay close attention to your jam during the foam stage as it can cook over very easily.  Once the foam stage is finished, you can walk away from your jam for bits of time to do something else, being sure your heat is low enough for a gentle simmer and you are stirring frequently still.  

If you would prefer a very smooth jam, you can blend up the berries and then mash them through a sieve to remove any pulp and seeds leftover but I don’t do this.  I prefer to just stir it and have little bits of berries throughout.  It’s really pretty this way too!  A potato masher works well to smash berries and get them mushed up quicker.

Continue gently boiling the jam until a candy thermometer reads 218 to 220 degrees F.  The consistency of the fruit should look jammy and bubbly, too.  If you are unsure, place a small amount on a frozen plate (always always have a random plate in your freezer just for this) and let it sit about 30 seconds.  Run your finger through the center and if it runs back together, cook it a bit longer.  If it doesn’t, the jam is ready to jar.

Step 3:  Canning

Wash half pint jelly canning jars and lids in hot soapy water.  Rinse well and store jars on a clean towel while you finish the jam.  You DO NOT have to sterilize jars for any processing times 10 minutes or longer.  I see far too many jam canning recipes saying to sterilize jars, and either they don’t read the guidelines or they don’t know the difference between sanitize and sterilize.

Ladle hot jam into clean jars to 1/4 inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles and add more jam if needed to maintain headspace. Wipe jar rims with a vinegar dampened cloth, being thorough.  Any sticky residue left behind that gets between the lid and the jar rim can affect your sealing rate success.    Add clean lids and secure with screw bands.

Place jars in a steam canner or water bath canner and process for 10 minutes, adjusting time for altitude if needed.

Once processing time is complete, remove jars from the canner and set aside on a heat proof surface lined with a clean towel to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours.

Step 4:  Storage

Once cooled, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label top of jar lids with contents and the date, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight.  Room temperature is fine as long as jars are not exposed to extreme temperatures.

Shelf life is ’til you eat it.  If the seal is good, the jam is good.  Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years for best nutritional value and best quality.  They will last much longer than that if need be though so don’t go tossing your jam.

Any jars that did not seal can be reprocessed, but I just recommend storing them in the fridge and using them because once the jam is cooled down it’s pretty hard to reheat and reprocess it.

Notes:

If you don’t like lime juice, substitute an equal amount of lemon juice with no issue.  Also, feel free to add any spices you enjoy!

You can also not cook this jam as long and use it as a blueberry syrup for use on french toast, in drink recipes, or even for ice cream.  I would recommend straining through cheese cloth to remove the seeds and pulp if you do this though.

I hope you enjoy this delicious jam!

Delicious Homemade Blueberry Lime Jam Canning Recipe

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours

Canning Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 5 half pint jelly jars

Author: Ruby – Red Feather Farm

Equipment

• stock pot
• half pint jelly jars
• Canning lids and screw bands
• ladle
• jar funnel
• jar lifter
• steam canner
• Water bath canning pot

Ingredients

• 8 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 limes juiced

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Rinse blueberries with cool water and set aside in a strainer to drain.
• Combine berries, sugar, and fresh squeezed lime juice in a stock pot.  Give it a good stir, cover the pot, and set it aside to macerate for 30-60 minutes.  You can even mix, cover, and place in the fridge over night.  Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar and the type of sugar you add to your preference and taste.  Honey would work fine as well.
• After macerating, place pot over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves and to prevent burning.  Bring mixture to a gently boil.  If you blueberries and sputtering and splattering everything TURN YOUR HEAT DOWN because you have it way too hot.
• Pay close attention to your jam during the foam stage as it can cook over very easily.  Once the foam stage is finished, you can walk away from your jam for bits of time to do something else, being sure your heat is low enough for a gentle simmer and you are stirring frequently still. 
• Continue gently boiling the jam until a candy thermometer reads 218 to 220 degrees F.  The consistency of the fruit should look jammy and bubbly, too.
• Wash half pint jelly canning jars and lids in hot soapy water.  Rinse well and store jars on a clean towel while you finish the jam.
• Ladle hot jam into clean jars to 1/4 inch headspace.
• Remove air bubbles and add more jam if needed to maintain headspace. Wipe jar rims with a vinegar dampened cloth, being thorough.
• Add clean lids and secure with screw bands.  
• Place jars in a steam canner or water bath canner and process for 10 minutes, adjusting time for altitude if needed.
• Once processing time is complete, remove jars from the canner and set aside on a heat proof surface lined with a clean towel to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
• Once cooled, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label top of jar lids with contents and the date, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight.  Room temperature is fine as long as jars are not exposed to extreme temperatures.
• Shelf life is 'til you eat it.  If the seal is good, the jam is good.  Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years for best nutritional value and best quality.  They will last much longer than that if need be though so don't go tossing your jam.
• Any jars that did not seal can be reprocessed, but I just recommend storing them in the fridge and using them because once the jam is cooled down it's pretty hard to reheat and reprocess it.

Notes

If you don’t like lime juice, substitute an equal amount of lemon juice with no issue.  Also, feel free to add any spices you enjoy!

You can also not cook this jam as long and use it as a blueberry syrup for use on french toast, in drink recipes, or even for ice cream.  I would recommend straining through cheese cloth to remove the seeds and pulp if you do this though.

Pin this recipe for later!