Homemade Blueberry Jam...

Ingredients:
Blueberries - 5 pints (which is:10 cups / 3.5 lbs)
Lemon juice - 1/4 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - About 4.5 cups of granulated sugar
Pectin

Directions:

1. Sterilize jars

2. Wash and sort berries

3. Crush berries.

4. Mix the dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar or other sweetener- Keep this separate from the rest of the sugar. Notes about pectin: I usually add about 20% more pectin (just open another pack and add a little) or else the jam is runnier than I like. With a little practice, you'll find out exactly how much pectin to get the thickness you like.

5. Mix the blueberries with the pectin and cook to a full boil-Stir the pectin, lemon juice and water into the blueberries and put the mix in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning). It should take about 5 to 10 minutes to get it to a full boil

6. Add the remaining sugar and bring to a boil- When the berry-pectin mix has reached a full boil, add the rest of the sugar (about 4 cups of sugar per 6 cup batch of blueberries) and then bring it back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.

7. Testing for "jell" (thickness)- I keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the consistency I like, then I know the jam is ready. If not, I mix in a little more pectin (about 1/s to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute.

8. Fill Jars- Fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top, and wipe off lids. Tighten lids.

9. Process jars in boiling water bath 5-10 minutes

10. Remove jars from bath and allow to cool. (Eat within 6 months)