Red, white and blueberries!

We spent the day before the 4th of July with our blueberry bonanza, compliments of Deyton Bend Farm in Lenoir City. Namaste Farm has it’s own blueberry bushes, but they are still new and not producing. Instead, we got 14 pounds of berries from Deyton Bend Farm, dreaming of all the things we could make - jam, cobblers, pies, pancakes, and you can go on from there. Of course, fresh is the best, especially these berries. The difference in fresh and store bought is amazing.

These berries are called Rabbiteye blueberries (Vaccinium virgatum), from a species native to the southeastern United States. They are grown from North Carolina to Florida to Texas. The plants need a special bee, the southeastern blueberry bee, for pollination, because the flowers of the blueberry plants won’t release the pollen on their own without being actually “buzzed” or shaken by the bee. Honey bees can’t perform this kind of pollination. Here is just one reason to use native plants.

Here’s one of our favorite blueberry recipes (adapted from Ball Blueberry Jam Recipe).

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You will need

• 4 1/2 cup crushed blueberries
• 4 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 7 cups granulated sugar
• 2 pouches (each 3 oz) liquid pectin

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Directions

1. Prepare canner, jars and lids.
2. In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine blueberries, lemon juice and sugar. Over high heat, stirring constantly, being to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir in pectin. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
3. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot jam. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
4. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.