No Pectin BlueberryMint Jam

4 pounds blueberries 1 pound sugar

½ cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon coarsely ground

black pepper

½ cup finely chopped mint Pick over the blueberries, make sure to discard any stems or other debris. Rinse and thoroughly dry the berries. In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice. Cover and macerate mixture at room temperature for 12 to 48 hours (we let ours macerate for about 30 hours). Have ready a thermometer or place a couple of saucers in the freezer. Prepare your jars, lids and boiling water bath canner. Scrape the blueberry mixture into a large pot (mixture should fill the pot by no more than a third). Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until berries release their juice. Stir in the black pepper. Continue cooking and stirring until mixture reaches a full, rolling boil. Boil until mixture reaches 220 degrees or reaches desired gelling consistency, 15 to 25 minutes. To test using a saucer in the freezer, place about a teaspoon of jam on the frozen saucer and return it to the freezer for 1 minute. After a minute, push on the jam using your finger. It should wrinkle — like a silk or satin shirt or shar-pei dog. If the mixture does not wrinkle, the jam is not ready. Continue cooking and stirring. The mixture will thicken and look quite glossy. Another clue it is ready is if you can see the bottom of the pot for a brief second when you run a spoon through the mixture. Once the mixture gels and/or reaches 220 degrees it is ready. Remove from heat and stir in the mint. Fill hot jars with hot jam, leaving ½ inch headspace. Use a skewer to remove any air bubbles. Wipe rims, apply lids and bands and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. Turn off heat. Remove canner lid and let jars stand for 5 minutes. Remove jars to a towel-lined counter and let stand undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Check seals and store. Refrigerate any jars that did not seal. Makes 5 (½-pint) jars.

Recipe adapted from It Starts With Fruit by Jordan Champagne