I like making my own gifts. Not because I’m cheap, but because I feel that something made is inherently more special than that which is mass-produced. Each summer I make a variety of food gifts — canned or preserved nummies that have been very well received by others.

This week, I made Blueberry-Lemon Jam. (Recipe is at the end.)

Here’s the ingredients.

Of course, the most important ingredient are the blueberries.

The recipe, as with most canning recipes, is incredibly simple. Wash your fruit. Put in a big pot. Add sugar and spices. Cook.

Here it is at the beginning.

The berries cook for awhile and start to thicken. You can tell when its getting towards the boiling point — the berries get very dark purple, almost black.

Finally, it reaches a boil.

You don’t want to boil the berries hard, so keep it at a high simmer. The bright purple foam will go away (although sometimes you have to skim it off) and the berries get very thick.

You can see from the sides of the pot that the mixture has really cooked down.

Now, just pour into hot sterilized jars.

Process in a hot water bath for the recommended time.

Enjoy!

Recipe is here.