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Almost forgot about the recipe for the blueberry spice jam. The amount in this recipe makes just about exactly 7 pints, which is one canner load.

The recipe I have for using with Pomona’s is:

12 C Mashed fruit
3 C Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon
2 T pectin
1/3 C Water with Calcium Phosphate in it (as per directions)

Pomona’s is just pectin that uses calcium to make the jam set. What I really like about it is that you can make LARGE batches, unlike Certo and Sure-Jell, and make them low sugar and it still sets up nicely. I mix the sugar, pectin, and spice (if any), ahead of time and mix it thoroughly before adding to the fruit. That way neither the cinnamon nor the pectin lump up.

I then follow the package instructions to bring to a boil and then add the calcium water.

I always test the jam before canning it. I take a teaspoonful and put it in the freezer to cool it quickly without freezing it, and check the set that way.

I split my canning into almost three days. The first day I get all the supplies prepared, fruit picked, sugar/spice/pectin mixtures made, jars washed, lids washed, pots out, utensils cleaned, kitchen cleaned, extra dinner made for leftovers so I don’t have to cook.

The second day I wash the fruit and make the jam and process it.

The third day I clean up the cans and put them away and crash and burn.

If you do it this way, you can make 4-5 canner loads of jam, which is about 30 pints, in one day. While one canner load is processing, I wash everything up and start the next batch of fruit and just keep rotating through.