Making homemade preserves or jam is super easy and takes only three ingredients! You also don't need any special canning equipment for this recipe which makes it even easier. Making it yourself eliminates the sugars, pectin and other potentially unhealthy ingredients usually found in store-bought jams.
Standard recipes for canned jams and jellies rely on pectin to help thicken the fruit. Pectin is very sour, so it must be offset with copious amounts of sugar to make it taste good. For those with Irritable bowel disorders or other digestive issues, pectin is best avoided. It is an indigestible soluble fiber which may increase the microbial (bacteria and yeast) growth when it reaches the lower part of the intestines. If you consume added pectin you are adding more nourishment for the yeast and bacteria you want to starve out. Pectin does appear naturally in some fruits, such as apples, however, the amount of natural pectin found in fruit does not pose too much of a problem.
In the early summer months, I love to make blueberry preserves since they are in season and easy to find fresh. The beauty of this recipe though, is that it is very flexible since a variety of fresh or frozen fruit can be used. You can make a healthy delicious homemade jam all year long. Other favorite fruit that works great in this recipe include: strawberries, raspberries and peaches or a combination of any of these.
Ingredients
2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1/4 cup of honey
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a light boil for 15-20 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid it burning on the bottom. Stirring will also help to break down the fruit into a smaller pieces. Once the mixture has thickened to desired consistency, let cool and store in a glass container. It will last for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
If preferred, you can blend the mixture to make a smooth blueberry puree. The puree is great to drizzle on pancakes or other baked goods, put a scoop on yogurt or on ice cream!
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