Blueberry Lemon Camp Jam
Dried blueberries and lemon simmered down into a spread you make at the picnic table.
- calories
- 110
- weight
- 1.4 oz
- cal / oz
- 79
- protein
- 0 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 180 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried blueberries | 1 1/2 cups | unsweetened if you can find them |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 1/3 cup | squeeze bottle, not a jar |
| Freeze-dried lemon juice powder | 2 tbsp | or 3 tbsp bottled lemon juice |
| Dried lemon zest | 2 tsp | |
| Chia seeds | 1 tbsp | the thickener that replaces pectin |
| Salt | a pinch | |
| Water | 180 ml |
Method
- Put the dried blueberries and 180 ml of water in the pot. Let them sit five minutes off the flame so they start drinking.
- Bring it to a low boil, then drop to a simmer. Stir often; the sugars scorch fast on a stove that only has one heat setting.
- Mash the berries against the side of the pot with your spoon as they soften. Eight minutes or so and they collapse.
- Kill the heat. Stir in the honey, lemon powder, zest, salt, and chia.
- Let it stand ten minutes. The chia pulls it together as it cools. It will look thin until it is not.
The source recipe is a canning project: fresh berries, Pomona’s pectin, calcium water, a boiling water bath, four half-pint jars. None of that travels. This version does the same job with dried fruit that rehydrates into pulp and chia seeds that gel on their own, so there is no pectin, no calcium solution, and no jars to sterilize.
The trade is shelf life. This is not canned, so it keeps a couple of days in a screw-top container and no longer than that in warm weather. Make what you will eat over one trip. Honey and lemon carry most of the flavor, and the lemon also keeps the whole thing from tasting like syrup.
Packing
Blueberries, lemon powder, zest, chia, and salt go in one bag at home. Honey rides in its own bottle inside a second bag, because it always leaks eventually.
Variations
- Skip the honey and use 1/4 cup brown sugar if you want it vegan.
- Thin the leftovers with a little hot water and stir them into oatmeal the next morning.
- A pinch of cinnamon works if you like the jam less sharp.
https://www.theseasonalhomestead.com/blueberry-lemon-jam-low-sugar-recipe