Blueberry Chocolate Jam

Back in June, we joined friends and camped along the California coast at Sunset State Beach. Coincidentally, High Ground Organics, the CSA from whom we buy our organic vegetable box, was nearby. We dropped in to say hi and on top of that, brought along several of our friends so we could pick blueberries right at the farm.

The bushes were full of plump, purple-black berries and the soft cloud cover provided comfortable temperatures in the field. Before we knew it, our family of five had picked eight pounds of blueberries!

We made good use of those blueberries, tossing them into a dutch oven campfire cobbler and eating masses out of hand while camping and after returning home. And yet, after being sated, we still had two to three pounds left. What to do? Make jam of course, my fallback whenever I have excess fruit on hand!

I planned on making a straight-up blueberry jam, but searching online, I was inspired by Nik Sharma's addition of chocolate, which in turn was inspired by Christine Ferber's Raspberry Chocolate jam. Her book, Mes Confitures, is one of my favorite jam-making books.

After making a few batches, I tweaked the recipes to accommodate for my family's taste buds and :

• Reduced the amount of chocolate. I wanted the blueberry flavor to stand out more.
• Skipped the sieving step. I didn't have a problem leaving in the skins. 
• Adopted the Ferber method of cooking the jam which included no pectin and boiling twice "so that the chocolate and fruit combine nicely".

This is a deliciously decadent jam!


Blueberry Chocolate Jam
Adapted from A Brown Table and Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber
Makes about 4 - 8 oz jars

In a large, non-reactive stockpot, combine:
32 oz (910 g) blueberries, rinsed and gently dried off
2 2/3 cups (535 g) sugar  
2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice of 1 small lemon) 

Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off stove, remove from heat and stir in until melted:
6 oz bittersweet dark chocolate (70% cocoa), sliced/shaved with a serrated knife

Cover with a parchment round and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, place 2-3 small ceramic plates in the freezer (for testing jam set later on).

Take stockpot out of refrigerator, remove parchment paper and stir into the blueberry/chocolate mixture:
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons orange juice

Bring blueberry mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent the chocolate from burning. Lower heat so jam is at a gentle simmer. Simmer and stir continuously for 5 minutes. Keep stirring constantly!

When you are ready to test for set, take the stockpot off the stove (or turn it off), then place a tablespoon of the hot jam onto one of the frozen plates. Put plate in freezer for a minute or two, then nudge the jam with your finger. If it wrinkles and feels gel-like, it's done. If not, continue simmering and retest every 3-5 minutes.

Ladle hot jam into sterilized glass jars. Store in refrigerator or for shelf storage, can using a hot water bath.

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