Do you remember last year when I taught you how to make Cranberry Juice from scratch on this post?   That cranberry juice was so good!  I hope I can get more cranberries this year to make a bunch more because we finished our last jar of it a couple of months ago.  Recently, I was able to get a bunch of blueberries at a really good price from our local produce wholesaler, and I wondered if I could make blueberry juice the same way.  So, of course, I tried it!  It has to sit a couple of weeks to let the full flavor develop, but early indicators are looking good!  Let me tell you all about it! 

Have you ever had odds and ends of fruit and fruit products in your fridge and wanted to do something, but didn't quite know what to do?  

Have you ever watched one of those cooking shows on TV , like Chopped, and they give the chefs a bunch of odd ingredients and you wonder what you would do with them? 

My kids will tell you that my answer to these questions is always, "Bake a pie!"    Today, I'm going to show you an example of that way of thinking with this Fruit Jumble Pie.

     I haven't really delved into the world of freezer jam before, but let me tell you how this recipe evolved! 

     For the past week or so , I've been experimenting in the world of pomegranates!  In the midst of that, I picked up a couple of containers of blackberries at the grocery store.  (You all know how much I love blackberries!)  I hadn't decided what I was going to do with them and I even considered making a pomegranate-blackberry jam combo.  As good as that sounded, I ended up needing all of the pomegranate juice for my regular pomegranate jelly, so the marriage of blackberries and pomegranates never happened.  
​
      Then, there was a great deal on blueberries and I thought to myself that I hadn't ever made a jam with a combination of blackberries and blueberries! I started looking through Pinterest to see how much it had been done.  (Not too much)  And, I also came across a lot of freezer jam recipes as I scrolled.  I decided that now might be the time to try a freezer jam.  

     I have EATEN freezer jam before and I liked it very much!  But, one of the cons of freezer jam to me is that I don't have a ton of freezer space to devote to jam.  Somehow, this seemed like the right moment to give it a try.  
​
     Speaking of the Pros and Cons of freezer jam versus canned jam, here is a list that I have come up with:

     Of course, the pros and cons for me personally may vary for you.  If you have a huge freezer, your space in there may not be a factor like it is for me.  If you have solar energy, the cost of running appliance to keep your food cold may not matter to you like it does to me.  I mean, I have to run my freezer anyway and a full freezer is more efficient than an empty one, so that point is actually kind of silly now that I think about it.  But anyway, you get the picture.  I feel like there is room in my life for both methods of jam making, especially now that I've tasted this great Black and Blueberry Jam! (I thought I was pretty clever coming up with that name, but then I saw that others have used it before me :/

     Lets get to the tips on how to make this particular freezer jam recipe! 

•      While I love blackberries, I don't love to get the seeds stuck in my teeth.  I decided  that the fastest method to get rid of those seeds was to juice my blackberries in my centrifugal juicer, which happens to be on sale for a very good price, by the way!   If you don't have a centrifugal juicer, you can mash the berries through a sieve or food mill.  It may take you more than the 2 cups of berries that I used to get about 1/2 a cup of juice.  The reason I love the blackberry juice mixed with the blueberries is because the blueberries have a very delicate flavor and the blackberries add just the punch that they need! That half a cup doesn't sound like a lot, but it was thick and really made a difference.
• I mashed my blueberries in a large bowl using  a potato masher.  I considered using my food processor, but decided not to go to the trouble.  The potato masher worked just fine and there was less to clean-up! 
• Pour the blackberry juice in with the blueberries and mix it all together.  Then add the lemon juice and the sugar and mix those together with the berries.  In cooked jam, the lemon juice actually helps with the gelling process.  I don't know if that is the case in this uncooked jam, but I didn't want to take the chance and leave it out.  Also, the lemon juice brightens the flavor of the berries. 
• Next I stirred in some cinnamon for a little variety.  You can leave it out if you would like to, but I kind of love the depth it gives to the flavor.  Also add the sugar and stir it in very well to dissolve it in with the berries and their juice.
• Now you must let the berry mixture sit awhile while you prepare the pectin.  
• In a small saucepan, mix the pectin into the water and heat to a boil.  Allow the pectin water to boil for 1 minute.  It will begin to thicken as it boils. 
• Take the pectin water mixture to your berries and pour it in!  Stir it very well! 
• Allow your jam to sit for a few minutes while you get your containers ready.  I used one glass canning jar just to show you that you can use those.  But, mainly I used my Tupperware bowls like this and this, plus some smaller Zip-Lock containers that would be a great gift size if I want to share some of this jam. 
• When you fill your containers,  be sure to leave an inch of headspace because when things freeze, they expand.
• After filling your containers, let them sit out on the counter for 24 hours to give the pectin time to gel.  
• Be sure to print some of the labels that I made and use them to date your jam.  It should last up to a year in the freezer.  I was running out of round labels, so I used Avery #18160 address labels this time.  I certainly didn't want to write on my Tupperware, so labels were a must! 

And now, here is the fast and easy recipe for Black and Blueberry Freezer Jam! I hope you enjoy it!  Remember, if it doesn't set as much as you would like, it will make a delicious sauce for pancakes, waffles or ice cream! 

This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. We do not share your information with other sites. All views expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support!

     When my grandchildren come for a visit, one of the things they love is to have special breakfasts.  My next to the oldest granddaughter loves smoothies or pancakes.  Her next younger brother loves what we call "Eggs in a Nest."  My husband calls them "Gashouse Eggs."  There are various names, we've learned, for eggs fried in the middle of bread, which becomes toast and is great for soaking up the yolk.  Plus, you get the extra bonus of having the crustless toast cut from the center of the bread.  
      The last time they were here, we were trying to decide if we wanted pancakes or eggs in a nest when it dawned on us that we could have Eggs in a Pancake Nest!  Genius!  
​

•      To make this fabulous and filling breakfast, simply use your favorite pancake recipe or mix and bake your pancakes on a griddle as usual, just don't make them too brown!  
• Bake both sides of the pancake and then, using a biscuit cutter, cut out the center of the pancake.  I found it easier to remove the pancake to a plate to do this.  Then, put the pancake back on the griddle and break the egg into the center of the pancake.  
• Let the egg cook on one side, adding salt and pepper to the egg, and then flip it to the other side  and allow the egg to finish cooking.  You may want to turn the griddle to a slightly lower heat to keep the pancake from over browning.  (This was all trial and error for us! )
• Remove the egg to a plate and add butter and syrup as usual! 

      

I love a good batter bowl for making pancakes, waffles, cupcakes, etc! 
​

     We also had some blueberries, so my granddaughter and I were wanting blueberry pancakes!  So, we poured out pancake batter on a griddle and put blueberries on the part that was going to be cut out.  In the photo below, you can see that I decided to have one Egg in a Pancake style and one totally blueberry style pancake.  You can see how I applied the blueberries. 

The result was great!  The inner cut out pancake was filled with blueberries.  So good! 

     Here was my plate pre-syrup!  I almost didn't need syrup! (but I did use it, lol!)
​

     So, go ahead and mix it up a bit!  Your grandchildren (or children)  will love it! Mine did! 

Check out these other fun recipes:

• Pancake Sundae Station
• Cherry 7-Up Pancakes
• Cinnamon Roll Pancakes