…well, not really but it looks like it right?

This Christmas is definitely a handmade one, with most people getting crafty treats as gifts. I’ve spent the last few weeks putting together a hamper full of various things (soap, candles, biscuits to name a few) but this jam is by far the biggest success story.

Buoyed from the simplicity of making some (delicious) raspberry jam I decided to have another go with some blueberries, only this time I thought ‘I wonder what would happen if I made the fruit sparkle first…?’

Here’s the recipe:

What you need:

500g blueberries

500g of sugar (course sugar is best so use granulated. Even better, use Jam Sugar which is cheaper and means that you don’t need to add pectin once the jam is cooked)

(If not using Jam Sugar you will also need some Certo or other liquid pectin)

Edible Glitter

Some sterilised glass jars and lids. (Having a baby means you have free jam supplies – I used sterilised baby food jars and made them look pretty by using some fabric to cover the lids)

What you do:

Crush or blend the fruit into a pulp (I used a blender to break down the blueberries because the skin is too bitty when mashed, but with soft fruits you can just use a potato masher to pulp).

Once pulped you can make it pretty! I used a shimmer spray to make my fruit glitter because that’s all I could get my hands on, edible glitter would be even better because it’s more sparkly and comes in so many different colours.

Put in a large heavy bottomed pan and gently warm.

When warm through add the sugar.

Stir continuously until the sugar has dissolved. This is basically as soon as it stops feeling grainy on the spoon, it takes about 5 minutes at a gentle heat.

Once all the sugar is dissolved add a small knob of butter, keep stirring and slowly increase the heat until you get a rolling boil – This is when the jam bubble up in the pan and can’t be stirred back down.

Stand back, set a timer and allow to boil for 4 minutes.

As soon as the 4 minutes are up, take the jam off the heat immediately and pour into warm jars to set.

(If you haven’t used Jam Sugar as soon as you take the jam off the heat you will need to stir in some pectin liquid to make the jam set before decanting into jars)

The jam should keep for ages, once opened it needs to be stored in the fridge and eaten within 3 weeks.

This jam is so easy to make and takes such little time. It’s so much more glittery than it looks in the photo too.

If you make your own sparkly jam let me know, I’d love to see!