Blueberry Sorcerer’s Apprentice

            The hapless Sorcerer’s Apprentice in Paul Dukas amazing musical portrayal, unforgettably played by Mickey Mouse in Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”, had basically two problems: 1) insufficient planning for completion of the project and 2) too much water! The following tale has similarities in: 1) too many blueberries and 2) insufficient planning for the completion of the project!

            Each year at this time I like to replenish our winter supply of Maine blueberries in the freezer and in the form of delicious syrupy blueberry jam that graces everything from pancakes and waffles to ice cream and pudding. Well, with one thing and another August arrived and I still had not placed my order for a blueberry flat and to my horror found that Beth’s farm market was no longer taking orders, since the season had come early this year (like everything else). However, I was kindly advised to call back tomorrow afternoon, in case they had some extra. To cut a long story short, I called, they had them and of course I got them home.

            Except for two problems.  We still had a houseful of summer visitors. And I had forgotten how large is a 10 pound flat, and I had spoken for two. The following day as our guests were walking out the door, I was already busily filling quart boxes of blueberries for the freezer, since they freeze well unwashed and in the winter a quick thaw in cold water gives you blueberries ready for a pie, muffins or pancakes. The first flat filled all the extra space in the freezer and suddenly the second flat sitting on the kitchen counter gave me visions of Mickey pacing furiously trying to recall the magic that would stop the coming buckets of water being poured in the caldron. My problem was not water, but blueberries that would not quit!  It was time to start cooking.

                                                Natural Maine Blueberry Jam

            Wash and pick over 8 cups Maine blueberries and place in a large stainless pot with ½ cup fresh lemon juice. Bring to boil with occasional stirring. Reduce the heat to medium and with stirring add 7 cups of sugar. It helps to add the first 4 cups, stirring to dissolve and then add the last 3 cups that have been heated in the microwave for 2 minutes to facilitate dissolving all the sugar. After the sugar is fully dissolved, continue to cook on medium heat with constant slow stirring for 25 minutes. Fill into sterilized jars to within ¼ inch from the top and seal with a sterile lid. As the jam cools, the lid will pop indicating that it was vacuum sealed and you can store the jars at room temperature for a year. Often the supply will be eaten long before that time. Since the jam has no pectin added, it is more syrupy than jelly.

            The first batch gave me seven 8 ounce jars and I would have liked to quit, except there were still a lot of blueberries. Unlike Mickey, I had no angry master sorcerer appear and invoke magic to halt the activities. I had to go on!  So, I made the second batch of jam with 8 more jars, after which I was more than ready to call it quits. Except – there were still more blueberries!  My friend the refrigerator, fortunately took care of them until next day, when after breakfast  (with fresh blueberries of course), I baked my husband’s favorite fresh blueberry pie.

            I hope my friends like blueberry jam for Christmas!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)