Blueberry Pie Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- Juice of two lemons
- 4 pints blueberries
- 1 teaspoon almond extract, optional
- 4 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur, optional
- Fit a large pot with a rack, or line with a folded kitchen towel.
- Fill 2/3 with water and bring to a boil.
- Add 2 one-quart canning jars and boil for 10 minutes.
- Jars may be left in the warm water in the pot until ready to be filled.
- (Alternatively, you can sterilize jars by running them through a dishwasher cycle, leaving them there until ready to fill.)
- Place canning rings in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil.
- Turn off heat and add lids to soften their rubber gaskets.
- Rings and lids may be left in the water until jars are filled.
- In a large heavy pot, combine 1 cup water with sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice, and whisk until smooth.
- Bring to a boil and add berries; the mixture will look gloppy.
- Smash some of the berries with a potato masher or the back of a spoon.
- Return mixture to a boil for 1 minute.
- Add extract and liqueur, if using, and stir well.
- Remove warm jars from pot and bring water back to a boil.
- Ladle hot filling into jars just up to the base of the neck, leaving 1 inch at the top.
- Wipe jar rims clean with a damp towel.
- Place lids on jars, screw on rings and lower jars back into the pot of boiling water.
- The water should cover the jars; if not, add more.
- Boil jars for 30 minutes.
- Transfer jars to a folded towel and allow to cool for 12 hours; you should hear them making a pinging sound as they seal.
- Test the seals by removing rings and lifting jars by the flat lid.
- If the lid releases, the seal has not formed.
- Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within a month, or reprocessed.
- (Rings and jars may be reused, but a new flat lid must be used each time jars are processed.)
- To reprocess, reheat filling to boiling point (as in Step 3), then continue as before.
sugar, cornstarch, lemons, blueberries, almond, grand marnier
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12654 (may not work)