Hello my fellow Jelly Lovers! Today let’s talk about this beautiful blueberry jam from Barnacle Foods – all the way from over in Alaska!
“Alaska is one of the last untouched places in the world, where ecosystems remain intact, where natural resources are abundant, and where people live with the rhythms of the seasons. Living in Southeast Alaska, we can only access the continental United States by boat or plane. Despite some unique challenges, we’re committed to maintaining our home and business right here.”
https://www.barnaclefoods.com/pages/alaska
Now as I am from New Jersey, it was pretty cool to receive Alaskan jams in the mail from my Mama Jen. She is, as always, my biggest supporter in all my hobbies and interests, sending me all kinds of fun jams and jellies to try out for this blog.
Barnacle Foods is run by Matt and Lia, who you can read more about here and if you’re interested in checking out what they have for sale online, you can head on over here!
Mama Jen went ahead and sent me this Jam and Jelly Sampler, which includes three flavors: Alaskan Blueberry Jam (which we’ll be talking about in today’s blog post), Alaskan Spruce Tip Jelly, and Alaskan Rhubarb Jam. Blog posts on the other two flavors are upcoming. 🙂
Even though my Mama Jen told me the Spruce Tip Jelly is her favorite, I couldn’t resist digging into the Blueberry Jam first. The beautiful color was calling my name, and I also am just a big fan of berries.
When I popped this jar open, I was immediately taken aback by how gorgeous this shade of jam is! It has that very classic blueberry color, dark indigo at first, but bright burgundy-red when thinned. Most impressive, though, was the amount of whole berries I could see within the jam:
To really allow the jam to speak for itself, I toasted up some plain ol’ white bread and slathered this jam on top. As I expected, this jam is loaded with whole blueberries that left the spread textured and more three dimensional than any other jam I’ve had before. I did, however, need to use about half the jar to get my two slices of toast covered – but I’m not complaining.
I’ve gotta admit, the texture is my favorite thing about this jam. It has bite and body to it because of the whole berries, which makes it a different experience than eating smoother fruit spreads on toast. Berries actually burst in my mouth as I ate it.
While it’s not especially sweet, it still maintains enough sweetness to mellow out the tangy flavor of the blueberries. I wouldn’t say it’s bitter, but I might add on a drizzle of honey next time because I was expecting a little bit more sweetness. What can I say, sometimes I have a bit of a sweet tooth. 😉
If you prefer a smooth spread, this jam probably isn’t for you. For me, I think texture can be fun, but it totally depends on what you’re going for – the same way some people like chunky peanut butter, and others prefer smooth!
Do you prefer your jams and jellies to be on the chunkier side or the smoother side?
Much love,
Melissa
Meli Loves Jelly 