Oregon Grape Jam

I made Oregon Grape jam today.  The Oregon Grape is not really a grape.  It is a berry that grows in the wild.  We had a couple of Oregon Grape shrubs at the mountain house, but not enough to harvest berries for jam.  Here in our neighborhood green space though, there are a whole bunch of the shrubs.  So I headed out today with gloves and bowl and picked a bunch of berries.  My neighbors thought I was wack-a-doo for picking berries that they all thought were poisonous.  Next thing I know they're lined up on my front porch asking for jam.

I intended to send some as gifts, but the stuff is the most delicious jam I've ever made and I'm likely to eat it all up myself.

Oregon grapes look like this:

and the jelly juice is this pretty burgundy color. 

The berries themselves are a bit bitter and grassy, but, once seeded and turned into jam, become absolutely wonderfully delish.

I used this recipe and canned in the boiling water canner for 15 minutes.