When I was a teenager my family moved to South Jersey. One of the houses under consideration was located in Hammonton and directly across from a blueberry farm. At thirteen I wasn't aware at the time that Hammonton was the mecca of the blueberry world nor did I probably care and as fate would have it my folks choose another home about 20 miles away. Little did I know then that this fabulous tiny blue fruit would play many a culinary role for me for decades to come.
A few years later I was in my photography period and worked occasionally for guy who was a journalist for a regional newspaper and sidelined as a youth sports team photographer. He had many interests and philosophies and had a great way of getting me to look at things through a different set of glasses which has proven helpful over the years. One of his passions was blueberries. I remember reading a newspaper article he wrote about the different varieties of local blueberries and what farms were growing them. We even went on a few foraging excursions either to pick at farms or the woods of the pine barrens. Now I had always been a fan of traditional baked blueberry pie but he turned me on to a new version called raw or fresh-berry pie and I have made this pie more than any other over the years.
In fact I had one of my early cooking catastrophes making it. It was the first time preparing it and the recipe calls for making a berry flavored glaze thickened with cornstarch. Well when I went to add the starch to the boiling blueberries I inadvertently grabbed baking soda instead. The result was an instantaneous explosion of molten berry sauce, thankfully that only happened once! For anybody interested in this wonderfully quick & easy pie I will put the recipe at the end of this post.
It's now mid July, the time when I get out into the field to gather not only blueberries but blackberries as well. The wild blueberries seem to become ripe after the commercial fields have just about finished up their season. I've picked the blues for over 30 years & the blacks for about 10. A brush fire took out the blackberry canes two years ago and they started to grow back last year without fruit and this summer I watched as red, unripe berries started to appear a few weeks back. The blueberries have been very sparse the last few years and I didn't get any last season. So I got out last weekend and managed to get 4-6 cups of both varieties, not quite enough to make the fresh-berry pie as it requires a good amount to make the glaze & fill the shell with fruit. I will however have enough when I add raspberries & strawberries to make my Mixed Berry ginger Jam. 
I've been making this almost every season and we just finished the final jar from my last batch so this is the main reason for this picking session. My recipe calls for 12-14 Cups of berries and this yields 12-14 half pints to be canned for shelf storage which is plenty of jam for a year.
Mixed Berry Ginger Jam
14 Cups Berries(I use 4 black, 4 blue, 4 strawberry & 2 raspberry)
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger- minced
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
9 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup lemon juice
5.25 oz. pectin( 3- 1.75 oz. boxes)
Crush all berries with potato masher and set aside
Put about 1/2 cup of the sugar, 1/4 cup water, ginger & cardamom in large, non-reactive pot and simmer for a few minutes to bring out flavors.
Add berries, 6-1/2 cups sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes and berries are cooked down.
Lower heat and add the remaining 2 cups of sugar which the pectin has been added. Mix well into berries to avoid lumps. Bring back to a boil for 1 minute.
Ladle into sterilized jars and process in boiling water for 15 minutes for shelf storage or cool and keep refrigerated.
This recipe will make about 12-14 half pints.
...and as promised
Fresh Berry Pie
2 pints blueberries(might not use all of them)
1 pie crust- blind-baked(lined with pie weights, beans or whatever you use and baked @350 for 10-12 minutes til just starting to get golden.
4-6 oz. cream cheese-softened to room temp.
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
water
Glaze:
Bring 1 cup berries & 2/3 cup water to a boil and simmer for 5-8 minutes until the berries start to break down. While berries are cooking, mix well, 1 cup sugar, cornstarch & 1/3 cup water in a bowl. When berries are ready stir in starch/sugar mixture, bring back to boil for 1 minute. Take off heat and cool to room temp.
Pie:
Spread cream cheese in an even layer on the pie crust. Fill crust with berries, this will take about 2 cups depending on crust size(I generally use 9"). Pour glaze over berries & carefully mix it to distribute throughout the berries.
Chill in the fridge over night and serve with whipped cream & enjoy!
