I got lucky making jam it seems. We had a massive crop of wild blackberries this year that came in quite early and are still coming out now. We went collecting a few times but i've been lazy compared to the amount we could have stashed in the freezer, plus our freezer is tiny so not much room for half a dozen tubs of blackberries. We have stuck to a modest 3 tubs for winter crumbles and jam making.
Jam seemed pretty easy the first couple of times i set out to make it. (I'd had a previous encounter attempting it without having read ANY recipes or tips and it didn't set but it was for a cake filling so i don't count it unless it is intended for a jar!). I put one tub of blackberries collected that day in a pan with some sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon and stir on a middle heat until the sugar is dissolved, then once dissolved i blasted in on a high heat until my jam test worked and then i'd take it off the heat and pour into jars.
Jam Test
Stephen's mum Bridget taught me this. Get a cold plate and spoon a small amount of your cooking jam onto the plate, if a wrinkly surface forms on the jam then its ready to go in the jars!
It was very much guessing with amounts of sugar to the amount of fruit. What i'd read online and in Delia's book was that if you're fruit is too ripe there may not be enough pectin for the jam to set. To offset this you add a squeeze of lemon juice as lemons are high in pectin. Unripe fruit also has a lot of pectin so i made sure a picked some slightly under ripe berries too and put lemon in just to be safe.
One tub (take away plastic container you get a curry in) would make 2 jars, i would put probably about 150g of sugar in and the juice of half a lemon in. (You don't taste the lemon at the end).
Overall i was very impressed with my jam (not wanting to toot my own horn of course!), The first lot was too sweet so i made sure i put less in the next time. Trial and error, and error again, its all a learning curve isn't it. I really should start writing down ingredients and amounts though!
Jam seemed pretty easy the first couple of times i set out to make it. (I'd had a previous encounter attempting it without having read ANY recipes or tips and it didn't set but it was for a cake filling so i don't count it unless it is intended for a jar!). I put one tub of blackberries collected that day in a pan with some sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon and stir on a middle heat until the sugar is dissolved, then once dissolved i blasted in on a high heat until my jam test worked and then i'd take it off the heat and pour into jars.
Jam Test
Stephen's mum Bridget taught me this. Get a cold plate and spoon a small amount of your cooking jam onto the plate, if a wrinkly surface forms on the jam then its ready to go in the jars!
It was very much guessing with amounts of sugar to the amount of fruit. What i'd read online and in Delia's book was that if you're fruit is too ripe there may not be enough pectin for the jam to set. To offset this you add a squeeze of lemon juice as lemons are high in pectin. Unripe fruit also has a lot of pectin so i made sure a picked some slightly under ripe berries too and put lemon in just to be safe.
One tub (take away plastic container you get a curry in) would make 2 jars, i would put probably about 150g of sugar in and the juice of half a lemon in. (You don't taste the lemon at the end).
Overall i was very impressed with my jam (not wanting to toot my own horn of course!), The first lot was too sweet so i made sure i put less in the next time. Trial and error, and error again, its all a learning curve isn't it. I really should start writing down ingredients and amounts though!
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May 21, 2011 at 11:54 AM
Thank you for posting such a useful, impressive and a wicked article./Wow.. looking good!
Bain Maries