Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Jam

This blog is fast turning into a food report rather than knitting - which it was originally supposed to be. Back to that another day, first we need to talk jam.


I went to Sainsburys yesterday and found a big box of strawberries for only 99p. They were going a bit mushy, so I decided to make jam. Rather than plain old strawberry, I wanted to try something a bit different, so bought a packet of frozen summer fruits. Home-made jam is such fun to do, so easy and makes the house smell so good, I urge you all to have a go.

3 ingredients in my jam - 1lb of strawberries, 1lb of frozen summer fruits, 2lb bag of sugar (I always use the sugar with added pectin - in the red bag).

Put the frozen fruit in a big pan and heat very gently until the juice starts to run out. Cut the stalks off the strawberries and chop each berry in half. Add to the pan and raise the heat until boiling.

Pour in the bag of sugar and stir until dissolved. If you don't stir, the sugar will burn, your jam goes black and it all tastes horrid. Then raise the heat even higher and let the jam get to a 'rolling boil'. This is what a rolling boil looks like - you can stir like mad, but it won't go back down.

After a few minutes doing this, test for a set. Take a spoonful of jam and place on a cold plate, leave for a minute, then drag your finger through the jam (try not to burn yourself!). If it wrinkles the jam will set, if not, boil for another couple of minutes and re-test. When ready, take off the heat and leave for 5 minutes. This stops any fruit rising to the top and makes it much more even looking in the jar.

Pour your jam into hot clean jam jars, put the lids on and wait until cold. If you possibly can.

If you possibly can't, then make some scones while it cools and eat warm scones, warm jam and cold whipped cream.

Believe me, every single calorie will be worth it and you will wonder why you ever bought jam in the first place when it's this easy to make.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm drooling here! You make it look so easy and tasty. Thanks for the great instructions I'm going to keep them for future reference. It's going on my MUST TRY list. Thanks. On the knitting front I made a selection of liquorice allsorts for my sister-in-law who loves them. She was delighted! I also made my brother-in-law a Bristol Rovers colours phone cosy. My husband also supports Bristol Rovers (well somebody has to !) but he refused a cosy! All this came from your influence.

picperfic said...

I love the smell of jam cooking, my Mum always makes us some jam when she comes to stay. I like the idea of adding the summer fruits to the strawberries. I make a compote with the summer fruits for my breakfast to eat with greek yoghurt and some really gorgeous granola I get from Waitrose! I made an apple loaf today, I used a tine of apple slices, much more economical than buying expensive baramleys. The slices were tossed in sugar and cinnamon and half mixed thorugh the batter, then the remainder of the apples was plopped on the top of the loaf and then the remainder of the cinnamon suger is sprinkled over before baking. It's a bit nice!

trash said...

Please make sure you wrap the jars really carefully before posting them. I don;t want to have lick such yummy jam off the shatds of glass ;-)

Locket Pocket said...

Wow! You really have made it sound so easy (and reasonably priced too! Whenever I make jam it always costs a fortune!). I may have to follow your instructions and get on and make some too! Lucy xxx

Cathy {tinniegirl} said...

YUM! I want some. I have grand plans for buttermilk pancakes this weekend. Now I want scones as well. I've never been good at making scones though. They always come out like rocks.

Mrs Moog said...

Ooh perfect timing Michaela - i'd just promised the kids a trip to the PYO farm today as I have the jam making urge.

I may even try soom gooseberry jam too - mmmmmmm!

xxxx

wonderwoman said...

hi, i have been drawn to your blog by tales of delicious and simple jam making! sounds all good to me, so have decided in the week to give your jam a go and will let you know how it turns out! lucy's looked great so lets hope mine turns out ok, although i have just been told (by a friend!) that strawb jam is the hardest to make! we will see!

Garden Girl said...

I agree-home made jam ROCKS! and definitely tastes all the better for being homemade, I think! Good looking scones too, I might add!