Readers, today I've conquered another “first time”. I made jam. Both my grannies and my mum all
appear to have the jam making gene, so I decided to give it a go. We do have a big old fashioned jam pan at my
parents’ house, but today, for speed, I made mine in the biggest heaviest
bottomed pot I could find in our kitchen.
Now, if we are splitting hairs, I technically made a high
fruit, low sugar spread today. Slightly
more like a compote due to the fruit content, but I've managed to get a good
set from it – so more jam like than first anticipated.
I would say that it wasn't too bad for a first attempt – I
had a little trouble working out when it was ready. The recipe said to wait until it sat on a
mound on a saucer, but I did get to the point that I could feel it starting to
burn on the bottom, so had to get it off and filled fairly quickly.
This is the original recipe which I used. The only difference I made was sterilising my
jars and lids in the oven at 140c for around an hour.
Mr WhatClaireBaked’s dad gave us lots of fresh rhubarb from
his garden – this inspired me to give jam making a go for the first time.
Here’s the original recipe and beautiful photography on the
Kitchen Gourmet website.
Rhubarb & Strawberry Jam (taken from Kitchen Gourmet)
Ingredients
2lbs fresh rhubarb (home grown is great)
1lb Scottish strawberries
2 cups sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup lemon juice
Method
- Place
rhubarb, strawberries, water and sugar in a medium-sized pot set over
medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the juices are released and begin
to cover the fruit. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to separate
the fruit from the juices. Set the fruit aside.
Delicious Scottish fruit - Return the juices to the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow to cook, stirring frequently, until reduced by approximately half (an easy way to check this is to use the handle of a wooden spoon. Dip it into the liquid to “stain” it. Then use that as a measuring guide for how much it’s cooking down). Skim off any foam that rises to the surface, as you go.
- Add
the fruit back to the pot, along with any accumulated juices. Stir in
lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until a spoonful of the mixture
mounds on a frozen plate without spreading.
Ready to jar up - Once set, remove the pan from the heat. Carefully remove sterilised jars and lids from the oven. Whilst hot, fill the jam into the jars to around ¼ in from the top and screw the lids on immediately. Leave for 24 hours to cool and a vacuum seal will form.
Jars can be stored either in the
cupboard or fridge once open. I’d
recommend consuming the jar within 28 days.
I'm entering this post into #recipeoftheweek over at A Mummy Too
Now that wouldn't last long in our house, what a wonderful combination #Recipeofthe week
ReplyDeleteWill let you know how long it lasts in ours!
DeleteI have always been scared of making jam. This looks fab, I love the flavour combination
ReplyDeleteLikewise Alison - I've always stayed away from it. Turns out not that difficult. Sugar thermometer helps as well!
DeleteI really need to make jam this week. Bookmarking this to try. Thanks for linking up to #recipeoftheweek - sorry I'm a bit late over! Have Pinned this post and scheduled in a tweet. New linky just went live for this week :) x
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely worth a go - slightly different from a traditional British jam as we know it and a bit more tart as well, but the fruit flavours really shine through. If you are a jam maker you should consider entering the World Jampionships - Google it!
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