Jam making, despite always seeming such a natural thing to do, is actually quite difficult. Not because of the work involved, but because of all those rules and precautions required to achieve that perfectly gelled and bacteria - resistant spread. After reading umpteen books on the subject, it seems that there are two main aims to making jam:
1: You need to use a thickening agent like pectin or sugar and ..
Gone are the days of simply bunging in a load of blackberries, adding some sugar, boiling until thick and then ladling into any old jar straight off the shelf. You will get jam, yes, but it will develop a mold after a few days and all that beautiful fruit will be wasted.
A few years ago, Neil and myself went blackberry picking, Neil insistent he was going to make the jam of his childhood. At the time I was a low carber and so sweetener was used in lieu of real sugar. Forgetting that chemical sweetener is infinitely sweeter than sugar, we forgot to accurately scale down the measure of sweetener and so were left with a jam that was so sweet, it actually puckered up our faces as though we were sucking on a lemon ..."there's more to this than I thought", said Neil even then.
If you
want a nicely thickened and almost gelatinous jam, then you need to
consider the pectin content of your fruit. Strawberries are labelled
'low' and so a high proportion of sugar or pectin is needed, or, you can
use green apple in the jam also, which are full of the stuff. It's been
said many times before, by kitchen goddesses such as Nigella Lawson,
but it's true: making stuff like jam seems to fill you with a sense of
achievement, a rosy glow of domesticity. It could be the satisfaction of
making something yourself, that and the feeling of 'sticking it' to the
large jam making corporations who charge lots of money and fill it full
of chemical nonsense.
Recipe : Strawberry and raspberry jam
Adapted from Canning for a New Generation by Lianna Krissof
This jam is sweet, tangy and a little sharp, perfect for toast, sandwiched between a sponge cake or even jam tarts.
This amount makes 1.5 pint jars
2.5 lbs of strawberries, hulled and diced
1/2 lb raspberries, halved
1.5 cups sugar
juice of two lemons
First, sterilise your jars by boiling them for ten minutes in a large pot of boiling water. Ideally, the water should cover the pots completely, even when standing upright. I took a few chances with less water simply because I don't have a designated canning pot or anything large enough. Time will tell whether this will cause my jam to spoil. You should probably use the correct equipment if you can. (You can also simply sterilise in the dishwasher on a hot cycle - which is what I did first in my defence).
After ten minutes, turn off the heat and allow the jars to remain in the water to keep warm. Put a plate in the freezer and put the jar lids in a bowl.
Place the strawberries, raspberries and sugar in a large pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir frequently for 5 minutes and then pour into a colander or sieve set over a large bowl. Stir the berries to release the juice.
Return the juice, (minus the berries) to the pan and boil over a high heat for about 20 minutes, until....
....it has reduced down and become syrupy. You need it to reduce to about 1.5 cups, (about half it's original volume).
Return the berries to the pan with the juice, add the lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes over medium heat until thick and almost jam like. Take the plate from the freezer, add a small dab of jam and return it. After one minute check the jam. It should be firm but not gelled. Remove the jam from the heat and stir well.
Remove the empty pots from the water (using tongs or a proper lifter - be careful) and pour out any water from inside. Spoon some of the hot water into the bowl with the lids. Ladle or spoon the hot jam into the jars leaving about 1/4 inch space at the top and then remove the lids from the hot water. Wipe any jam from the jar rims with a wet cloth or paper towel and screw on the lids, first placing the flat lid onto the top. Return the jars to the water in the pan and boil for 5 minutes. (Again, the water should cover the jars by at least one inch. Mine didn't, so I'm keeping my jam in the fridge and plan to use it quickly). Remove the jars from the water and place on a folded tea towel. Don't disturb the jars in any way for 12 hours. After 1 hour, press lightly on the seal on the flat lid to check it can't be pushed down, (this means it's sealed). If you can push down, refrigerate immediately, otherwise, your jam will be ready in 12 hours and have a fairly long shelf life. See, simple right (?)
No comments:
Post a Comment