There’s something very nostalgic and rewarding making your own jam.
Makes: 6 jars
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
What you need:
- 1 kg (2¼lb) blackberries, picked over and any leaves discarded
- 1 kg (2¼lb) cooking apples, quartered, cored, peeled
- 300 ml (½pint) water
- 1.5 kg (3 lb 2 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 lemon, juice only
- Small knob of butter, about 7 g (¼oz)
- Wash jam jars and place upside down in the oven at 100c to dry thoroughly.
- Place a small plate in the fridge for testing the jam later.
- Peel and cut the apples into blackberry-sized pieces and add to a preserving pan or the largest saucepan that you have.
- Add the water and start to simmer gently.
- Add the lemon juice to the pan and cook until the apples are soft – around 5-8 minutes depending on the jam.
- Add the blackberries, stir and take the pan off the heat.
- Still with the pan off the heat, stir in the sugar, until it has almost dissolved.
- You’ll know it’s dissolving when you don’t hear or feel the sugar scraping on the pan as much when you stir.
- When the sugar is almost completely dissolved, return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil.
- As it starts to boil, add the butter, which will help minimise and disperse any foam, which is a natural part of jam making.
- Bring to a rapid, rolling boil for 15 minutes. Don’t be afraid of the rolling boil, this is crucial to producing a jam that will set.
- Spoon a little jam on to a chilled saucer, as soon as it is cool, run a finger through the jam so that the saucer is visible.
- If the finger line remains and the jam wrinkles it is ready, if not boil a little longer and try again.
- Ladle into the hot jars and fill until almost full to allow for shrinkage as the jam cools.
- If you’re sealing the traditional way, cover the surface of each jar with a waxed disc, with the shiny side downwards.
- Rinse a cellophane circle with a little water then put wetted side uppermost over the top of the jar and secure with an elastic band or add a screw topped lid.
- Label and leave to cool.
About this post -
Recipe and photo credit by Seasonal Berries