Sunday 22 September 2013

Recipe: seedless apple and blackberry jam

Borrowed from Google Images
I was given apples and blackberries so I felt perfectly OK about using more expensive jam sugar for this, but ordinary sugar is fine.
I was dealing with dinner while making the jam so it all got done in sections, not continuously.  It works just as well.

Ingredients:
About 800g or blackberries and 800g of cooking apples
jam water
sugar
the juice of half a lemon

Method:
Put the blackberries into a large pan.  Wash and chop the apples, discarding any bad bits.  Add them to the pan too.  No need to peel or core.
Just cover the fruit with water and simmer until the blackberries are soft.  Push the resulting goo through a fine sieve or a mouli (a sieve makes for a smoother texture)
OR, if you want a jelly, mash the mixture and allow it to drip through a jelly bag or a muslin cloth in a sieve without pushing anything through.  I prefer the jam to the jelly as there's less waste.

Measure the liquid and allow 100g sugar for each 100mls of liquid.

If you're going to make the jam straight away, now's the time to pop two saucers in the fridge if that's how you test for set, and wash and heat the jam jars in the oven at around 120C.  If you're using lids, make sure they are good and clean too.

Place the liquid in a maslin pan or any large pan.  Pour in the sugar.  Slowly heat, stirring continuously, until all the sugar has dissolved.
(I tend to warm up the liquid, take it off the heat, stir in the sugar and just leave it to dissolve slowly.  It just needs a stir now and again.)
Then add the lemon juice, bring the lot to a boil and allow to boil away, stirring fairly often, for about five minutes.  Then turn the heat right down and test for setting point using whatever method suits you.  If it's not set, turn the heat up again and re-boil for about five minutes before retesting.

When the jam has reached setting point, take it off the heat and stir in a knob of butter to disperse any scum.  Scrape off any scum that is left and have it on hot buttered toast - it's delicious..

Carefully ladle the hot jam into the jars, pop over a waxed disc and screw on the lid very firmly.  Leave to cool and don't forget to label each pot with name and date.  You think you are going to remember, but you don't!

Store in a cool dark place.  It seems to last for ever!

2 comments:

  1. This jam sounds lovely and with the bounty of the donated apples you are going to have some fun.

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  2. Oh, I am, Diane!!! I've just found a recipe for 'slow cooker apple butter' which sounds really scrummy and I really want to try it!
    J x

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