As my jam pans have made a recent reappearance in the kitchen and I am making the most of the abundance of produce this time of year brings I thought it might be a good time to share some of my ramblings on jam making.
This has got to be one of my favourite things to make with all the produce I grow. Whilst I love being able to cook endless meals that contain only home grown veg and salad, I don’t think there is anything more satisfying that getting out my jam pans and making a large batch of the sweet, sticky treat.
It might have something to do with my sweet tooth, but I love jam, it has so many uses, you can put it on your toast, in your porridge or it can be used in an endless amount of cakes and tarts all of which I do on a regular basis!!
Since meeting my husband and exploring his family farm I came to realise there is so much fruit that just goes to waste, even the birds can’t eat everything there is growing out there! With this realisation came a bit of a mission to use as much as possible and this is what sparked my jam making passion.
Now I know even with the large batches I make I can’t use every berry found in the hedgerow and I can’t even make a dent in the amount of apples that are growing on the farm, but I can try to make use of as much as possible and what I can’t eat myself I can give away at Christmas. This was a new idea last year and it seemed to go down really well. I made as many different types of jams, chutneys and jellies that I could think of with the produce I had either grown myself or foraged around the farm. Then with the help of my fab hubby made little boxes to use as gift boxes and filled them with jars and bottles to give to all my friends and family.
Right….back to the jam itself…it can be a time consuming job and I have learnt to be patient after a few disastrous batches where the pans were so burnt they had to be thrown away or no matter how long I boiled it for the jam just wouldn’t set. Now generally you learn by your mistakes, so here are a few of the things I’ve learnt from experience over the last few years:
- Using frozen fruit works just as well as fresh – expect with strawberries, using frozen strawberries makes it hard to get a set.
- You don’t need to use expensive jam sugar, granulated sugar works just as well. Although with those fruits that contain less naturally occurring pectin such as strawberries and raspberries you can help them set by adding a piece of rhubarb, some plums stones or lemon seeds while it is cooking, tie them in a piece of muslin to make them easier to remove before pouring into jars.
- Use your saucepan lid as a shield to protect you from spitting jam!
- It really is a sticky business so make sure you have a funnel and ladle to use when pouring into jars or it will end up everywhere!
- Make sure you sterilise the jars before using and put the lids on while the jam is still hot, this will help it keep longer.
- Use fruit that is not too ripe, especially when using fruits with less pectin.
Happy jam making everyone J
B's Backyard 