The Jam Thread

Arch

Arch

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A place for recording your jam and jellying exploits...

I just made a micro batch of blackberry and apple jam. I have loads of berries, but only one cooking apple, and wanted to make a jar to take to my Mum next week. So I scaled the recipe down to the apple I had, and managed to make two jars! I'll give the other to my sister, who we are visiting after Mum.

I've got a lot of berries left, and plan to make proper big batches of both jam and jelly later. The berries will freeze until I'm ready.

I've already made redcurrant jelly this year, and have plans for crab apple jelly, and rosehip jelly, and maybe some plum jam, all depending on what fruit I can forage. Then there are also figs from NT's Dad's tree for Fig jam. And I'll buy some apples if I have to, to try a recipe in my new WI book, for apple, cinnamon and raisin jam.

When we have a garden, I'll grow quinces. I adore quince jelly.
 
Arch said:
When we have a garden, I'll grow quinces. I adore quince jelly.
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Hope you're not in a rush - they take 5 to 6 years to start cropping :(

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=298

The fruit is very hard - there's a few videos on the web showing people cutting them with chain mail gloves on (colonials:wacky: ).
They're not quite that bad, but are very tough to cut. I made some Quince jelly here with fruit a neighbour gave me, but we're not too keen. Our French / Algerian and his wife loved it though :)
 
Yeah, it's a waiting game. Maybe I should get some now and put in pots, to get them going...

When I was a kid, we lived in a flat in a big house. The landlady lived downstairs and had a quince bush in the garden. Every year she made jelly, and we'd be given a tiny little pot of it. I've always loved it.

I have a recipe for membrillo, which is a very thick quince jelly/paste, which you cut into cubes and serve with manchego cheese.. :hungry:
 
Anyone ever made hawthorn jelly? Lots of hawthorn on the nature reserve, and the berries are just starting to colour up now. I don't know if I've ever had it.

My Mum was telling me that when she was at grammar school in the late 40's, they were asked to collect rosehips and bring them in to school, and when they school had a large enough amount they were sent off to make rosehip syrup to give to malnourished children, of whom there were still many in this country in those days.
 
There are still no blackberries here. All are still hard and green except one patch which is showing the first signs of considering going red... :(
Currently I have plum jam lined up for next week (shop bought (sorry) but reduced to 50p for 750g so worthwhile once they have ripened) .
The wild damsons here are not yet ready (normal for damsons) and the rosehips are a long way off as are the elderberries (hard and green). Delamere seems to be arounds 4 weeks behind the rest of the country this year for fruit...
Otherwise there is a tree I want to ID that curently has yellow berries on it which I suspect are going to turn red soon, but not sure what it is (looks kind of lime or maple ish but isn't)
 
I haven't made any jams and jellies since I've been in Spain, but when we were in the UK, I had redcurrants, blackcurrants, blackberries, raspberries, plums and apples in the garden, and I made jam with all of those. I still have some of it left, and it's still okay, although it's at least 6 years since it was made.

My neighbour makes jam in her bread machine, as its too hot to do it the conventional way over here. I miss the jam making, but for some reason, we don't seem to eat so much here as we used to in the UK.

@Arch: I've tried membrillo - it's wonderful. It goes nicely with vintage cheddar as well.
 
NT's Dad has a fig tree that's fruiting now. At the moment, they are keeping up with eating them, but there may be one or two at a time that are ripe but not wanted. I'd like to make fig jam, but will need a large amount at once.

Can I freeze them as they become available? I was thinking either whole, or by scooping the flesh out into containers. I'm freezing blackberries to make jam out off, I've done that before. Any reason figs won't work?

There could be a big glut at once later in the season, but it seems a waste not to use the current ones.
 
Arch said:
Can I freeze them as they become available? I was thinking either whole, or by scooping the flesh out into containers. I'm freezing blackberries to make jam out off, I've done that before. Any reason figs won't work?.
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Yes, you can. I found this article, which may be useful to you. It says to freeze whole if you're using them for jam later.
 
Sandra Piddock said:
Yes, you can. I found this article, which may be useful to you. It says to freeze whole if you're using them for jam later.
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Brilliant, thank you. I can ask NT to save any that seem to be extra (IE, if they are ripe and there are lots more coming ready too) and pop them in his freezer until we have plenty.

The thing is, I'm not very keen on fruit fresh. I'll eat most sorts, but don't really enjoy it, it's just 'meh', But made into jam.... :hungry:
 
not if Arch tries my jam. I hate the amount of sugar that is put into jam and make my own with less than 1/3 of what is 'recommended'. the result is a much nicer fruitier jam, if somewhat less of it.

Just raided Waitrose (aka the weekly shop) and on a combination of special offers and reductions on the white flesh nectarine means I have walked away with 6 punnets of nectarines (very large and very ripe ones) for 49p for 4. (reduced from £2.99 to £1.49 and on special offer 2 for £4, so knock £1 off each reduced punnet). They are so sweet they will need very little sugar at all to turn into nectarine jam tomorrow. :hungry:

Add that to the plums which were well reduced as well and plum jam will follow shortly afterwards.
Should make up for the lack of blackberries around here at the moment and my lack of time to go hunting for any before I go on holiday on friday, for 3 (to 4) weeks.
 
I picked a kilo and a half of blackberries this afternoon, and have stewed them with apple, cinnamon, clove and lemon to make Autumn Jelly. I've drained most of the juice off, will leave the rest to drip overnight.

I did buy the apples, but the ones on the reserve where I work are nearly ready....
 
Finished making the blackberry and apple jelly tonight:
IMAG1202.jpg


Actually nine jars, one escaped the photo. Just need to label them tomorrow. A couple are already promised as gifts or swaps.
 
This thread made me think way back when I was a child and my mother and grandmother canned vegetables and made jams or preserves.

What I remember is the circle of near transparent paraffin wax under the lid right on top of the jam. I suppose this was for safe-keeping and to ensure a tight seal.

Do people home-canning still do this?
 
We still use a little disc of waxed paper to help create a seal, although with standard jars and screw top lids, I don't know if it's vital.

I had some apples leftover from the Blackberry and Apple jelly, so I had a go at something new to me, Apple, Raisin and Cinnamon jam, from my WI book.

1.5kg apple
150ml water
3 tablespoons lemon jiuce
75g raisins
1kg sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Put chopped apple, water, lemon juice and raisins into a pan and bring to a boil, stirring. Add sugar and cinnamon, bring back to the boil, boil for 5 mins and test for a set. (If not ready, boil more, testing at 1 minute intervals.) Remove from the heat, and leave for 20 mins to cool a little, then bottle in hot jars and seal.

Wow, it's lovely! Like eating an apple Danish, in jam form. I was scaling down because I only had 500g of apple, so I was dividing by three, but I only halved the cinnamon, because I'm of the "You can't have too much cinnamon' school of cooking.

I took a jar to my Mum, and she said she had it in a sandwich with some smoked cheese and it worked very well, like a sweet chutney. She was planning to try some with some pork sausages for dinner.

(I've just noticed that the recipe says to use unpeeled apple, finely chopped, I had peeled mine, it doesn't seem to have mattered!).

In other news, and thanks to Mum's generosity with early Xmas gift money, I now have a proper big preserving pan!:D
 
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