BlacKberry Jam
It's that time of year again - blackberries are plentiful and ripe for the picking! We normally go down the blackberry jelly line or cobble together a crumble (or many) but with this first batch, jam was on the cards!
After cycling to the meadows for what I intended to be just a preliminary assessment of the ripeness situation, I ended up dismounting and staying for hours, reaching, picking, fighting my way through brambles and getting very scratched and scrawbled in the process.
The result - a kilo of ripe berries!
Being home alone for the weekend, making a huge crumble was a dangerous game so I settled on jam, finding this easy recipe online. I've yet to try the jam but from appearances alone, it's gonna be good!
Ingredients - makes 3 big jars
1kg blackberries (rinsed)
900g jam sugar (with added pectin)
1 lemon
Method
The night before you make the jam (or even just a few hours), layer up the blackberries and sugar in a big, wide-based pan and leave to stand at room temperature. This helps dissolve the sugar so you don't overcook the fruit when actually making the jam.
When you're ready to start - place a small plate/saucer in the fridge for testing the jam later.
Now give the blackberries and sugar mixture a good stir then set over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon juice at this stage.
Once the sugar is dissolved, bring to the boil for 10 minutes. To test if it's reached setting point, spoon a little of the jam onto the cold saucer. Once it's cool, push it with your finger. If it wrinkles and has a little resistance, it's ready. If it's too runny to wrinkle, boil for 2-3 more minutes. Test again.
Then remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes.
Skim off any scum then spoon into still-warm sterilised jars, screw the lids on tightly and store in a cool place.
How to sterilise jars
Wash them in hot, soapy water, then dry in an oven heated to 170C for at least 10 minutes. Always ladle the jam into jars while the jars are still warm.
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