My first venture into jam making was several years ago as a glut of brambles in the front garden led me to a relaxing Sunday morning in the kitchen with my proud little bowl of blackberries, some apples, lemon and sugar.
Our crop over the past couple of years has been disappointing but as I went into the garden this morning, a good few months mixture of sun and rain promises a good yield of fruit for this year.
Blackberry bush in our garden
It will be a few more weeks, towards the end of August before the fruit will be ready to turn into pots of deep purple jam. If you have never made jam before try a batch of blackberry and apple jam. The apple which is high in pectin helps towards getting a good set to your jam. I always use organic cane sugar in my jam making. It does tend to be sweeter than ordinary granulated sugar and so to compensate I add some lemon juice to add some sharpness to the jam. Go to my Preserving Tips page for details on sterilising your jars and other hints and tips.
To make 1.5kg of jam you will need
450g apples (preferably Bramley or Granny Smith) peeled, cored and chopped
450g blackberries (washed)
300ml water
juice of half a lemon
850g organic cane sugar or unrefined granulated sugar
Place the apples, lemon juice and water in a large pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until the apples are soft. Add the blackberries and stir well to combine with the apples.
Bring the mixture to the boil then simmer for another 5 minutes until the blackberries are soft.
Reduce the heat and stir in the sugar. Wait for the sugar to dissolve entirely, this will take around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sugar needs to have totally dissolved before bringing the jam to the boil otherwise crystallisation can occur.
To check that the sugar has dissolved dip a wooden spoon into the mixture, turn it over and if no sugar crystals are visible in the liquid that coats the back of the spoon, it has dissolved and is ready to bring to a rolling boil.
Boil for around 10 minutes until setting point has been reached at 105 degrees C. (Again go to the Preserving Tips page for details of the other setting point tests you can carry out). I always use a digital thermometer, I’ve never really liked the traditional jam thermometers, too fiddly.
Remove any scum from the surface of the jam, stir and ladel into warmed, sterilised jars and seal. This jam unopened will keep for 1 year. Once opened keep in the fridge and use within 6 weeks.
