Good Food Blog

We're jamming

Posted at 4:30PM, 07 September 2010 by Emily Boyce - Sub-editor, bbcgoodfood.com

Patience is a virtue... though sadly not one I possess. Rather than wait for delivery of my mum's preserving pan, I went ahead and made jam with the few plums we'd managed to shake from the tree in our garden, plus a rather more bountiful crop from a family friend's, crammed into a standard saucepan.

Open quotationThe flavour has been described as reminiscent of toffee applesClose quotation

I rather lacked patience waiting for the jam to cook too. After five failed (and possibly rushed) set tests, when the jam refused to wrinkle on a cold plate, I turned the heat right up. Then my housemate alerted me to the smell of burning... I caught it just in time, and the jam has now set quite nicely in its jars, but it does have a whiff of caramel each time the lid is lifted and the flavour has been described as reminiscent of toffee apples. I'll go with that and call it 'Toffee plum jam' - totally intentional, of course.

It seems I'm not the only one to have had a go at mastering the art of preserving recently. Lakeland announced last week that sales of its jam-making equipment were up 17%, while earlier this summer came the unlikely news that supermodel Kate Moss has taken to donning a pinny to bubble up damson jam using fruit from her Cotswold estate...

Olive magazine's editorial assistant, Danni, followed the trend last week and made a batch of damson jam of her own. Like me, she had her set-backs (it set rather too hard; she blames over-ripe fruit), but felt a sense of domestic goddess accomplishment at having entered the world of jam-making. WI, here we come.

I've got my eye on blackberries now - they're abundant on the common near me, though they're quite tiny so I'll have to pick bucketfuls to make a decent amount of jam, or else combine them with another fruit.

Have you been jamming this year? Do you have any tips to share with a novice?

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Comments

  • Binder photo Natalie
    7 September 2010, 7:03PM

    Natalie

    Open QuoteHi, I have attempted to make Blackberry jam for the first time and failed! Have had two attempts with adding more pectin and am still stuck with jam that won't set!! Any suggestions??

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  • Binder photo SammieN
    7 September 2010, 7:07PM

    SammieN

    Open QuoteI made blackberry and apple jam last night (recipe in WI preserving book). Just tried it, and, for the first time ever, it has set properly, didn't burn (a lot of my earlier efforts have been too caramelly) and actually tastes nice - hurrah! My tips would be - 1. start early (it always seems to take longer than you think, especially faffing round getting the old labels off jars), 2. don't whack your hob up to full when you are ready to start boiling as when it's hot it takes ages to cool to a simmer again, and you almost inevitably end up with burnt fruit and, finally, 3. pick fruit where possible or see if you can share someone's glut. I picked blackberries and they were sweet, black and shiny (and free). Tesco's were tart, purple dull mutants. Happy jam making everyone!

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  • Binder photo DEB
    8 September 2010, 9:54PM

    DEB

    Open QuoteBlackberrys just donot have enother pectin in them to make a jam/jelly set I tend to use 2parts blackberries to 1 part of cooking/crab apple by weight cooked to a plup. then drained for a jelly 1 pint juice to 1 pound sugar. Hope this helps.

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  • Binder photo Mrs Chutney
    9 September 2010, 1:08PM

    Mrs Chutney

    Open QuoteIf you have a preserve which has failed to set, which can happen if you boil it for too long, then try using it as the sugar part of a chutney receipe. Could give rise to some interesting combinations!

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  • Binder photo Nicola
    9 September 2010, 2:53PM

    Nicola

    Open QuoteI'm relatively new to jam making - some set well, some don't...but you can still use them for something! Drippy jam on bread, put it on icecream, into your porridge? My best yet I think was bramble and lime, that's pretty yummy and is thick enough for spreading. Also the Good Food rhubarb and vanilla worked well and is nicely thick!

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  • Binder photo moozikgal
    11 September 2010, 1:29PM

    moozikgal

    Open QuoteI had my first attempt at jam making the other weekend. Blackberry jam! I took my son blackberry picking and within 20 minutes we had over 1kg of berries! We came home and made a fantastic crumble and the rest went to make a smooth blackberry jam/jelly which we made in the microwave - using the basic recipe from this site. We used equal measures of fruit and caster sugar and the juice of one lemon. We blended everything together then sived it out into a lage pyrex bowl. This went in the microwave on high for 3 minute bursts stirring in between. After each session in the microwave we did the plate test and after 9 minutes we had success with the plate test - it wrinkled. Into jars it went and left to cool. We have a lovely set jam which my son who is 4 loves eating as he knows he helped make it. I hope this helps someone and and shows you how easy it is to get making jam.

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  • Binder photo Cassandra Amy Rose
    13 September 2010, 9:15AM

    Cassandra Amy Rose

    Open QuoteAll sounds delicious! We are not big jam fans here, so if I made some I would have to give it away as Christmas pressies, which is what everyone does. (we got sooooooo much jam, chutney e.t.c. last Christmas!) I collected some rose-hips last week, and I am planning to make syrup with it? Does anyone have any tips?

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  • Binder photo Nicola
    13 September 2010, 9:27AM

    Nicola

    Open QuoteApparently to keep the vitamin C in the syrup it is best to use a "cold method"...I think you bash the hips a bit, then layer them up in a large container with lots of sugar, and leave it to sit for a while for the juices to come out...cant find a recipe for that though, most recipes say to mince/blend hips then boil with sugar and water. Whatever you do, make sure to strain it through muslin to get rid of the "itching powder" inside!

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  • Binder photo Cassandra Amy Rose
    13 September 2010, 12:10PM

    Cassandra Amy Rose

    Open QuoteThanks, Nicola! I was wondering about the vit. C dissolving whilst I boil the syrup. Last year I collected rose hips but thought I had to remove the seeds/pips before I boiled them. They were so itchy I didn't end up making any syrup that year!

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  • Binder photo Morticia
    13 September 2010, 1:56PM

    Morticia

    Open QuoteWe have our first crop of grapes this year and I don't want to waste them, however they are not eaters but Pinor Noir. We don't have the patience or time to make wine but I thought about using them to make grape jelly, I have found a recipie on this site but wonder how would I tweak it to this type of grape? Or does anyone have a tried and tested recipie I could try? Thanks

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  • Binder photo Mrs Chutney
    23 September 2010, 8:06AM

    Mrs Chutney

    Open QuoteMorticia, try adding whole spices, such as cloves or cinammon to the berries. Then when you filter the juice and make the jelly you have mulled wine in a jar!

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  • Binder photo SUE
    1 January 2011, 9:29PM

    SUE

    Open QuoteCassandra Amy Rose- try this website for a rosehip syrup recipe http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/kateys-best-rosehip-syrup-recipe-121

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  • Binder photo Eva's Edibles
    28 April 2011, 4:25PM

    Eva's Edibles

    Open QuoteEnjoyed the post! My mom was from Virginia and grew up canning and preserving. Our whole family put up a high number of jars every summer and I still enjoy doing so: http://inthekitchenwitheva-eva.blogspot.com/2010/06/on-canning-and-preserving.html

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