Blackberry Jam: A Story of Being Cooked.

The Day We were Put in a Jam (as opposed to a pickle)

Once upon a time, on an island known as Tasmania (famed the world over for apples, cheese and beer) we were growing happily on a thorny bush. One day, when we were big and black and round, a person - you know her as Kathy - came along with an old icecream container and started to pick us, one by one. Plop! Into the container we would go. Some of us were spared the container only to suffer the horror of being put into Kathys mouth and eaten. The indignity of it was almost unbearable. We are only grateful that her niece was absent, otherwise it is doubtful that any of us would have made it into the bucket at all.

Crammed together in the container, we were carried back to Kathys lair. We were tipped into a strange container with holes in it and water was poured all over us. Those of us who had been in the sun only moments earlier were shocked by the coldness that was now bringing our core temperature down to dangerous levels. This was nothing to the torture that was about to be thrust upon us.

We were scooped out of the strange, holey container and thrown into a solid metal one. A white, sand-like substance was tipped on top of us. Then it started to get hot. At first it was pleasant, but as the temperature rose, our comfort level dropped, and we started to sweat. The sand-like substance started to turn into a clear liquid, stained red with our juices. The temperature continued to rise. Some of us were beginning to loose our grasp on reality. A few of us broke down. Literally. 

The temperature was so hot now that we were bouncing and bubbling without control - a foaming, purple mass. Just when we thought we could stand it no longer, the heat subsided. Then, we were falling. We found ourselves in clear containers. We quickly realised that we were trapped, for discs of metal were used to cover over our only possible exit. What is our fate going to be? Is there any hope of rescue?

(A story of jam making, as told by a talkative and rather dramatic blackberry.) 


Three Minute Berry Jam
This recipe is suitable for all sorts of berries, including raspberries and boysenberries.


2 and a 1/2 cups of berries
2 and a 1/4 cups of sugar

Put the berries and the sugar in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil briskly three minutes. Pack and seal.
If the fruit is very ripe, a further minute of boiling is desirable.
The jam will appear lightly set at first, but it thickens after a few days of storage.
Due to the quick cooking time, the fruit does not breakdown a great deal. If you want less lumps, use a potato masher to squish and squash the fruit. Do this before bringing it to the boil.
Makes about 2 x 350 millilitre jars (that is, two medium sized jars).


For sterilizing jam jars, go here.

By the way, the blackberries are still imprisoned in the jars... I will rescue them one day. Too bad their visit to toast/scone/waffle heaven won't last long!

How I Sterilize Jars for Jam

I love making jam. Today I made some blackberry jam, which I'll do a post about in the next couple of days, but for today, I am going to share how I sterilize jars for jam.

HOW TO STERILIZE JARS, KATHY STYLE:
1. Wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water.

2. Begin to heat up the oven - I set it on 150'celsius.

2. Rinse the jars under hot water. Do not dry them.
4. Put a clean teatowel in an oven tray (one with sides, as might be used for a slice): make sure that the teatowel goes up the sides too.
5. Put the rinsed jars on the teatowel, and put the tray with the teatowel and jars in the oven, even though it will not be completely heated. Leave it in there for at least 10 minutes (at least 5 minutes at 150'celsius) getting it out just before the jam is ready.

I have used this method for all my jams and marmalades, and have not had any problems.

Strawberry Jam - Drought Friendly!!!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Strawberry Jam with lots of lumps! My husband is in heaven!
I have made jam quite a few times, but I have never made it without adding water. Well, I am a convert to this method - so easy and so tasty! But what about the water? When you add the sugar to the strawberries and leave it to sit a little while the sugar draws out the water contained in the strawberries - it's an awsome little process called osmosis (this is one of the only things I remember from year 12 biology). You can find the recipe and many others that centre on strawberries here.

A shot of all the water that has been drawn out of the berries.

Just make sure that you use a 1:1 ratio of strawberries and sugar and add some lemon juice or fruit pectin (e.g. Jamsetta) and you are ready to go. The recipe below uses a kilo of sugar and a kilo of strawberries, but when I made it the other day I used 55og strawberries and 500g sugar. You can add less sugar, but sugar is needed for its preserving qualities. Using a 1:1 ratio will mean that this jam will store for at least a year (though I doubt it will last that long!).

STRAWBERRY JAM

1kg Strawberries, chopped into small pieces.
1kg Sugar
Juice of 2 lemons or a packet of fruit pectin

Put the strawberry pieces into a bowl together with sugar and fruit pectin/lemon juice.

Leave the bowl (covered with a towel) in a cool place til the next day (if you are strapped for time, 1 or 2 hours should be sufficient). Stir once in a while.

Boil mixture then simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. Stir frequently. When finished take off the foamy top layer of the mixture.

To test the jam to see if it will set, put a teaspoon of the hot mixture onto a cold plate, if it gels, the jam is ready.

Pour the hot strawberry jam in hot sterilized jars.* Make sure to fill it up to the top. Clean the jars with a damp towel. Close tightly. After 10 minutes turn around and place jars on the lid. Let cool down, turn around again and store.

This would probably make about 4 medium jars of jam. Sterilize 6 to be on the safe side!

*To sterilize jars: wash in hot soapy water; rinse, put in oven heated to 110C - 120C for at least 10min; after 10min turn the oven off but leave the jars in there to keep them hot until you are ready to fill them up.

Sorry about the reflection... but you get the idea: JAM!!!

Interested in making your own laundry detergent? Check out this post from my other blog, Purify.

Homemade Kiwi Fruit Jam & Lemon Butter

I have been very productive today!! A couple of friends came over and while her hubby kept my hubby entertained (they played a ps2 dancing game, and they both wiggle their bottoms when they dance!!), Em and I were being productive in the kitchen. Don't worry! We still managed to fit a few dances in (and, yes, I am sure we wiggled our bottoms too...). We made kiwi fruit jam and lemon butter. Both recipes are very easy and the ingredients are very affordable too, which is always good.

Here's a pic of the kiwi fruit jam:


We did 2 batches, the first lot (back 2 jars) was a lot darker than the second one (too much food colouring - Em!), and also didn't fill up the two jars, which I had checked to see if they held the amount the recipe said it would make. Oh well. At least I now know to underestimate by about a cup. We only made one batch of the lemon butter. It tasted delicious. Unfortunately though, there are some little solid lumps of egg through it because it wasn't "stirred constantly". We were dancing instead! Here is the lemon butter (notice the little egg lumps...and Em's lovely handwriting...):

Here are the recipes, both from the Australian Women's Weekly Fruit & Vegetable Cookbook:

Kiwi Fruit Jam

12 Kiwi fruit, peeled
1/2 tspn citrus pectin (we just used 1/2 tspn jam-setting stuff)
2 Tbspns water
2 Tbspns lemon juice
2 cups sugar
green food colouring

Cut kiwi into eigths, discard seeds and core. Blend or process pectin, water, lemon juice, and 1 Tbspn of the sugar until smooth. Add kiwi fruit, process until they are roughly chopped (not smooth.
Combine kiwi mixture and remaining sugar in a saucepan (it should not be more than 5cm deep). Stir constantly over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, boil rapidly, uncovered, without stirring, for about 10 minutes or until a teaspoon of mixture will jell when tested on a cold saucer.
Tint with food colouring if weirdish green-brown colour is not desired, mix well, wait until bubbles subside and pour into hot sterilised jars. Seal when cold (though we sealed strait away...)
Makes 2 1/2 cups (apparently)

Note: I sterilise the jars by heating them for at least 10min in a 100' (celsius) oven.

Lemon Butter

4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tspns grated lemon rind
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
125g butter, chopped

Combine all ingredients in top half of a double saucepan or in a heatproof bowl. Stir constantly over simmering water until mixture thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon. Pour into hot sterilised jars, seal when cold.
Makes about 3 cups (though this lot only made 1 and a 1/2, but it only ever coated the back of the wooden spoon 'mediumly'. Still absolutely delicious!)
Store in the refrigerator, and use it in four weeks (trust me, it will go! Yummy!)

They are so easy to make! I really recommend them. The lemon butter has a great taste, and the kiwi fruit jam is great for something a bit out of the ordinary. It is sweet, but has a bit of a tang as well. And it's way cheaper and way way healthier than getting the store stuff! (And you get a soft, fluffy feeling of satisfaction...)