The Jam Thread

NT and I went on a guided foraging walk this morning, although we didn't really need any more fruit, it was to learn about stuff.

We've just used a kilo of defrosted blackberries from previous forages and some free apples to make 10 jars of blackberry and apple jam (all different sizes of jar, of course!).

I made rosehip jelly during the week. I had 0.7 of the weight of rosehips required for the recipe, so I scaled it all down. However I didn't think to scale down the simmering time of the fruit mash, and I think I may have evaporated a bit of the juice off, as I got very little juice out of the pulp when drained. However, I perservered, and made a tiny batch of jelly - two small jars.

We tested it this morning on toast, and it's nice. Slightly odd flavour, hard to pin down. And the texture - a bit denser than some jellies, it sort of melted on the tongue, almost like chocolate does. There was a lot of apple in the recipe, so it may be the apple that gives the texture.

I may have another go - rosehips are a pain (literally!) to gather and chop, so they'll have to be worth it. It's possible they weren't quite ripe enough. My book says they should be 'soft but not squishy', but we found that they were either hard, or squishy, with not much inbetween. Maybe a frost will help.

Still got about 3 kilos of blackberries to work with, and some haws.
 
NT and I went out this morning to go to the registry office to find out how to go about arranging the wedding (living in different cities, we have to register our intention at two different offices). Anyway, we got as far as the Deans Garden park next to the Minster, and I spotted a crab apple tree laden with lovely little red apples. We picked a load up off the grass, and then NT sort of accidentally joggled the tree a bit, and we picked up a few more...:whistling:

So we had to go back home and unload, and go back out...

I bought a proper jelly bag this afternoon, and then set about simmering the apples (which were lovely and pink all the way through!). I hadn't bought a stand for the jelly bag, because NT was sure he could make one in his workshop. However I needed something to hold it up this afternoon, so while the pan simmered, NT set to with some pliers and knocked up a stand out of some old bike spokes and bits of wire from a scrap umbrella...

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I got a load of juice, which is a very gorgeous pink colour. Tomorrow, when I've drained the last drop, I'll boil it up with sugar to a setting point, and I'll have crab apple jelly!

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My OH has deemed that we probably have enough jam now, assuming that we only eat 1 jar a week (not hard with homemade jam) because we have over 40 jars of various homemade jams. Shame I still have some cooked plums in the freezer (3 jars worth), another 3 jars worth ripening on the chest and I haven't even had any balckberries yet! Guess they will have to become fruit leathers instead...

One tip for those without a plentiful supply of jars (or a handy @Arch) is to raid Tescos or Sainsbury's and buy their cheapest Lemon Curd (Marmalade is the next cheapest). Tescos Lemon Curd is 22p a jar much cheaper than buying jars new at over a £1 each - tis a mad world when it is cheaper to buy a jar with contents and recycle the jar than it is to buy a jar without contents. :eek:
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
My OH has deemed that we probably have enough jam now, assuming that we only eat 1 jar a week (not hard with homemade jam) because we have over 40 jars of various homemade jams. Shame I still have some cooked plums in the freezer (3 jars worth), another 3 jars worth ripening on the chest and I haven't even had any balckberries yet! Guess they will have to become fruit leathers instead...

One tip for those without a plentiful supply of jars (or a handy @Arch) is to raid Tescos or Sainsbury's and buy their cheapest Lemon Curd (Marmalade is the next cheapest). Tescos Lemon Curd is 22p a jar much cheaper than buying jars new at over a £1 each - tis a mad world when it is cheaper to buy a jar with contents and recycle the jar than it is to buy a jar without contents. :eek:
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We should organise a jam swap! I'm going to have a lot of access to apples for example, but haven't got any plums. My (well, the WI recipe book's) apple, cinnamon and raisin is rather nice, I'm going to make a load more of that. It's multipurpose, my Mum has found that it's good with cheese or sausages, like a relish, even though it's sweet.

I'll make sure my jams are all dairy free, just in case we get a chance to do a swap.:thumbsup:

I've got 10 jars of crab apple jelly cooling now. I got the apples from under a tree in a local park (and then NT joggled the tree a bit so we could pick up a few more:wink:). They were a lovely pink coloured flesh and the jelly is the most beautiful pink colour.

I really love making jelly - for a start you can just chuck all the pips and stuff in, because it's strained, but the clear colour of the result is so jewel-like.

Will experiment with Haws next.
 
I have some white fleshed nectarine jam as well.... waitrose were clearing their stock of the packets of 4 ripe white flashed nectarines just before I went on tour and what with the price reductions and the special offers 4 nectarines were 49p - so less than 13p a nectarine and they were huge. I pick up the plums the same way as well... my mum does the same and freezes them until I come over... 69p for 400g and then she won't have the cash off me, just has a jar of plum jam instead.
Also raided the local market at the weekend... 3 packets of Victoria Plums for £3, 3 packets worked out at 2kg of fruit... made 7 jars (I don't add 2kg of sugar, only 1kg so get less jars of jam!).... tomorrow night, I stew down the remaning plums and nectarines (probably together) to freeze to make more jam from when I 'obtain' some more jam jars. so if you want some jam, I should be back in October at some point from my tour (if the trail ride to my mum's goes OK tomorrow) and we can meet up somewhere sensible.....
 
I'm off on the bike again on Thursday for about 10 days or until I get home but have to be back by the 10th for a hospital appointment. Back for around a week then off again in a hope to get to lands end by myself before I have to look for a job!
 
JOGLE is now aborted. I did a test run fully laden to my parent's yesterday and well it didn't go to plan. My ankle failed to hold up and I was left part way through the ride with the where is closer... my parent's home was so I continued and can now barely walk again. didn't obviously cycle home again which had been the plan, so didn't get up at 4am this morning for the 5:57am train I was meant to be on... so anytime is now an option again... :(

seem to have had a complete blackberry crop failure here as well, but plenty of haw, rowan and elderberry around and I cycled passed quite a few sloe's yesterday as well. Damson's also but they are all too high up for me to reach (unfortuantly)... love Damsons. but I may have to consider exactly how many jars of jam we really need! also now have no more jars again.. may have to raid tesco's for some more (awful) Lemon Curd.... but OH won't allow me until my ankle is much less painful again. :( :cry:
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
JOGLE is now aborted. I did a test run fully laden to my parent's yesterday and well it didn't go to plan. My ankle failed to hold up and I was left part way through the ride with the where is closer... my parent's home was so I continued and can now barely walk again. didn't obviously cycle home again which had been the plan, so didn't get up at 4am this morning for the 5:57am train I was meant to be on... so anytime is now an option again... :(

seem to have had a complete blackberry crop failure here as well, but plenty of haw, rowan and elderberry around and I cycled passed quite a few sloe's yesterday as well. Damson's also but they are all too high up for me to reach (unfortuantly)... love Damsons. but I may have to consider exactly how many jars of jam we really need! also now have no more jars again.. may have to raid tesco's for some more (awful) Lemon Curd.... but OH won't allow me until my ankle is much less painful again. :( :cry:
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Sorry to hear about your ankle!:(

So, you need blackberry jam! I have a fair bit, and more blackberries in the freezer for more. If you're swapping, then you won't have more jam at the end of it, just different jam.

If you need jars, just say!...:wink:

I think it would be good for us to get on with DIY this weekend, but I'll talk to NT and see when we can get over.
 
Arch said:
Sorry to hear about your ankle!:(

So, you need blackberry jam! I have a fair bit, and more blackberries in the freezer for more. If you're swapping, then you won't have more jam at the end of it, just different jam.

If you need jars, just say!...:wink:

I think it would be good for us to get on with DIY this weekend, but I'll talk to NT and see when we can get over.
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thank you - would be great. definite need for jars as well please if you can - much appreciated. have strawberry, plum, nectarine, nectarine & plum jam currently...
 
OK, I can gather you some jars - standard sort of size ok? I tend to monopolise the smaller ones for myself, so as to have lots of little ones to give away.

I may make some more blackberry jam next week, and try less sugar like you do, how little do you get away with?

I've got crab apple jelly too, although I haven't tasted that one yet!
 
Hi
standard sizes are fine - standard seems to be around 400-500g size which is good for us. I usually use 1/2 the sugar the recipe recommends tbh, but sometimes the fruit needs 60% so as to set properly, but we prefer runny jam to overly sweet jam!
not tried a crab apple either. looking at possibly making some rosehip, elderberry jam as well - I have a couple of jars without lids which could be used and will free up a strawberry jam jar tomorrow (contents eaten)... but need to stay off my feet for s few days longer which will give all the elderberries around here a little more time to ripen! might even try this rowan and rosemary jam... http://www.hedgerowharvest.org.uk/hedge-recipes/item/48-rowan-and-rosemary-jelly
the hawthron jelly looks interesting as well http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/hawthorn-jelly-recipe
SNSSO
 
Ooh, rowan and rosemary looks interesting. I'm mainly just doing simple single fruit (or two in b-berry and apple) jams and jellies at the mo, but I'd like to experiment with different and more unusual flavours.

I was thinking the other day about coffee as a flavour in a jam, and what fruit it would go with - like cinnamon goes with apple. Not to have coffee as the main flavour, but as a hint. For some reason, I keep thinking of cherries but I don't know why. It's a bit of a bonkers idea.
 
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