General Chat

I wasted much too much jam trying to fix it.

This year I am labelling it and everything.

If it works for you don't fix it!

I have tried it in the past but have worked out my own technique now and it works for me.

I have a big pan of red jam cooling on the stove that I made from some fruit the old man and his mate found on the side of the road. I think it might be bullaces but whatever they are they make cracking jam.

Poor Sharron! Try my method - if it does not wrinkle put back on heat for 5 mins and try again.

Chris, it is easy when you know how. I tried a few times but never quite found the happy medium between cordial and toffee. I have even driven the saucer to somebody who was a more experienced jam maker.

If I leave it on the stove long enough I live in hope that it will all be eaten before I have to fiddle about with pots.

Finding the setting point is quite easy. When gathering ingredients together place 2 saucers in freezer. When you want to check setting point remove pan from heat and drop a teaspn of jam on to cold saucer. Wait 2-3 minutes and push jam with finger - if it wrinkles it is ready to pot.

Congratulations on your prizes!



Marmalade is a lengthy process ..... my version takes 2 days, as the peel and fruit are soaked, separately, in water overnight.


But it is much easier to get a good product than strawberry jam


Strawberry was the first jam I ever made, in 1988. Then I tried again in 1989 ............ never again!

Anyway, I much prefer raspberry, or especially Tayberry, jams


The easiest jam of all to make is Rhubarb and Ginger. Followed closely by Kiwifruit Jam


The important thing about marmalade is to let it stand for 10-20 minutes after setting point has been reached and you have taken it off the heat .......... otherwise the peel all rises to the surface and you have this thick layer at the top with a clear "jelly" below it!




I have NEVER used pectin or pectin sugar for any of my jams, jellies or marmalades.


I use only lemon juice as the setting agent ........... either real lemon juice or the bottled reconstituted stuff. Both work well.



OH now makes them all, while I supervise while sitting down ..... not that I always manage to stay sitting down!(ha ha!)



sylvia

hello everyone, well i won a few prizes at the show on friday but sadly not for my jam. there were a lot of jars and most of the entrants were dab hands i guess. however, i won 1st prize for decorated victoria sponge, scones, 3 sweet biscuits and my clootie dumpling. 3rd for my iced ginger cake.

i was delighted with all my prizes and next year will be trying the jam again and maybe marmalade.

thanks for all your recipes and tips, really helpful.
florence
in the hebrides :-)

Strawberries are a bugger to set. First time I would use jam sugar as it has pectin in, not preserving sugar as it is a con.

I have never got the hang of setting point, I think it is one of those things you need to see a few times before you can do it yourself. I boil the jam until I think it has reached saetting point, the deposits round the edge look like jam, and then leaveit to get cold. If it is jam then I warm it up and pot it. If it is still cordial I boil it up again and go through the same rigmarole.

How did you go on at the show?

Florence - I just leave the strawberries whole if they are small, and cut into halves or quarters or eights as some were huge this year. I do not use lemon but use Preserving or Jam Sugar - leave strawberry jam to cool for 5-10 mins - stir well and then pot.

Raspberries I mash well OH is my hands now - I keep saying 'I' when it should be 'he'!

Long as you enjoy it - nothing tastes so nice.

hi chris, i just cut the tops of the strawberries and left them whole in the pan with the juice of 3 lemons. after 20 mins, i mashed down the mixture and added the sugar and the 6 1/2 lemons. hard boiled for 20 mins. did the wrinkle test and then poured into the warmed jars(removed the lemon halves of course first).the jam started setting after about 1/2 hour.

i never realised how easy it was til now. definately will be trying out some more very soon.

florence
in the hebrides :-)

Don't agree with Delia's plan re the strawberries in sugar. Never had any problem with most of berries keeping their shape and OH made starwberry jam about 3-4 weeks ago.

hello everybody who offered me jam making recipes earlier in the year. well i have made 2 lots and with great success.i made strawberry jam with equal amounts of fruit to sugar and 3 lemons. within 1 hour my jam was setting and the next morning i had it on fresh crumpets, yum yum.

so thanks for all your ideas and suggestions. lets hope at my annual show on the 29 jul, my jam will be rewarded with a little rosette!( well heres hoping)
florence
in the hebrides :-) :-)

hi sylvia,liz and spanish eyes. thankyou all very much for your tips and recipes. i shall be trying them out soon and will let you know how i got on.
much appreciated
florence

7. After that remove the pan from the heat (if there's a lot of scum, most of it can be dispersed by stirring in half a teaspoon of butter, and the rest can be spooned off). Leave the marmalade to settle for 20 minutes.

8. In the meantime, the jars should be washed, dried and heated in a moderate oven for 5 minutes. Pour the marmalade, with the aid of a funnel or a ladle, into the jars, cover with waxed discs and seal while still hot. Label when cold and store in a dry, cool, dark place. Then hurry up and make some toast to try some!

Know where as complicated as it reads, it has always worked for me and my friends.

1. You will need a preserving pan or a large, heavy-based saucepan; a 23 cm square of muslin (or gauze); some string; a funnel; and six 350 ml capacity jars, sterilised.

2. Begin by measuring 2.25 litres water into a preserving pan, then cut the lemon and oranges in half and squeeze the juice out of them. Add the juice to the water and place the pips and any bits of pith that cling to the squeezer on the square of muslin (laid over a dish or cereal bowl first).

3. Now cut the orange peel into quarters with a sharp knife, and then cut each quarter into thinnish shreds. As you cut, add the shreds to the water and any pips or spare pith you come across should go on to the muslin. The pith contains a lot of pectin so don't discard any and don't worry about any pith and skin that clings to the shreds - it all gets dissolved in the boiling.

4. Now tie the pips and pith up loosely in the muslin to form a little bag, and tie this on to the handle of the pan so that the bag is suspended in the water. Then bring the liquid up to simmering point and simmer gently, uncovered, for 2 hours or thereabouts until the peel is completely soft (test a piece carefully by pressing it between your finger and thumb). Meanwhile, chill the saucers in the freezer compartment of the fridge.

5. Next, remove the bag of pips and leave it to cool on a saucer. Then pour the sugar into the pan and stir it now and then over a low heat, until all the crystals have dissolved (check this carefully, it's important). Now increase the heat to very high and squeeze the bag of pips over the pan to extract all of the sticky, jelly-like substance that contains the pectin. As you squeeze you'll see it ooze out. You can do this by placing the bag between two saucers or using your hands. Then stir or whisk it into the rest.

6. As soon as the mixture reaches a really fast boil, start timing. Then after 15 minutes spoon a little of the marmalade on to one of the cold saucers from the fridge, and let it cool back in the fridge. You can tell - when it has cooled - if you have a 'set' by pushing the mixture with your little finger: if it has a really crinkly skin, it is set. If not, continue to boil the marmalade and give it the same test at about 10-minute intervals until it does set

two more stages to follow.

If you're still not convinced about just how easy it is to make gorgeous jams, follow Delia's 10-point plan for success every time!

1 Sugar has a hardening effect, so tough-skinned fruits should always be simmered before the sugar is added to the pan.

2 Conversely, soft-skinned fruits, such as strawberries, which tend to disintegrate when cooked, should be soaked in sugar first, to harden them and help keep the fruit whole in the finished jam.

Fresh-apricot

3 The sugar should be completely dissolved before the jam reaches the boil, otherwise it will be difficult to set and the finished jam will be sugary. To test if the sugar is dissolved, dip a wooden spoon in, turn it over and if no sugar crystals are visible in the liquid that coats the back of the spoon, it has indeed dissolved. (To be quite sure, stir well and repeat this test a couple of times.) To speed up the dissolving process, you can warm the sugar in a bowl in the oven before adding it.

4 Don’t try to make too large a quantity of jam in one go. It will take far too long to come to the boil, and then will not boil rapidly enough to produce a good set.

5 How to test for a set: at the same time as you begin cooking the fruit, place three or four saucers in the freezing compartment of the fridge. When you have boiled the jam for the given time, remove the pan from the heat and place a teaspoonful of the jam on to one of the chilled saucers. Let it cool back in the fridge, then push it with your finger: if a crinkly skin has formed on the jam, then it has set. It if hasn’t continue to boil for another 5 minutes, then do another test.

6 Don’t worry about any scum that rises to the surface while the jam is boiling – if you keep skimming it off, you’ll finish with no jam at all! Instead, wait until you have a set, then remove the jam from the heat and stir in a small lump of butter, which will disperse the scum.

7 Once the jam has set, leave it to settle for 15 minutes or so – particularly with jam containing whole fruit, such as strawberry or damson, or chunky marmalade – to prevent the fruit from rising to the top when it’s poured into the jar. Then pour into clean, dry, hot jars, filling them as near to the top as possible. Straightaway, place a waxed disc over the surface, then seal with a lid. Wipe the jars with a warm, damp cloth.

8 Don’t put the labels on until the jam is cold – otherwise the heat will prevent them sticking properly and they’ll fall off for sure.

9 Store in a cool, dry and preferably dark place. Too much light is not good for storage, while a damp or steamy atmosphere can cause mould to develop on the surface of the jam.

10 If things go wrong: if the jam hasn’t set after cooling and potting, tip it all back into the pan and boil again, adding the juice of a small lemon; if mould develops on the surface of jam in a jar, remove it with a spoon, along with about half an inch (1 cm) of the jam underneath – rest assured, the rest of the jam will not be affected – and place a waxed disc dipped in brandy on top.

I will forward some recipes today but have always found these tips to be very useful

Australian cups are the same as UK .................. 10 oz

20 oz = 1 pint liquid


American and Canadian cups are 8 oz

16 oz = 1 US pint



sylvia

Some really good recipes and suggestions, I wonder if you would take a look at Culinary Delights and consider adding some recipes on there,
You will see that they are intended to help a good cause.
Thank you.


PS if you are already posting on there

Thank You.