summer berry jam

summer berry jam

20 Jan 2014

We're in the height of summer here in Sydney with very hot days. That means berries have made their way into my local fruit shop. Now summer berries like raspberries and blackberries are never cheap in Sydney but when a punnet costs less than the GDP of a small African nation, I'll buy a few.



I have no idea why, but I suddenly decided it was time to make some jam. I think it has something to do with me now owning a digital thermometer which has made me brave. I like making jam but I do tend to over cook it terribly. I remember the time I made plum jam which was closer to plum toffee by the time it was bottled. It was completely inedible and I had to throw it out. 



When I looked through my freezer I found a few packets of frozen berries lurking so I made this jam using fresh blackberries and strawberries combined with frozen, defrosted blueberries and raspberries. I used this recipe but halved the quantities, added a vanilla pod and slightly modified the technique. It made a lovely runny, flavoursome jam which I served with some freshly baked scones.



Here's the recipe for you. It made two 400 mls pots of jam.
Summer Berry Jam
2 cups white sugar
1 lemon

375g strawberries, washed, dried, hulled and quartered if large

100g blackberries, washed, dried

1 vanilla pod

100g raspberries, washed, dried

100g blueberries, washed, dried

To sterilize jars, wash in hot soapy water and rinse. Place the jars and lids in a deep saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring water to the boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes. Line a baking tray with paper towel. Remove the jars using metal tongs and allow to air dry or dry with a clean paper towel.

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Place the sugar on an oven tray and warm the sugar for 15 minutes. Meanwhile place a saucer in the freezer to test the jam’s setting point.

Juice the lemon and reserve the seeds. Place the seeds in a small piece of muslin and tie with kitchen string to secure. Combine the strawberries, blackberries, lemon juice, lemon seeds, the vanilla pod and sugar in a shallow saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until jam is reduced by one-quarter.

Remove the lemon seeds and vanilla pod from the jam then add the raspberries and blueberries. Cook, stirring occasionally for a further 5 minutes or until jam has reached it’s setting point (105°C). To check when jam is set, remove the jam from the heat and place a spoonful of hot jam onto the chilled saucer. Return to the freezer for 1 minute. Run your finger through the jam to test if it wrinkles and jells. If it doesn't, return to the heat for a further 5 minutes then repeat the test.

Take the jam from the heat and allow to cool for a minute or 2 before spooning the hot jam evenly among the sterilized jars. Seal immediately then turn the jars upside down for 2 minutes before turning upright. Set the jam aside to cool completely before labelling and dating.



It's Australia Day next weekend and I'll be on pavlova duty. I'm making a pavlova to take with me to dinner so if I get a chance I'll take a few snaps to share with you.

See you all again next week,

Jillian 

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Scones

Scones

24 Aug 2009

Sorry about my lack of post yesterday, but I was having trouble with my internet service. Back home from work and it seems to be re-established so I'll quickly post this whilst I have a connection.



I had a busy Sunday - I did a lot of food preparation and photography so check back over the next few weeks so see what I've been working on. I also paid a visit to a lovely store, so peek back on Thursday to see what I've been up to.



A few weeks ago I stumbled on a website which featured photos of restaurant in Sweden I think. Of course now I can't find the link but I was particularly struck by a photo of a simple meal of dark brown bread, accompanied by bowls of cream and raspberries. It looked so delicious and it immediately conjured up visions of a devonshire or cream tea.



I bought strawberry jam and thick cream on my Saturday morning trip to the shops then whipped up a batch of scones early Sunday morning and had 2 for my breakfast and a third one for my afternoon tea. The battered scone cutter in the photo is one I've had since I was a teenager. It was a gift from my parents following a trip to Hahndorf, near Adelaide and has followed me from Brisbane to Sydney.

There are lots of tricks to making fluffy, light scones. If you want them to rise high, you need to pack them close together in the tin and bake them in a very hot oven. If you like your scones light and fluffy, you'll need to wrap them in a clean tea towel as soon as they come out of the oven to trap the steam.

See you again later in the week, internet willing,

Jillian

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