Homemade Jam - easy to make, better taste

Everything tastes better when in season and with the abundance of sweet fruit like strawberries and blackberries for picking, making homemade Jam has to be a stock cupboard must. Here are two tried and tested recipes to get you started, easy and quick you'll have gorgeous sweet Jam stored in recycled jars, in no time. 

Blackberry & Apple Jam

Makes 1.5kg

500g blackberries

500g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Juice of 1 small lemon

1kg jam sugar

Put the blackberries and apples into a preserving or large pan with the lemon juice and 100ml water. Place over a medium heat and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, until tender and reduced.

Pop a couple of saucers into the freezer to chill.

Add the sugar to the pan and cook, stirring to dissolve. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 5 minutes or until the setting point is reached (see next step). 

To test whether the setting point has been reached, take the pan off the heat and either use a sugar thermometer (once it gets to 105°C it’s ready) or spoon a teaspoonful of the jam onto a chilled saucer from the freezer. Return the saucer to the freezer for 1 minute to cool, then push it with the tip of your finger - if the jam wrinkles on the surface, the setting point has been reached. If it hasn't set, continue boiling for a couple more minutes, then turn off the heat and try again with another chilled saucer.

Set aside to cool for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to its lowest setting. To sterilise the jars and lids, clean and upturn them – lids off – on a baking sheet. Put in the oven for 15 minutes.

Stir the jam, then ladle into each jar, to within 3mm from the top. Top with a waxed disc and seal with a lid, then leave to cool.

Can be stored unopened for 6 months. Refrigerate once opened. 

Strawberry Jam

1.4kg ripe strawberries

1.4kg jam sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Wipe the strawberries with a damp cloth to remove any dirt. Hull and halve, or quarter if large. Tumble into a large bowl and stir through half the sugar, coating the fruit well. Leave them to soften for a couple of hours.

Transfer to a preserving pan or very large high-sided saucepan, scraping out the bowl thoroughly. Add the rest of the sugar and the lemon juice.

Pop a couple of saucers into the freezer to chill.

Cook slowly over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and bubble rapidly for about 20 minutes or until the setting point is reached (see next step). 

To test whether the setting point has been reached, take the pan off the heat and either use a sugar thermometer (once it gets to 105°C it’s ready) or spoon a teaspoon of the jam onto a chilled saucer from the freezer. Return the saucer to the freezer for 1 minute to cool the jam, then push it with the tip of your finger – if the jam wrinkles on the surface, the setting point has been reached. If it hasn’t set, continue boiling for a couple more minutes, then turn off the heat and try again with another chilled saucer.

Remove any scum from the surface of the jam with a metal spoon and leave to sit for 10 minutes so the strawberries are well distributed throughout the jam. Spoon into warm, freshly sterilised jars, to within 3mm from the top. Top with a waxed disc and seal with a lid, then leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to its lowest setting. To sterilise the jars and lids, clean and upturn them – lids off – on a baking sheet. Put in the oven for 15 minutes.

Can be stored unopened for 6 months. Refrigerate once opened.

Recipes by Delicious Magazine

Keep reading our blog for more in season Jams and Pickles to come...