very berry jam
I'm in the process of reworking my pannacotta lamington cake recipe and I need berry jam for the filling. Nothing tastes quite like home made jam so instead of racing to the shops to buy some jam, I decided to make a batch. Berries are cheap and plentiful at the moment so I decided to make a small batch of strawberry jam. When I went to the fruit shop on Saturday raspberries were on special so the strawberry jam I'd planned to make became a raspberry/strawberry concoction. For all of you wondering in light of the strawberry contamination crisis, I carefully checked the strawberries and cut them into quarters before using them.
I only needed one pot of jam but if you'd like to make more then just double or treble all the ingredients.
Once the ingredients are measured and in the pot, jam is only 20 minutes away.
Here's the recipe for my very berry jam, which makes one 400 ml pot of jam.
Very Berry Jam
1 lemon
250g strawberries, washed, dried, hulled and quartered if large
250g raspberries, fresh or frozen
1 vanilla pod, halved
250g white sugar
Juice the lemon and reserve the skins. Combine the strawberries, raspberries, the lemon juice, the vanilla pod and sugar in a bowl and leave to macerate for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.
The next day place a saucer in the freezer to test the jam's setting point. While the jam is cooking, prepare the jars. Wash the jars 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.
Place the fruit mixture plus the reserved lemon halves in a shallow saucepan (I used a wok) and cook over a medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until jam is reduced by one-quarter.
Cook until the 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.
The next day place a saucer in the freezer to test the jam's setting point. While the jam is cooking, prepare the jars. Wash the jars 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.
Place the fruit mixture plus the reserved lemon halves in a shallow saucepan (I used a wok) and cook over a medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until jam is reduced by one-quarter.
Cook until the 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 discard the lemon halves. I like to leave the vanilla pod in the jam as it's large enough to avoid. Allow the jam to cool for a minute or 2 before spooning the hot jam evenly into the sterilized jar. Set the jam aside to cool completely before sealing, labelling and dating. Store the jam in a cool dark place, then once opened store in the fridge.
Despite being only 50% raspberry you can barely detect the strawberries at all in the jam so you'd never know.
See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.
Bye for now,
Jillian
Despite being only 50% raspberry you can barely detect the strawberries at all in the jam so you'd never know.
See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.
Bye for now,
Jillian
I was excited to read you are re-working your pannacotta cake. After browsing your recipe index, this cake is top of my list. I have Flour & Stone's recipe but it does not say what type of gelatine leaves to use to set the pannacotta - gold, silver or titanium??? Other recipes all vary in quantity of ingredients therefore I have passed on making it.
ReplyDeleteYour jam-making is inspiring. Jam is one of those things I have never thought of making as it is so convenient to buy. This post might just have convinced me to try. Thank you!
If you do decide to try making jam, I suggest investing in a thermometer to test for setting point. Once you've used it a few times you start to tell when the jam is close to ready by the way it looks. I can't tell you how many times I made inedible fruit toffee when I first starting making jam. Under cooked is way better than overcooked.
DeleteAS for the pannacotta lamingtons, I would think titanium at a pinch. I'm not convinced the gelatine is needed though, so next time I make the cake I'm just going to make a dairy based syrup to douse the cake. The raspberry jam on top of the gelatine infused cake makes for an accident waiting to happen. btw, I've ordered the Flour and Stone cookbook and I'm eagerly awaiting it's arrival.
You have "Sweet" and will soon have "Flour & Stone". Your recipe posts will make me deliriously happy!Thank you for the information re Jam Making. I think I will keep buying it.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Angela
The book unexpectedly arrived today and I checked the pannacotta lamington recipe. It uses 2 leaves of titanium strength gelatine just in case you decide to make them.
Delete