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Family Life7 mins ago
Sorry, jam again.
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I`ve got 140G of blackberries, 250G whortleberries (wild bilberries) a lemon, some preserving sugar and some pectin.
I`ve been googling recipes and I need to cobble two together, probably. Everyone says you need the same weight in sugar as you have in fruit but the recipes I`m finding use different amounts. I just can`t seem to get my head around it. I`ve got to work out the proportions of pectin etc according to the fruit I`ve got (which isn`t a lot). I want the pips in but what about the little cores in the blackberries? Do you need to get them out? Anybody to a simple recipe for the fruit I`ve got please?
I`ve been googling recipes and I need to cobble two together, probably. Everyone says you need the same weight in sugar as you have in fruit but the recipes I`m finding use different amounts. I just can`t seem to get my head around it. I`ve got to work out the proportions of pectin etc according to the fruit I`ve got (which isn`t a lot). I want the pips in but what about the little cores in the blackberries? Do you need to get them out? Anybody to a simple recipe for the fruit I`ve got please?
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Although I'm not familiar with your "whortleberries" since I live in the western U.S., I'm sure that it really doesn't make a lot of difference. We use a mixture of blackberries, strawberries and raspberries for our "preserves" as they're called here.
There's preserves, where the fruit is simply crushed and pectin and sugar added before processing, there's jely, where the juice of the fruit is extracted through cooking and there's our version of "jam" which is the juice with maybe half of the fruit added back.
So, for our preserves, never try to make to large a batch... no more than 6 cups of fruit at a time. (Our cup = 8 ounces by weight).
Mash the room temperature berries but don't make them into runny syrup. Take two packages of "No Sugar Pectin" (it cuts down on the required sugar but doesn't eliminate it). Mix one package plus 2 additional tablespoons of pectin from the other package (dry pectin works best), with 1 cup of granulated sugar.
Place berries in a heavy (preferably cast iron pan) and stir in pectin/sugar mix... bring to a slow boil and add 3 additional cups of sugar (for a total of 4) and stir just often enough to keep it from sticking. When it comes to a good roiling boil time it for 1 minute... remove from heat and add 1/4 cup lemon juice. This isn't always required, but we like to assure some acidity for better preservation.
During this process you should have been boiling your jars (but not the lids) for sterilization.
Now, take a large metal spoon, dip it in ice water and coat it with a layer of the berry/sugar/pectin mix and let it cool to room temperature... If you turn it on edge, it should "sheet" off, but not run freely. If it doesn't, brin it to a boil again, with another two tablespoons of pectin...
Place the mixture in the jars leaving about 1/2 inch headroom, put the lids on after cleaning the tops of the jars with a clean, wet cloth (place the lids just momentarily in hot water to soften the sealing edge), screw on the rings finger tight, and place in a pot of boiling water to cover the tops of the jars, Boil for 10 minutes to assure sterilization and sealing... remove and let cool... et, voila!
There's preserves, where the fruit is simply crushed and pectin and sugar added before processing, there's jely, where the juice of the fruit is extracted through cooking and there's our version of "jam" which is the juice with maybe half of the fruit added back.
So, for our preserves, never try to make to large a batch... no more than 6 cups of fruit at a time. (Our cup = 8 ounces by weight).
Mash the room temperature berries but don't make them into runny syrup. Take two packages of "No Sugar Pectin" (it cuts down on the required sugar but doesn't eliminate it). Mix one package plus 2 additional tablespoons of pectin from the other package (dry pectin works best), with 1 cup of granulated sugar.
Place berries in a heavy (preferably cast iron pan) and stir in pectin/sugar mix... bring to a slow boil and add 3 additional cups of sugar (for a total of 4) and stir just often enough to keep it from sticking. When it comes to a good roiling boil time it for 1 minute... remove from heat and add 1/4 cup lemon juice. This isn't always required, but we like to assure some acidity for better preservation.
During this process you should have been boiling your jars (but not the lids) for sterilization.
Now, take a large metal spoon, dip it in ice water and coat it with a layer of the berry/sugar/pectin mix and let it cool to room temperature... If you turn it on edge, it should "sheet" off, but not run freely. If it doesn't, brin it to a boil again, with another two tablespoons of pectin...
Place the mixture in the jars leaving about 1/2 inch headroom, put the lids on after cleaning the tops of the jars with a clean, wet cloth (place the lids just momentarily in hot water to soften the sealing edge), screw on the rings finger tight, and place in a pot of boiling water to cover the tops of the jars, Boil for 10 minutes to assure sterilization and sealing... remove and let cool... et, voila!
vodancoke the Silver Spoon preserving sugar doesn`t have pectin in it. It`s just sugar in larger granuals.
Hi Clanad. I don`t think I`m ever going to be a natural at jam making. I`ve never done it before. I`ve already dropped the juice covered stirring spoon on the floor and burnt my fingers quite badly.
Many of the recipes I googled were from the US and mentioned `no sugar pectin` but I`m not sure we have it here. In the end, I slightly crushed the whortleberries and threw them in the pan with the juice of half a lemon and the blackberries, added a very small drop of water and the warmed sugar. I think I boiled it for too long. I don`t know if that will make a difference. At the end I added the liquid pectin and I have poured the mixture into warmed jars. I`ll be surprised if the consistancy is right in which case the whole lot will be going in the bin!
By the way, whortleberries are a local UK Westcountry name for wild bilberries. I picked them on the moors the other day.
Hi Clanad. I don`t think I`m ever going to be a natural at jam making. I`ve never done it before. I`ve already dropped the juice covered stirring spoon on the floor and burnt my fingers quite badly.
Many of the recipes I googled were from the US and mentioned `no sugar pectin` but I`m not sure we have it here. In the end, I slightly crushed the whortleberries and threw them in the pan with the juice of half a lemon and the blackberries, added a very small drop of water and the warmed sugar. I think I boiled it for too long. I don`t know if that will make a difference. At the end I added the liquid pectin and I have poured the mixture into warmed jars. I`ll be surprised if the consistancy is right in which case the whole lot will be going in the bin!
By the way, whortleberries are a local UK Westcountry name for wild bilberries. I picked them on the moors the other day.
Well the verdict is, that it tastes gorgeous but I think it might be a little rigid. I`m not sure if that is because of too little water or too much pectin. I suspect it`s the pectin. I like a sloppy jam. Still, it tastes nice (it`s still cooling at the moment). Not bad for a first attempt and it`s not every day you get to have jam with lovely wild Exmoor fruit.
Sorry I misunderstood you. I use this jam sugar which has pectin in it
http://www.silverspoo...for-cooking/jam-sugar
http://www.silverspoo...for-cooking/jam-sugar
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