We’re Jammin’

IMG_8099, originally uploaded by foodforfraud.

As the old Joke goes. How does Bob Marley like his doughnuts? W’Jammin’. Boom!

Anyway, before we continue with the post, please allow me to apologise for the severe lack of posts for the last 9 months. I haven’t been pregnant, I sadly destroyed my hard drive with all of my photos on and have been robbed of many a good recipe. So I apologise.

So, summer has drawn to an anti-climatic end, and we’re now faced with the prospect of Autumn’s slow decline into winter. For those of us with seasonal affected disorder this signifies a steady decline into depression and casual alcoholism in the run up to Christmas.

Some of us see the end of summer as a bright spot in the year, I am one of these. I love pies, I also love making my own Jam. The cusp of the end of summer is some of the best time to do this. Plums, blackberries, apples, pears, all kinds of other fruits are always good, cheap and in abundance this time of year.

The basic idea is simple enough. Fruit + Sugar + heat = Jam.

So I started this summer to christen the Preserving Pan Kate had bought me for Christmas by making Nectarine and chilli jam. It’s a very simple process.

Ingredients:

1.5KG unripe Nectarines
750g Sugar (only use granulated white sugar or preserving sugar. Brown sugar will make your jam look cloudy)
6 green chilies finely chopped (seeds in or out it’s up to you)

Equipment:

Preserving pan (any large pan will do)
1 large glass mixing bowl (not a metal one as this will taint the flavour)
a paring knife
a jam funnel
sterilised jars
labels designed by your very clever girlfriend

Start by halving and removing the kernels from the nectarines. Don’t worry if you can’t get all the kernels out, they’ll be released during the cooking and you can pick them out then. Cover the halved nectarines with the sugar and leave overnight. This process is desiccation and it draws out the juice form the fruit and means that you don’t have to add water to help dissolve the sugar, which ultimately reduces your cooking time.

Add the sugared fruit to the pan and heat slowly whilst stirring until the sugar has dissolved. You’ll know the sugar has dissolved by the sound and feel on the spoon. Once the sugar has dissolved you can bring up the heat and allow the fruit to cook and the liquid to reduce. This usually takes about 45mins to an hour on a medium heat. When you think the jam is ready test it by putting a teaspoon full in the freezer for 30 seconds. If a skin forms it’s ready.

For the Jars, the best way I’ve found to do this is by cleaning the jars that you’ll need plus a couple of small extra jars just in case. Place them whilst still wet all with their lids (if you’re using a kilner or similar jar remove any rubber seals) on a baking tray and pop them in a preheated oven at 120 degrees C and leave them there to dray and stay sterilised until needed.

Once the jam is ready you must jar up immediately. This helps kill any bacteria and ultimately preserve your jam for longer. Don’t worry about your metal lids as the jam cools you’ll hear them pop in so you’ll be able to tell which jams are unopened.

For the plum & blackberry Jam follow the above recipe, using 1.5KG of plums and 400g of blackberries but only add the blackberries in the last 20 mins. This keeps them largely whole and gives you a little surprise every now and then when using the jam.

The Nectarine and chilli jam is great as an alternative to mango chutney with a curry and any spicy food, it’s not too hot, but you can adjust this with the chillies is you wish. I deseeded the chillies for this as I didn’t want to blow my head off, but in hindsight I may not do that next time to see how it goes.

The plum and blackberry Jam is amazing stirred into porridge, on toast, and I am thinking of making a victoria sponge using it. It has whole chunks of plum and small blackberries barely holding there shape, which burst with the pressure of your knife as you spread it over your hot buttered toast.

Now I have to sign off as I am salivating over the keyboard, which frankly doesn’t bode well for the warranty.

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