Its that time of the year again when the soft fruits are ripe. Local grown ones have so much more flavor that those air freighted half way around the world. (Never mind the food miles and other green concerns!).
In my Grandmothers day the only way to preserve fruit so that you could be sure of your vitamin C during the winter was to make jams, jellies and preserves.
We still like to make Strawberry jam. (though for some reason I don't know folks in N America call jam - jelly!) Home made is best.
Ingredients:
The recipe is simplicity itself:
- 4 pounds strawberries.
- 4 pounds sugar.
- Small squirt of lemon juice.
Put it all in a big pan ( called a jam pan or preserving pan hereabouts) and heat it up until it is boiling. The sugar will all melt and liquefy.
This is the only tricky bit. Boil it until it is done. How do you tell when it is done? Instinct. Practice? Some people use jam thermometers and do it scientifically but we have never done that.
How to tell it is done:
We put a some china plates in the refrigerator so that they are really cold. After the jam has been boiling for ten minutes we then start testing it. We put a small spoonful of jam onto a cold plate and see if it sets or stays runny. the first one or tow times will stay runny but eventually you will notice a difference and then it is time to take the pan off the heat and start ladling the jam into jam jars.
Have the jam jars ready in a row to be filled - washed out and sterilized. Some people warm the jars but we do not find that necessary. We have a wide funnel to help with filling as boiling jam is not something you want to spill. The above quantities should make 8 pound jars of jam.
Then you leave it overnight to cool and set. If you haven't boiled it long enough and it is still very runny then empty the jars back into the big pan when they are cold and boil it again.
Store the jars in a cool cupboard - they will keep for a long time but in out house they don't - there are alway hungry people around looking for something to put on their fresh bread. Jam that has been stored for several years takes on a deep rich flavor like a fine wine whereas a newly made jam will taste much more fruity.
