I have made many jars of jam over the years and I used to sell it in my cafe. I always served my homemade raspberry jam with fruit scones and lots of people ended up taking a jar home with them.
I had a lot of raspberries in the freezer and needed the space so I decided to make it into jam.
It is perfect on fresh bread, in frangipani tarts or on top of old school cake with coconut.
I had 1.5kg in the freezer but if you have more or less fruit then just adjust the sugar. You need the same amount of fruit to sugar. To start put the jam jars in the oven at 140 degrees centigrade (120 fan) faced down on a baking tray.
Place 2 saucers in the freezer to use later.
Put the fresh or frozen raspberries into a large pan or jam pan if you have one and on a low heat stir until the raspberries start to go soft. If you push them against the side of the pan they will squash slightly.
Then add the same weight in sugar and dissolve the sugar on a low heat stirring all the time so the sugar doesn’t burn.
Once the sugar is fully dissolved turn the heat up and boil for about 10 minutes until the fruit starts to break down and the jam starts to thicken.
Take one of the saucers from the freezer and take a small amount of jam and put on the saucer and place in the freezer for a minute.
Then rub your finger through the jam and if it wrinkles then it is ready. If it doesn’t then continue to boil and keep testing every 5 minutes until it wrinkles.
Take the jars out of the oven and fill them with the jam.
Put the lids on tightly and label when cool.
Store in a cool dark place and it will keep for a year unopened.
Raspberry Jam
Sarah's skill: Medium
Sarah's servings: 6 jars
Ingredients:
1.5kg Raspberries
1.5kg Granulated or jam sugar
Method:
To start put the jam jars in the oven at 140 degrees centigrade (120 fan) faced down on a baking tray.
Place 2 saucers in the freezer to use later.
Put the fresh or frozen raspberries into a large pan or jam pan if you have one and on a low heat stir until the raspberries start to go soft. If you push them against the side of the pan they will squash slightly.
Then add the same weight in sugar and dissolve the sugar on a low heat stirring all the time so the sugar doesn’t burn.
Once the sugar is fully dissolved turn the heat up and boil for about 10 minutes until the fruit starts to break down and the jam starts to thicken.
Take one of the saucers from the freezer and take a small amount of jam and put on the saucer and place in the freezer for a minute.
Then rub your finger through the jam and if it wrinkles then it is ready. If it doesn’t then continue to boil and keep testing every 5 minutes until it wrinkles.
Take the jars out of the oven and fill them with the jam and put the lids on tightly.
Sarah's Extra slice........
If you have more or less fruit then just adjust the sugar. You need the same amount of fruit to sugar.
Make sure you keep stirring the jam so that it does not burn.
If you intend to make a lot of jam I suggest using a jam pan like this one
Using a jam funnel makes filling the jars easier but it is not essential.
Add a knob of butter after setting point is reached as this will reduce any foam on the surface of the jam.
The jam will keep for a year in sterilised jars - if you don’t use it before then!!! Jam is a great thing to make if you have excess fruit in your garden as it will keep for a year and you can use it in your baking even when not in season.