Forthcoming book reviews
Mushroom - Nick Sandler and Johnny Acton
Moro East - Sam and Sam Clarke
Week in Week Out - Simon Hopkinson
Blog Directories
Lord, Preserve Me
Why can't I make good jam? Or marmalade for that matter? The taste is usually fine, but my preserves are always too runny, too slack and more like cordial than jam.
Some weeks ago I experimented with some blackberry jam but (and here's where I went wrong I'm sure) without the traditional crab apples. Instead I used some liquid pectin under the brand name Certo.
It didn't work. So I boiled the jam again and added more pectin - I ended up using twice the recommended dose and the stuff was still too runny.
I had a large batch of blackberries sitting in the freezer awaiting some inspiration when, this weekend, the freezer broke down. While I could transfer most of its contents to the other freezer, I was left with a kilo or so of blackberries, so the preserving pan beckoned. This time, I used coxes apples and all was going well - again, a good flavour but still alas not setting at all. I'm nearly at the point of giving up. Or using gelatin - will that work do you think?
Oh well, more success was had with the alcoholic preserving...
A couple of months ago, I experimented by steeping blackberries in vodka. Simply washed, dried and each fruit rolled in sugar with enough vodka to cover, the berries were left for two weeks, turning them every day or so.
Two weeks isn't enough to get the full flavour from the brambles, but the result was certainly pretty good. More time steeping then some time sitting in a cupboard once the vodka has been strained will mellow the whole thing. Even so, it made a pretty good base for a hedgerow kir - just a finger in the bottom of the glass topped up with chilled dry white wine (or even better, fizz...) made a lovely summer drink.
There's a bottle awaiting straining right now.
Next up is my damson vodka. Back in September, I finally found a good source of local damsons, and picked a few to experiment with. Simply prick the damsons all over with a pin, add half their weight in sugar and steep in vodka. Again, turn every few days to dissolve the sugar and leave them be for a while - six months maybe? Then strain and leave again for another six months.
And now we've had the first frosts, I shall be making more sloe gin this weekend. Last years is almost ready to start drinking, but will still improve with age. I have a little tiny amount left over from 2003 which is sublime - deeply flavoured, and a perfect topping for vanilla ice cream!
Here's to preserving in alcohol, even if I can't make jam.
Lemon Juice should do the trick, that has more pectin than apples. I like
my jams to be loose, can't stand them if they are set like a commercial
jelly. If you haven't thrown out the fruit, just add some lemon juice and
boil up for a while longer.
I'll give it a go - it's all sitting there in jam jars at the moment
waiting for something to happen - it's making me feel glum! Thanks for the
tip
It happened to me last year with my elder berry jelly; I'd used Certo too
and it just didn't do the job, so added some lemon juice and it all went
swimmingly afterwards. Still have some of the jelly too.
elderberry jelly hmm? sounds good - I'm guessing you have to use a lot of
sugar though? what does it taste like?
Tastes sort of elderberryish, you use equal Weight of berries to sugar and
strain before boiling. It is also good without the pectin and less sugar
to use as a cough syrup for winter, just dilute some in warm water and
drink whenever you feel the need.. Lasts ages in the fridge. Good on
ice-cream too and other puddings.
Lemon juice is one way forward. But you don't mention using a thermometer
... it's crucial, because sugar acts in particular ways at particular
temperatures. If you buy a jam thermometer, it's all marked clearly ... so
you barely need to do the saucer test. And another thing - pectin has
traditionally been made with quince (who knows about modern industrial
versions, though!) ... so if all else fails, why don't you make a little
quince jam before the season is completely over. You're very likely to have
success with it
Thanks Joanna and Toni-Anne
I'm happy to report that the lemon juice and more boiling did the trick. I
took great satisfaction in my toast this morning...
I always use a little lemon juice as this seems to enhance the flavour of
the fruit in jam or jelly.
Ohhh - how long is too long??? I'd better find my straining grear!
OK - the jam is set, made, potted and being eaten, the sloe gin is made and
the blackberry vodka filtered... the vodka-soaked blackberries are
currently sitting in ice-cubes in the freezer awaiting their cocktail end!
RSS Add-Me
©Copyright - The blogs, photos, postings and recipes on this site are protected by copyright. For permission to use content from this site please contact the author. |
