Midsummer Jam

amy18
Jul 9, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Jul 22, 2020

It's so much fun to pick your own fruit, but I always end up with more than I can eat! The solution? Turn it into jam...

This little jar of jam is just bursting with flavour - it made for a well-received gift!

Hi, blog friends! I couldn't resist a little post about some strawberry and cherry jam I made earlier this week. I'd only ever made blackberry jam before, so I decided to give this a try! It's lovely to have something sweet to add to your toast on a midsummer morning, but if that's not your jam (excuse the pun!), it works well in a Victoria sponge too.

Method

I used almost identical recipes for both jams, which require only fruit, sugar and lemon juice. Simply wash and chop 1 kg of your favourite fruit (removing stones if you've chosen cherries), place in a large pan and soften for a few minutes on a medium heat. Then add granulated sugar (1 kg for strawberries; 600 g for cherries) and 3-4 tbsp of lemon juice. This is the equivalent of around one lemon, freshly squeezed - it's best to use a fresh lemon if you have one, but bottled lemon juice works as well. The lemon juice helps the jam to set.

Make sure all ingredients are combined thoroughly on a low heat and the sugar is completely dissolved. This may involve mashing some of the fruit, to get as much liquid out as possible - I found that the cherries required a little more persistence than the strawberries! Once dissolved, increase the temperature of the pan and allow the mixture to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until a setting point is reached.

Quick tip: Place a few small plates or saucers in the freezer before you start. You can test the setting point of the jam by placing a drop on a frozen plate, leaving it to cool for a minute and then pushing the edge with your fingertip. If the jam flows back, the setting point hasn't been reached and it should be left to simmer for a little longer. If it wrinkles and sticks, it's ready to be poured into jars.

When your jam is ready, strain it through a muslin into a measuring jug (or anything you find easy to pour from), to remove any seeds or chunks of fruit. This stage can be quite messy, so make sure you have a damp cloth handy! Try to work quickly to prevent the jam from setting in the measuring jug, whilst pushing through as much as you can. Once you're happy with your jam, pour it into sterilised jars. All that's left now is to decorate!

Materials:

- 1 kg of your favourite fruit

- Up to 1 kg granulated sugar

- 3-4 tbsp lemon juice

- Sterilised jam jars

- Large pan, muslin, sieve, measuring jug and wooden spoon.