Strawberry & Blueberry Jam...

I’ve spent my whole life enjoying the smell of jam making in summer & autumn and then the taste of home-made jam through the rest of the year. However, until recently I’d been wary of making it as it seemed so complicated.

That’s not really the case, but you’ll need about 2 hours of clear time with no distractions to tackle this. It’s relatively simple really, you just have to keep an eye on it.

• De-stalk the strawberries and chop up.
• Put a saucer in the fridge to chill (1).
• Place the fruit and lemon juice in a large, heavy-based saucepan and simmer until lots of juice has formed and the fruit is softened.
• Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until fully dissolved.
• Return to a very gentle heat (2), gradually bringing to a rolling boil (5-10mins).
• Whilst boiling gently skim any scum from the top of the liquid.
• Taking note of the scum line on the edge of the pan, once you see a noticeable reduction in volume, begin testing whether the jam has reached setting point (1).
• When ready, transfer to sterilised jars, cover with a wax disc or greaseproof paper and leave to cool (3).

Notes:
(1) You use the cold plate to determine whether the jam has reached its setting point.
Place a little of the syrup on your cold saucer and return to the fridge for a minute.
Run your finger through the liquid, when you see a slightly creased skin the jam is ready to be jarred.

(2) Don’t rush this part of the process, If you boil it too quickly you’ll end up with jars of toffee.

(3) To sterilise jars wash with soapy water and then dry in a medium heat oven, or run through the dishwasher.
To avoid the jars cracking when the boiling hot jam is poured in, keep them warm in the oven beforehand.