Hedgerow Blackberry & Apple Jam

 "You ate the first one and it's flesh was sweet
Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it
Leaving stains upon the tongue
And a lust for picking..."
-from "Blackberry-Picking" by Seamus Heaney


Blackberries! Blackberries!

September comes and the Blackberries ripen just in time for the back-to-school children. One of my favourite memories as a child is picking blackberries down country roads with my cousins, so that my Aunty Nora could make some of her famous and delicious Blackberry & Apple Jam.

We would never pick them just after it had rained, always checked them for worms and always ate as many as we picked!

There are many recipes and methods for making jams with blackberries and this is my favourite. The fruit is cooked without sugar at the start and then sieved to remove the seeds as they can be quite hard and get stuck in your teeth!

The sugar is added later in the cooking as the amount of sugar in any jam recipe is determined by the weight of the fruit. Removing the seeds will reduced the weight of the fruit by 40% therefore less sugar is required.

The apple helps to increase the pectin content giving this jam a better 'setting' quality, as well as adding more flavour & bulk.

Always sterilise your jam jars before use. You can do this easily by putting them in the microwave on full power for 5 minutes.

My Ingredients:
2kg Blackberries
500g large cooking Apples
2 whole cloves
250ml water
Juice & zest of 1 Lemon
1.5 kg granulated sugar

My Method:
1. Peel, core and roughly chop the apples. Pull the stalks out of the blackberries.
2. Put the apple, blackberries, lemon juice, cloves & water into a large heavy-based pot and bring to the boil.
3. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes stirring ocassionally with a wooden spoon. The fruit should be smooth and soft.
4. Pour the cooked fruit into a sieve and rub it through with the back of the spoon into a clean pot. Discard the seeds & cloves.
5. Add the sugar, stir it in well and simmer the jam for another 20 minutes.
6. To test the setting properties of the jam put 1/2 teaspoon of it on a cold saucer and push the end of the spoon through it. If it sets and leaves a gap then it is now ready. If it falls back on itself, give it another 5 minutes cooking and test it again.
7. Pour your jam into the warm sterilised jars, cover with a greaseproof paper disk and close the lid while it is still hot. Leave the jams in a cool place until cold and enjoy!

Don't forget to Feed the Fish at the bottom of this Post!
zack

Rhubarb & Ginger Jam like my Granny used to Make!

The young, juicy, shiny, bright red, forced Rhubarb stalks sat looking up at me from under their up-turned bucket. "Eat me now" they said. So, last night I picked five stalks and put them in the pot to make some jam for this mornings breakfast. This is simple, delicious and memorably tasty!

Forced Rhubarb is easy to grow. You can get cuttings from your granny or any one else you know that grows it. Just cut down through the centre of the tuber with a sharp knife, take it home and plant it. If you know where to get a wee bit of horse manure every now and then - this will give them a great boost.

My Ingredients:

Five stalks of rhubarb - trim the tops and ends and wash quickly
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 whole clove
Juice from a 1/4 Lemon
1/4 tsp of freshly grated Ginger

My Method:

Tip of the Day ! - Always keep a piece of Fresh Ginger in the Freezer. You can grate this, from frozen, when needed and pop it back into the freezer.

Chop the Rhubarb into bite size pieces.
Put all the ingredients to the pot.
Bring to the boil and drop the heat to low.
Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly so that it doesn't stick,  until it thickens like a jam!

Take it off the heat, pour into a bowl and leave to cool. Spread it on your bread and enjoy!

I made some Indian Meal (corn) bread last night too and it was perfect for the jam this morning getting the boy up for school. Click Here for the Indian Meal Bread Recipe.

You can easily Multiply up the quantities for more Jam if you have more Rhubarb!


Don't forget to Feed the Fish at the bottom of this post!