Pump up the jam: tips for making your own preserves
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Whether you’re creating thoughtful gifts for loved ones, beginning a new hobby, or making use of the season’s best fruits, cooking jam is an experiment that even the novice home cook can enjoy.
An expert in the art of making jams, Lillie O’Brien of London Borough of Jam, shares her tips for creating the perfect preserves:
Pick prime ingredients
Choose the best quality ingredients and only when they are in season.
Reduce waste
It’s okay to freeze some fruit if you have an abundance … it will loose some of its natural pectin, but if the fruit is tip-top quality it won’t matter.
Equip yourself
Always use a heavy-based pot to cook the jam in. If you don’t have a copper jam pan, a Le Creuset is perfect. The wider the surface area the better, as it will boil quicker. Also, a metal funnel with an extra large hole will help with pouring the jam into hot, sterilised jars.
Avoid additives
Try to work around the natural pectin found in fruit, rather than adding any commercially bought ones. You can always make an apple stock pectin base with Bramley apples if you want a firmer set.
Keep it clean
I rinse all my jars and leave in an oven on 100 degrees (Celsius) for 10 minutes to sterilise. I boil my lids in water on the stove top.
Less is more
The longer you cook a jam the higher the sugar content will be, because the liquid in the fruit will evaporate and the sugar levels won’t. It’s best to add less and you can always add more.
Whether you’re creating thoughtful gifts for loved ones, beginning a new hobby, or making use of the season’s best fruits, cooking jam is an experiment that even the novice home cook can enjoy.
An expert in the art of making jams, Lillie O’Brien of London Borough of Jam, shares her tips for creating the perfect preserves:
Pick prime ingredients
Choose the best quality ingredients and only when they are in season.
Reduce waste
It’s okay to freeze some fruit if you have an abundance … it will loose some of its natural pectin, but if the fruit is tip-top quality it won’t matter.
Equip yourself
Always use a heavy-based pot to cook the jam in. If you don’t have a copper jam pan, a Le Creuset is perfect. The wider the surface area the better, as it will boil quicker. Also, a metal funnel with an extra large hole will help with pouring the jam into hot, sterilised jars.
Avoid additives
Try to work around the natural pectin found in fruit, rather than adding any commercially bought ones. You can always make an apple stock pectin base with Bramley apples if you want a firmer set.
Keep it clean
I rinse all my jars and leave in an oven on 100 degrees (Celsius) for 10 minutes to sterilise. I boil my lids in water on the stove top.
Less is more
The longer you cook a jam the higher the sugar content will be, because the liquid in the fruit will evaporate and the sugar levels won’t. It’s best to add less and you can always add more.
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