Jam Making....

Well Hello lovely people.

Hope you're all fine and Dandy!

Honestly, just take a look at this post.. Go on..Now, just take a

gander down below before you read any further, and look how diddy the

photos are, and the order that they're in!! LOL..

What a mess..

Well anyway, I'm getting off the track here by having my usual moan.

My post all went wrong because of Blogger! (well can't be my fault can it ;0))

It's all new and technical, and I've only just learnt the old way -well, kinda!-

Now the photos print out on my post in the order I put them on there, and not the last one first, if you get what I mean.

Any way I'll continue as if my post is all how it's supposed to be!

Where was I? Ah yes..

Jam.

I made some jam the other day (as you may by now have guessed!).

The first time ever. It's blackberry and Apple.

To get the blackberries, we spent Saturday afternoon in the forest getting just over 4lb of them, and the apples came from our inherited apple tree in the garden.

I followed the recipe in the bottom right hand corner of my post. From the book pictured in the bottom left-hand corner.

I could not believe the amount of sugar that goes into this jam.

FOUR pounds!

Still like a good girl, I followed the recipe to the letter.

Then when it was supposed to reach setting point, do you think it would set?

Yes, your right NO IT WOULDN'T!

So, I had all my saucers in the fridge nice and cool to spoon a bit of the juice on, put it back in the fridge, then a minute later take it out, give it a push with a finger, and see if it went like wrinkly skin.

IT didn't.

I rapidly boiled the jam for 35MINUTES, and still it wouldn't wrinkle.

I couldn't understand it, cos' round the edges of the saucepan, and splattered over the kitchen worktop, tiles, floor, hobtop, extractor fan, recipe book and me, all those blobs of jam had set.  :0)

So this called for drastic measures. If your jam doesn't set apparently, it hasn't got enough pectin in.

So I squeezed a lemon, and poured the juice in.

Did the 1 minute test thing, and YES it had set.

I then poured it into my hot jars straight out the oven.

I now have 6lbs of Blackberry and Apple CEMENT! LOL

I'm telling you, that blooming jam has set like rock! You have to slice into it! LOL

The words 'spread the jam' just don't even come into it!

AND SWEET! Goodness me, it's even too sweet for my two sweet-toothed girls!

(My son isn't into sweet stuff!)

This morning one of them asked for jam and peanut butter toast, and so you know what she said?

"Not your jam Mum, cos it's a bit sweet for the morning!"  LOL

Still, we live and learn don't we?

Last day of September today my lovelies. Not long till Christmas now!

Have a great weekend.

Take care X





lots and lots and lots of suger that went in it




apple and blackberry jam





the recipe



the recipe book