Cost of making home made jam

mossstar · 6 August 2006 at 11:16AM

thriftlady wrote:

Love your lemons Mossstar........show off:D

I know, i was totally! terrible... the worst bit is that they're nothing to do with me, the tree itself was planted in the 50s.

The UK is fab as well though, we're all so lucky to live where we do eh?

Has anyone ever had orange jam? No one in my family really likes marmalade and I'm floundering wondering what to do with oranges and grapefruits... can you make a sort of marmalade that's nice :rotfl:

Steph

newleaf · 6 August 2006 at 11:51AM

For all interested in HM jam and other preserves, may I take the liberty of recommending this book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0112428649/sr=1-4/qid=1154861192/ref=sr_1_4/202-0705332-7890233?ie=UTF8&s=books

which is the best I've come across on this topic. I hope this link has worked (not very clever with technology

)
You will find loads of really useful info in this book. There are several people selling it cheap in the Amazon Marketplace too. Bargainous!

Janey51 · 6 August 2006 at 11:52AM

Slightly off topic. My husband has been nurturing 2 gooseberry bushes for 5 yrs with no result whatsoever:rotfl:
Now its time for me to bow to his perseverance as this year, the bushes have produced a mega crop.
We have given a lot away but as I sit here, there are 3kg of fruit being transformed into loads of chutney....recipe from this site.
Cost is Gooseberries..£0, 3x1kg sugar..£2.16, 3L vinegar £1.26, 900gm Sultanas(selling off in Lidl) £1.77, 6 onions 20p. Spices I already had. Total is £5.39 and makes 14 small and 8 large jars according to recipe but looks like I will have half a ton:D
Plus free re-cycled jam jars. Not sure about fuel cost.

Downside is I will smell like a pickled onion.

thriftlady_2 · 6 August 2006 at 11:59AM

mossstar wrote:

The UK is fab as well though, we're all so lucky to live where we do eh?

Steph

Very true;)

I am sure that you can make marmalade with sweet oranges, it wouldn't have the characteristic bitter taste that you get with Seville oranges. If it is the bits of peel you don't like in marmalade , then try blitzing the cooked oranges in a food processor.

Or, you can make orange or grapefruit curd in exactly the same way as lemon curd.:)

lucylou · 6 August 2006 at 1:46PM

Hi I also make home made jam from PYO.They are really delicious.You can also sterilise jars in the microwave.A quarter fill four jars with water and put in microwave on high until they boil.Then take them out and take tops off and turn jars upside down to dry off.;)

thriftlady_2 · 6 August 2006 at 2:52PM

Do you put the lids in the microwave too ? Surely they are all metal ?

The advantage of doing it in the oven is that you can sterilise a lot of jars at once, useful if you're doing a mega batch.

apple_mint · 6 August 2006 at 3:52PM

Does anyone have a tried and tested recipe for blackberry (bramble) jelly? I hate having all the seeds in the jam from the blackberries (but I do love the taste!). I've got the jelly bag, got the jam jars and there are masses of bushes out their with berries starting to ripen :drool: I haven't a clue how to make a jelly rather than a jam.

in_my_wellies · 6 August 2006 at 4:09PM

I used to use a jelly bag and do al the 'letting it drip' for hours but this year I was in a hurry so I boiled up the redcurrants and just strained them through an ordinary kitchen sieve. Was even tempted to give thema little 'squeeze' with the back of the wooden spoon.
I used the juice to make the jelly which is fine. OK, I suppoes it wouldn't pass in the WI show but it's clear enough for me. (and saved washing that disgusting jelly bag)

thriftlady_2 · 6 August 2006 at 5:59PM

apple_mint wrote:

Does anyone have a tried and tested recipe for blackberry (bramble) jelly? I hate having all the seeds in the jam from the blackberries (but I do love the taste!). I've got the jelly bag, got the jam jars and there are masses of bushes out their with berries starting to ripen :drool: I haven't a clue how to make a jelly rather than a jam.

Jellies are easier than jams I think.

Pile all your fruit into a big pan. All you need to do is wash it and chuck any obviously bad fruit.You can leave cores, peels, small stalks etc on.

Add enough water to barely cover the fruit. Simmer until soft. For crabapples and quinces you need to simmer quite a long time to extract all the pectin, but currants and berries cook quicker.

Next you need a jelly bag or you can improvise with cheesecloth or tights (clean obviously). I really recommend getting a jelly bag and stand as once you've got it, it's really easy to knock out a batch of jelly without any fuss.

Pour the contents of the pan into the jelly bag and leave to drip overnight.If you squeeze the bag the jelly will be cloudy, but this won't affect the taste at all. I like my jellies to look like stained glass windows when they're lined up on the window sill:) so I don't squeeze.

Measure all your juice, and for every pint add a lb of sugar (very tart fruit might need an extra 4 oz).

Heat the juice and sugar gently in the big pan until the sugar is dissolved.

Raise the heat and bring to the boil and boil hard until setting point is reached. This will vary in time according to which fruit you use, but check every 5 mins on a cold saucer like you do for jam.

Pour into sterilised jars and stand back to admire your pots of jewels;)

I love making jellies because you don't have to do so much prep to the fruit and you don't need to follow a recipe. I recommend crab apple jelly and quince jelly which are a beautiful tawny colour. I also make damson, blackberry and hedgerow jellies (elderberry,blackberry and apple) these are all deep purple.
They are versatile too as you can use them with meat and as a sweet spread.

conradmum · 6 August 2006 at 6:33PM

For those who can't go to the expense of a jelly bag, use any square of loose weave cotton (I have a square tea towel I use to make blackcurrant jelly).
Put the cloth (with the edges hanging out) in a large mixing bowl and spoon or pour your hot jelly mixture in. Tie two ends of the cloth quite closely diagonally, then tie the other two ends right at the corner. Open a top cupboard door a little and suspend the cloth on the door handle by the most recently tied knot. Leave to drip into the bowl. You can gently squeeze more liquid out by twisting the cloth around until it tightens on the mixture.
It can make a bit of a mess of your cupboard door but this wipes clean unless it has an unusually porous surface.

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Cost of making home made jam

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