The Preserver's Year

torbrex

I am taking advantage of the 2 for £1.50 offer in Pounstretcher for 1 kilo bags of sugar.
I get a couple each time I am in town and I should soon have enough to see me through the jam making year

moments_of_sanity

Ladies and Gents,

I made some jam this morning from some plum foraging last year which we froze. When defrosted I took the skins off and took the pip out and used the middle of them. I followed the instructions exactly but the sugar has burnt on the bottom of the pan?? This is my first time making any so any advise would be gratefully received.

The jam has set and tastes ok but a bit more caramelised than I had hoped for!?

[Deleted User]

MOMENTS did you keep stirring until all the sugar had dissolved in the liquid, you can tell when it happens as the spoon does not 'crunch' on the bottom of the pan when the sugar crystals are fully dissolved. The other thing it might be, if the recipe says keep the jam BOILING for the cooking time, what they really mean is a fast simmer so you keep the liquid moving in the pan and can still see it bubbling but have the heat turned down quite a lot from a fast boil, otherwise jam is inclined to catch at the bottom of the pan, hope that's useful, Cheers Lyn.

moments_of_sanity

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

MOMENTS did you keep stirring until all the sugar had dissolved in the liquid, you can tell when it happens as the spoon does not 'crunch' on the bottom of the pan when the sugar crystals are fully dissolved. The other thing it might be, if the recipe says keep the jam BOILING for the cooking time, what they really mean is a fast simmer so you keep the liquid moving in the pan and can still see it bubbling but have the heat turned down quite a lot from a fast boil, otherwise jam is inclined to catch at the bottom of the pan, hope that's useful, Cheers Lyn.

It didn't crunch but I didn't stir it when it said fast boil for 10 mins! I will try it again later today (once more plums have defrosted) and stir it when doing the boil bit. Thank you for your help, that is really useful :beer:

[Deleted User]

Good Luck I hope this batch turns out well for you, Lyn.

Seakay

You can leave the skins on - they contain some of the pectin and as long as the fruit is cooked before the sugar is added they will not go tough. You do lose a bit of pectin by freezing fruit, so have to be especially careful not to over boil (caramel taste can be overcooking or jam catching on base of pan)
The centre of the stones should add an almondy flavour - the centre of apricot stones will have the same effect - but can add bitterness if too many go in.

PositiveBalance

Hi all!

I'm in the middle of making a batch of caramelised red onion chutney and reaslised that it's so long since I made them that I can't remember how to preserve it properly! :eek:

I have a mix of jars with lids (mostly old ones recycled from shops plus a few newly purchased ones) and I have some of the Porosan jam pot covers with wax circles. I also have some of the 2lb Kilner jar style pots with rubber rings. I know I can put them in boiling hot water for 10mins (?) and that will do the job.

Am I OK to put the waxed circles and cellophane then the lid on the other jars? I can't boil them, then, can I and it's not necessary, is it?

I can't find all my old links to these things on my computer, which is annoying (and yes, I should have looked it all up before starting cooking!)

Thanks for your help.

PositiveBalance

Also, I would love to make recipies with sloes and elderflowers. Does anyone have any idea where you can buy them? There's not much chance of finding any near here; it would be easier to make concrete jam!

I live in the Greater Manchester area, if that helps anyone.

Thanks once again.

tpsjrm

PositiveBalance wrote: »

Hi all!

I'm in the middle of making a batch of caramelised red onion chutney and reaslised that it's so long since I made them that I can't remember how to preserve it properly! :eek:

I have a mix of jars with lids (mostly old ones recycled from shops plus a few newly purchased ones) and I have some of the Porosan jam pot covers with wax circles. I also have some of the 2lb Kilner jar style pots with rubber rings. I know I can put them in boiling hot water for 10mins (?) and that will do the job.

Am I OK to put the waxed circles and cellophane then the lid on the other jars? I can't boil them, then, can I and it's not necessary, is it?

I can't find all my old links to these things on my computer, which is annoying (and yes, I should have looked it all up before starting cooking!)

Thanks for your help.

Hi PositiveBalance,
Only just read this and obviously too late for you, if you were mid-batch when you sent your query, but for anybody else chutney-making ........

Your re-cycled jars with lids should be put into a hot oven for at least 10 minutes (100degrees C minimum) to sterilize, so you've already worked out for yourself that any with plastic lids, like coffee jars, are no good! I've found, for chutney, don't bother with the wax disk, because they go all soggy and, as long as the metal lids are not rusty, inside, don't bother with the cellophane film either. As long as you get the hot metal lids onto the filled hot jars quickly, and screw them on tightly, then the chutney will keep perfectly. I use a clean drying-up cloth to do all the handling of the hot jars and lids. As the jars cool, you will hear each lid 'pop', as the air inside contracts and sucks the lid down with the vacuum force. Any that don't pop, I use first, as it means the seal isn't very effective.

Good luck!

tpsjrm

PositiveBalance wrote: »

Also, I would love to make recipies with sloes and elderflowers. Does anyone have any idea where you can buy them? There's not much chance of finding any near here; it would be easier to make concrete jam!

I live in the Greater Manchester area, if that helps anyone.

Thanks once again.

Can't help with the sloes, Positive Balance, but Tesco sells Elderflower cordial, which goes well in all sorts of recipes. Give it a try!