The Preserver's Year

Baileys_Babe

babyblooz wrote: »

Picked a couple of pounds of blackberries this morning which I've made into seedless blackberry jam. It's just setting in the jam jars now but I've had a little taste and it's lush!

Sorry not very experienced at this preserving malarkey, please could you explain how this differs from blackberry jelly? thanks.

tessie_bear

hi i picked 1 kg blacberries and have made blackberry jam and at the end sieved it and set 2 jars one with the contents of the sieve and one with the jel...very nice tasting hm jam is very fruity tasting if that doesnt sound daft...have decided to make all my own now as its lush

Nocturnes

After a few previous failed attempts at fruit pastes, today I made a plum paste and the texture is good and colour beautiful (golden, using the small plums growing wild). However... it is waaay too sweet to use with cheese as suggested. Any ideas what else to use it for? It's currently still in the tin, uncut and cooling/drying. I chose to make it as I didn't have to stone the plums and could sieve them out after first simmer, as these little plums are so fiddly.

Recipe here http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2625373.htm (didn't use the aniseed myrtle, I think only avail in Australia. It also took about 50 mins of careful simmering and stirring, not 20 mins.). Assuming it would still set, I would suggest less sugar for eating with cheese.

moments_of_sanity

I made 2 jars of rhubarb and ginger jam that worked really well and my Dad (who I made it for) loved it. Picked the rhubarb from my garden

I also made 5 jars of nectarine jam on Saturday, it took a while at a rapid boil to get much of a set (even with adding lemon juice and a bit of Certo) and when I poured it into my jars it was still unset the next morning. I decided to leave it after doing some reading on the internet and after 4 days it has finally got a good set on it now. It was very sweet so would use half the fruit weight in sugar, maybe 75% of weight at a push next time but very very nice jam

DawnW

Nocturnes wrote: »

After a few previous failed attempts at fruit pastes, today I made a plum paste and the texture is good and colour beautiful (golden, using the small plums growing wild). However... it is waaay too sweet to use with cheese as suggested. Any ideas what else to use it for? It's currently still in the tin, uncut and cooling/drying. I chose to make it as I didn't have to stone the plums and could sieve them out after first simmer, as these little plums are so fiddly.

Recipe here http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2625373.htm (didn't use the aniseed myrtle, I think only avail in Australia. It also took about 50 mins of careful simmering and stirring, not 20 mins.). Assuming it would still set, I would suggest less sugar for eating with cheese.

It sounds like sweeties to me I would be tempted to dip into melted dark choc.....

Nocturnes

DawnW wrote: »

It sounds like sweeties to me I would be tempted to dip into melted dark choc.....

ooh, hadn't thought of chocolate. Great idea .

babyblooz

Baileys Babe
Sorry I've just seen your question about the difference between jelly and jam,

I think the difference is that jam is just that, jam, whereas with a jelly the mix is allowed to slowly drip through a jelly bag without squeezing it at all, and the result is a lovely clear jelly without any cloudiness at all.

Jam is so much easier lol!:):)

motherkitty

We picked some damsons and blackberries last week which went straight into the freezer. Yesterday I found that the freezer door was left slightly open and although not much had started to thaw, a bag of damsons and a bag of blackberries were a little soft so I thought it best to take them out to defrost and make some jam today. They have been sitting on a tray on the worktop since yesterday evening and I have just finished making some damson jam. As I was looking up a recipe, some pages mentioned botulism and now I am worried that where the fruit was left sitting around defrosting it may have grown some 'nasties' and might cause food poisoning. I don't know if this is likely but would be giving some away and wouldn't want to make people ill. Advice please!

skogar

Jelly is usually made from redcurrants and whitecurrants by people like me who are too lazy to pick all the stalks off like they would have to if they made them into jam! :rotfl:Dripping it stalks and all through a jelly bag is a lot easier. Other fruits get made into jam.

moments_of_sanity

Made 3 jars of caramelised pears and some apple chutney all from windfall apples and pears