Is Jam Easy To Make???

Penny-Pincher!!

Hello There

I have this morning received a voucher from Lakeland Had a look through their mega expensive brochure..prices shocking :eek:

Anyway, noticed their jam jars priced I assume quite cheaply. 12 1lb jars for £4.50. So it got me thinking :rolleyes:

How easy and cheap is jam to make at home? I dont know if I have missed another thread regarding this?

How much fruit would I need etc to fill 12 jars and how do i do it??? Is it really cost effective to do this?

I normally buy jam from Lidls, either Cherry, Strawberry & Raspberry. I think these are like 69pence each...so is it really worth making?

Thanks
Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

spendaholic

Quick reply here, PP - jam, I think, is incredibly easy to make. You can control the amount of sugar you use and it tastes deliciious. I have loads of jam and marmalade recipes, including one from the WW2 cook book, We'll Eat Again. If you like I'll post a few up - unless others already have them ready to copy and paste ...

squeaky

You'll find some help and advice [url="tp://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2353&highlight=jam+making"]Here[/url]

Chris25

If you'd like to try something a bit different, try these - http://www.recipegoldmine.com/microwave/micro16.html
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/7/0.shtml




Not sure why the second one doesn't work as a link but you can cut and paste for more recipes and tips.

Weird! it works as a link now

Chris25

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/7/Fresh_Peach_Jam_in_the_Microwave51600.shtml

this might work

ET03

delia has some great well explained jam recipes

squeaky

Delias site is here: http://www.deliaonline.com/

Ted_Hutchinson

I make jam and marmalade every year and have never "Bought" a jamjar.

If you are currently using bought jam then just put those jars through the dishwasher when empty and reuse them or wash them up as normal. If you haven't got a batch of jars to hand when you want to make some jam you can usually scrounge some empties from friends and neighbours. Giving the lids a good clean as well will enable them to be reused at least once but if your using old pickle jars you may not be able to get the smell off so may need to buy new lids (lakeland or WI) to replace those.

You can practice making small quantities of jam in a microwave and I think some people with some breadmakers can use those to make small batches of jam.

We make jam because we have a lot of soft fruit which needs dealing with and the quality, taste of home made jam is better than bought, but as far as cost is concerned Lidl's will be cheaper.

apprentice_tycoon

I use Jam Sugar that you can buy at supermarkets, it has added pectin which makes things a lot easier (pectin is a natural substance that helps setting, some fruits don't have enough, some do) using the jam sugar cuts out the need to test for pectin with meths. If you are in the mood for experimenting you can try the more unconventional jams, such as kiwi or peach, adding a little alcohol if you have it (peach with Archers is good) just make a jar full at a time then if it isn't quite right you can always use it up with ice cream.

moggins

I was also going to say don't buy jars. You can accumulate loads of these in no time at all especially if you ask family, friends and neighbours to save their jars for you.

You don't really need to use jam sugar either. The juice of one lemon will usually give you enough pectin to set about 5lbs of jam. Or start off using a recipe that has some cooking apple in it, these set really easily. The only one I have problems with is strawberry and I can never get that to set no matter what I put in it.

squeaky

I overdid my attempt at strawberry jam. Finished up with some really nice strawberry toffee instead