[Latchkey]

Hello all, new poster here 

I'm a total jam virgin, although I have made seville marmalade successfully, and would like some advice/ideas on mixed berry/fruits of forest type jam.

I have in my possession & needing to be used;
1.2 kg strawberries
1 kg wild blackberries
300g redcurrants
300g blackcurrants

What I would like to know is ;

a) is there enough pectin in the currants to set all this total (2.6 kg) fruit or should I be looking to add dried pectin?

b) Lemon juice, is it needed?

c) how much sugar..I have looked at the onsite recipes for strawb jam and equal amount by weight is called for, but with tart currants & extra brambles I'm v.unsure if extra sugar is needed ( eg more than 2.6 kg).

I guess the reason I'm after advice is Ive read a ton of online recipes & have become a little  :blink: with information. I'd like my 'first time' to be as trouble free as possible without having to stress about reboiling/repotting jars of gloopy syrup.

Looking forward to hearing from all the seasoned jammers here!

regards

[Kleftiwallah]

I would try and keep the fruit seperate as they have very different flavours. 

Red and blackcurrants are high in pectin, blackberries have a lower content and strawberries have a low pectin content.

The most difficult factor to grasp is getting a good set.  All I can recommend is have a good read up on the subject.

Cheers,   Tony.

[Mrs Bee]

Yes you can make a mixed jam, although the fruit you have may over power each other somewhat.

I would suggest that you might use 50% strawberries and 50% redcurrants. eaual quantity of sugar. Eg 1 lb strawbs, 1lb redcurrants and 2lb sugar.

Black currants are really strong so either make all blackcurrant, gorgeous jam, or do 50/50 apple and blackcurrant to make the currants go further.

Black berrries I would do 50/50 with windfall apples or bramleys and add 1 teaspoon of brandy to each jar when you pot up.  You can also use a few applepie spices in a muslin bag when you simmer the fruit.

Strawberries you could stick with all strawberry but I wouldn't use powdered pectin I use 1 cooking apple, 8oz to 3lb strawberries which will give you a good set without loosing any of the strawberry flavour.

if you are at all unsure about the pectin content ofyour fruit get some methylated spirits and do this well away from the pan of fruit, put some meths in an old pot or jam jar add a spoon of the cooked fruit and wait for a minute. If the fruit goes to a solid jelly like blob you have a good pectin and will get a good set.

If it makes a loose holding blob there is less pectin but you will get a soft set.

If you get no blob then you need to add pectin. You can use lemon juice but sometimes it can give too lemony a flavour I prefer to use cooking apple.
Just grate it and cook in enough water to cook it to a mush and then add it to your pan with the fruit you are using and simmer all the fruit until ready to add sugar.

Sorry this is a bit long but I hope this helps.
Di

[Latchkey]

Thanks for replying!

Sadly, I won't be able to obtain any more redcurants unless I pay shop prices (fat chance) so equal quantities are out.. would 1 part redcurrants/2 parts strawberry ( eg 300g/900g) +1200 sugar be an acceptable ratio?

Same goes for blackcurrants, but bramleys are not so extortionate to buy. as above would a 300/900g  be worth making, or would the blackcurrants be 'lost' in all the apple?

Another question.. a lot of onsite recipes will say boil for 5mins or 10mins (after sugar added) until set. Is this just the same as saying until it's at 104C ( I have a digital temp probe) and this was the temp I took the marmalade to, though it surely took more than 5-10mins.

regards

[Mrs Bee]

Ok my love starting with the blackcurrants.

Rather than buying bramleys why not make a straight blackcurrant jam which will be totally rich, blackcurranty and delicious. Blackcurrants are high in pectin so no worries there.

Blacberries are low in pectin so 1.8 kg blackberries to  700g brambleys,( prepared weight) eg peeled cored and sliced to 6.7kg sugar.
Simmer berrries and apples separately with 150 ml water each until berries are soft and apples go to mush. then put them all in the same pan and add sugar.

It is important to simmer the fruit slowly to extract the pectin from them to ensure a good set.

why not do straight strawberry jam using a grated brambly apple at the ratio of 8oz to 3lb.
Sorry you will have to work out your metric equivalents.


Also do you know that you can make jam from frozen fruit? The way you can mix and match the fruit as more things come into season or from the lotty.

Now I don't use a jam thermometre. I cook the jam low until all the sugar has dissolved and then bring to a rolling boil. After about 5 minutes  I test it by putting some on a plate and leaving it in the fridge to see if it has a skin that wrinkles when I push it with my finger.

Another way of telling is to scoop up some jam in a spoon and let it fall back into the pan. If it hangs in sticky flakes or globules it is at a set.

You get to know with experience if it is right or not. Sometimes it takes 5 mins sometimes 15 mins. If you have a lot of mixture in your pan it will take longer than if you only have a little mixture.

Sometimes you can get the temp on your probe and it still doesn't set.

If you are planning to do lots of jam in the future may I suggest a brilliant book which I believe is available on Amazon which is 'Best kept secrets of the women's institute, Jams pickles and chutneys by Midge Thomas'. I have many, many preserving books but this is the one I keep coming back to apart from a very old goodhousekeeping book that is now out of print.

Also Home preserves by Jackie Burrows a Saint Michael's cookery library is really good. Had mine since 1979! Try Amazon. This one has lots of pretty pics and recipes that work.

Also another important tip... when you bring your jam to rolling boil add a small knob of unsalted butter which will prevent you getting any scum in your jam.

Di

[joyfull]

Another excellent book is this one by our very own Val and John Harrison - all tried and tested 

[Latchkey]

Thanks for more info!

Mrs Ball , alas I have only 300g ( ~10oz in old money) of blackcurrants to hand, Im not sure that would even make a jar  I absolutely will not pay £1.50 per 150g in my local Sburys for fresh ones !They only sell frozen ones in mixed packs, and life is too short to segregate them from the other berries 
The currants & strawberries were a gift from a neighbour who received them from a visiting relative from Kent. I live in London with no meadows & hedgerows to plunder unlike many of the lucky posters here, no garden & the nearest allotment wouldn't even let me put my name on the waitlist as it's already years long . I'm grateful that there is a nearby nature reserve ( adjacent to Arsenals Emirates stadium) where brambles & rosehips are flourishing 

I will be following your advice on how to check pectin levels in the simmered fruit and
 have just obtained some meths - the local turkish barbers use it for singeing sideboards! It's already a scorcher here, too hot to fret over a bubbling pot, so my adventures will start in the evening cool. I shall update the post with my results.

best regards

[Mrs Bee]

I too live in London, although greater London.

Why not get the train to Chingford Station which takes you 5 minutes walk from Epping forest and go blackberry picking. I get some of my blackberies from there.

As for the blackcurrants top, them up with equal quantities of bramley apples and you will get a decent jar of jam, no probs.

Sorry I can't equate grams with oz and visualize the quantities.

Good luck with the jam making. 

And I have read Val and John Harrison's book from the library but I prefer the Women's institute book and the goodhousekeeping. The womens instiute one is very user friendly and quick and easy to read.  These are the ones I always go back to. Sorry, Joyful.

[Latchkey]

Hi mrs Ball

Thanks for all your advice, I decided to make strawberry & redcurrant jam which has turned out beautifully!

My better half expressed a previously undisclosed love for bramble jelly, so I had a crack at that..not quite as successfully.
I followed the recipe here, but at half quantities. Tested for pectin and it didnt seem good so I stewed & pulped another large bramley & stuck it in. Tested again & it still didn't look like it was coming into a clump  To cut it short, I ended up using equal quantities of apples & blackberries - 1 kilo each. After a good 19hr hanging from a jerryrigged gallows over the bath, obtained 2 1/4 pints of juice, so added reqd sugar & boiled away.
I must have overdone something as the set is very strong.. I panicked a bit when filling as it was solidifying very fast, and made abit of a messy job potting it. I swear that the very next thing I'll buy will be a jam funnel!

Ah well, it's all experience...now wonder what can be done (if anything) with the large bag of fruit pulp from the bag?

regards

[Mrs Bee]

Glad the  strawberry and redcurrant turned out well.
Isn't it a good feeling when you look at the pots and think I made that. And more importantly it will taste so much better than anything you can buy in the shop.

DId you pot the jelly when it was still hot? Any apple jelly will go quite quickly as it cools.

Yes, a jam funnel would be very useful, although I only use mine for chutney as I do a cleaner fill using my trusty jug.

How much water did you use to cook the extra fruit as that would have a bearing on it.

If you are planning to make more jam I really would suggest you buy a preserves making cookbook and start with a recipe or two from the book first, to build up experience.
You can always adjust quantities. You can get them at good prices on amazon.

Well done. and welcome to the world of the preserver.

OH has just come back from the lotty with four large containers of blackberries ready for me to freeze until I am ready to do some apple, blackberry, cinnamon and brandy jam with the windfalls from the tree.

Would you like a recipe for the perfect devon scone to go with your jam?
Di

[Mrs Bee]

Have just checked Amazon and they have a used copy of the women's institute book, (pink cover) by Midge Thomas for £4.89.  if you are interested.

Easy to use, well set out recipes and some nice pictures as well.

I also have a spare, but very, very battered Marks and Spencers preserving book. I just found a replacement copy on Amazon and they have no more of these left now.

If you would like it just let me know and it is yours for the postage.
Or as you live in London you could meet somewhere and collect it. You would be most welcome to it.
Di

[Latchkey]

Thanks for the ongoing support Mrs.B 

I didn't add much water to the extra bramleys, just a splash or so to stop it catching.

The  jelly was still hot, the lids which had a safety button have 'pinged in' okay. What threw me was the speed of which it was setting  - the jam was fluid a lot longer..I left it for 10mins to allow it to cool a little so the fruit chunks wouldn't float at the top.
After skimming the froth off the jelly, I turned my back for 1 minute and next time I looked it was starting to set in the blooming pan!

I've been reading more of the site & have discovered fruit cheese/butter, hopefully the spent pulp from jelly making can have a second life? I'm keeping it in the fridge for a few days while I consider my next move.

I've also been given some home grown monster courgettes that are begging to be included in a project 

rgds

[Mrs Bee]

Glad to help Latchkey. I sell my preserves so am fairly practised at the art Actually I have been making our own for the last 34 years before starting to sell them.

You would need more than a splash of water to cook the apple before straining it. Off the top of my head, and without checking the my secret note book you would need 5 lb of apples to 2 pints water. Adapt as necessary.

Also if you have a freezer, collect apple peelings and cores until you have enough and you can use them to make apple jelly or mix with blackberries for jelly. Any apples will do, cooking eating windfalls chopped up are good.

Courgettes are brilliant for chutneys and with green beans to make piccallili.