Blackcurrant and Raspberry Jam

kellie anderson

14 years ago

Now, you may be trying to stay as far from the stove as possible. Your cooking horizons may have shrunk to slicing things up for sandwiches, maybe stretching to cutting up fruit if eating it whole is impossible. You may even be fanning yourself with a sheaf of shockingly high electricity bills right now, a glass of iced something or other by your side. And here I am wanting you to get out your biggest pot and deliberately stand over a fruity sauna to make jam. Yes, it’s that time of year. Time to get jamming.

my chief taster – miss r

It does seem a particularly cruel quirk of Nature to have nearly every good thing available to us in the one season, the season when we want to be lazy, hazy and good for nothing. Because for many jam, jelly, chutney, cordial and sauce makers it’s practically a full time job, not only gathering all the produce but preparing and potting it up.

But isn’t it about the most worthwhile task of the growing year? Seeing a row or two of gleaming bottles, labeled and proud on their shelf, is a fitting reward for all of that – not to put too fine a point on it – sweaty chopping, stirring and bottling. And of course the best part is dipping into your homemade jam or sauce come November time, when the frenzy of summer growth, with its heady smells, tastes and colours, is a fuzzy edged memory.

Today’s very simple jam recipe is my favourite. I didn’t know about blackcurrants until I moved to the UK and, I must say, as a fruit on its own it’s not my favourite (a fantastic British way of saying I don’t like it). But in a jam, oh wowee, it is unsurpassable. I will happily shlep out to the pick-your-own fields, stooping as God did not intend us to do, all to get a gluttonously filled basket of these dainty but flavoursome berries. Or, let the supermarket do the choosing for me.

As much as I love straight up blackcurrant jam, I like it all the more made with the rather more common raspberry. For me, these two together are more than the sum of their parts. Even writing about this jam makes me want to get a spoon and eat some straight from the jar. But I will hold back. I’ve been told off too many times by Mr A about eating at the keyboard, and as I am very messy I am sure to leave a tell tale amethyst-coloured blob where a letter might be.

For those of you in more southerly latitudes currant season may have already passed. If so you should be on to blackberries, in which case feel free to substitute the currants for them, but I would add the juice and ‘shell’ of half a lemon (fish it out later) and use preserving sugar too. This accounts for the much lower pectin and acid content (which also affects set). It won’t have the sharpness of the currants but blackberries are always worth preserving and do make delicious jam and jelly in their own right, of course.

If you make blackcurrant and raspberry jam, do hold back a jar for next post’s recipe. I will be bringing you the simplest, tastiest little two-bite tarts you can imagine. Gluten-free too. Until next time, get picking! Or shopping!

Are you doing any end-of-summer preserving? What things are abundant around you that you plan to ‘put up’ for eating later? Do you have any links to your own or another favourite preserve recipe? If they aren’t a family secret, please send them in to share with us!

Blackcurrant and Raspberry Jam

Last Year: Rocket Frittata and some Dinky Courgette-Parmesan Frittatas

Miss R’s Track of the Week: could it be anything else but Bob Marley’s ‘Jammin’?

Although jam-making could never be said to be a quick task, it is a pleasurable one. And making this jam could not be simpler. If you have time to destalk the blackcurrants and for a bit of stirring, seven (maybe 8) pots of bishopric purple jam can be yours. To have and to spread. From this day forth. Amen.

500g blackcurrants, rinsed

500g (slightly under-ripe) raspberries, rinsed and drained

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1.2 kg golden granulated sugar (or regular sugar)

You will also need: eight jars with lids, sterilised; a large, wide, heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan – such as a stock pot or ideally a maslin pan (I use my pressure cooker pan with modest success); a long-handled wooden spoon; sugar thermometer (not essential) or cold saucer

Using a fork pick over the blackcurrants, removing the stalks and any imperfect fruits. The little dried end is the flowering end and needn’t be removed. If some burst as you are destalking, that’s fine, but don’t include ones that are already burst. You can do all this with your fingers but I find that the fork method is easier and less messy. I tend to do this outside where the hens can hoover up any stray bits of fruit. Can’t vouch for dogs though.

Blackcurrants get tough if you boil them straight away in sugar so pop the blackcurrants and the less fussy raspberries into the pan and cover with 500ml of water and the lemon juice. Slowly bring to simmering point (don’t rush this), and let it gently bubble for 15 minutes.

Add the sugar and stir continuously until dissolved. Quickly bring the fruit to a full boil; boil hard for eight minutes. Remove from the heat and stir to help it cool a little. Test for set by either taking its temperature with a jam thermometer (105 C/220F), or by putting a dab onto a fridge-cold saucer and allowing to cool for a minute – if it wrinkles slightly when nudged with a finger, it’s set. Another method often favoured is the ‘flake test’, whereby you dip a wooden spoon into the jam, lift it out horizontally over the pan, keeping it in this position to cool a bit. Then twirl it around a few times to let the jam fall off. If small drops run together to form a flake on the edge of the spoon, the jam has boiled long enough. I tend to do the flake test myself.

Let the jam cool slightly before carefully pouring into the warm, sterilised jars, screwing the lids on while still quite hot – I do this holding the jar with a dry cloth. You may find it safer and easier to pour the hot jam into a large heat-safe plastic jug before filling the jars. The jam will set and become ‘proper jam’ after cooling completely. Caution: never put hot jam into cool jars – cracked jars and ruined jam.

Ways with jam: toast and sandwich (doh), rice pudding, on blinis, to sweeten plain yogurt or kefir, on pancakes and waffles, as a cake filling, in tarts and flapjacks, on pavlovas and spread on – best of all – scones. Next time I will give you my simplest no-dough tart recipe using this gloriously purple-red jam.

More preserves please:

Jam Making with Vivien Lloyd (the botanical baker) – great explanation of ‘process’

Tawny Seville Orange Marmalade (foodtoglow)

Plum Chutney (Pam Corbin via Hugh F-W)

Fig Jam (kiss my spatula)