Jams & Preserves

With berry picking season nearly upon us, now is the best time to prepare some delicious recipes at home. One of the most succulent fruits available to pick is the gooseberry. Gooseberries can be consumed in a number of ways, including in pies, tarts, or cupcakes. One of the best ways to enjoy gooseberries is as a jam. Making gooseberry jam at home is a simple process, requiring little more than a jar with a lid, and basic kitchen utensils and ingredients. Therefore, here is our step-by-step guide on how to make gooseberry jam.   What You Need To Make Gooseberry Jam Before you start making your gooseberry jam, you will need the following: 1 kg of gooseberries 1/2 lemon 1 kg granulated sugar 3 jam jars 3 jam lids 1 baking sheet or tray 1 saucepan 3 small plates 1 spoon Step One – Clean the Jars Before you start preparing your gooseberry jam, you need to make sure your jam jars are clean and sterile. First, thoroughly wash your jars in hot and soapy water, then rinse them in hot water. Put your jars on a baking sheet or tray and put them in your oven. Set the [...]

Are you a keen home cook? Or perhaps you love arts and crafts. If so, chances are you’ve used some glass jars and bottles in your time. From holding marmalades and preserves, to candles or craft supplies, there’s all kinds of ways to use jars and bottles. But if you’re working with perishable goods, or looking to keep things secure, you’re going to want to keep your jam jars sealed. There are many ways you can do this, from home-made solutions to twist off jar lids. But what’s the best way to keep jars sealed?   Different Ways to Make Jam Jar Lids When preparing to seal jam jars with your produce, the first thing you’ll want to do is sterilise them. Fortunately, you don’t need a whole lot of equipment or fancy chemicals to do this. First, simply clean them thoroughly in hot, soapy water. Be sure to give them a good rinse. Then, place the glass jars on a baking sheet and place them in an oven at 140C. Ensure you keep any rubber seals out of the oven. Your glass jars should soon be dry, clean and ready for sealing. One popular way to seal jam jars [...]

People have been making marmalade with oranges for centuries. And in all that time, not much has changed in the marmalade recipe. The Romans were some of the first people to make what we’d call marmalade today, with one recipe noted down in the first century. But it wasn’t until the 18th century that the orange marmalade recipe was fixed in its most familiar form. English cookbooks of this period are the first to mention the familiar ‘jelly’ that’s a central part of modern marmalade. From here, it wasn’t long until orange marmalade became the staple of the breakfast table that it is today. How to Make Marmalade Making marmalade with oranges requires very few ingredients and even less equipment. For this recipe you’ll want to have these ingredients to hand: 1kg of Oranges Juice from 2 Lemons 2kg of granulated sugar Firstly place the oranges and the lemon juice into a pan. Fill the pan with 2 litres of water, ensuring the oranges are fully submerged. Now bring the pan to boil, and leave it covered and simmering for a couple of hours. If you can easily pierce the orange peel with a fork, that’s a sign they’re ready. [...]

Are you curious to learn more to make strawberry jam? Let us take a look at a typical strawberry jam recipe in order to fully appreciate the jam making process. You will be pleasantly surprised to know that the process is actually quite simple if you follow a handful of clear steps. Initial Preparatory Steps When Making Jam For this recipe, we will be using one pound of strawberries. After cleaning the fruit, slice them up into quarters and remove any stems that might still remain. Then, add in approximately two cups of sugar (brown or white depending upon your preferences). It is very important that this mixture is thoroughly blended. Most experts recommend using a standard potato masher until a uniform consistency has been reached. The main intention of mixing the two ingredients is to ensure that all of the juices contained within the berries are released. Cooking the Jam The main portion of any strawberry jam recipe involves the boiling process. Place the mixture atop a low flame and all it to boil for approximately 20 minutes. Knowing how to make strawberry jam also involves appreciating when the mixture should be cooled down. The size of the bubbles [...]