Raspberry jam

Now for this jam it is almost the same as the strawberry jam I posted the other day by a little different in how you make it. Of all the jams this is my favourite homemade jam. And the good thing unlike the strawberry’s this year you can still get a good crop of raspberries.

For this jam you will need.

1kg /2lb 3oz raspberries
1kg/2lb 3oz granulated sugar or caster sugar
½ lemon, juice only

Once again you will need your big thick bottomed pan, all jam making need a big pan to allow for the boiling of the sugar.

This time you do not need to let the raspberries sit overnight in the sugar. This time just tip them and the sugar into the pan and give everything a good vigorous stir round.  This should help you start getting the juices out of the fruits. Then add the lemon juice and place the pan on a gently heat to start with slowly melting all the sugar. Let the sugar dissolves completely; keep stirring gently all the time. Once your sugar has melted then you can turn up the heat. Bring the pan to the boil, as this happens it will rise up the sides of the pan so make sure once again that you have a pan that is large enough to cope.

Now you have to keep it all boiling until the jam reaches it setting point, now this could take up to thirty minutes to an hour all depending.  Now to test for the setting point you turn down the heat on the jam and take a small amount and put it on one of the saucer from the freezer. This will help the very hot jam cool very quickly.  Now once it has cooled, after one or two seconds of being on the saucer , you have to push it from one side with your finger very gently. What you are looking for is that the very surface of the jam should wrinkle as you push it. If you get no wrinkles but it is just a syrupy liquid then you will need to cook it a little longer.

Once you have reached the setting point take the jam off the heat and then skim off any of the white scum that has formed on the top, in fact you can take this of a little at a time as it cooks if you like but just make sure that you are not taking away the jam as well.

Now let the jam just sit on the side for about 10 minutes so it has time to thicken a little. This will help in disrupting the strawberries throughout the jam.  Now carefully ladle the jam in to the jars cover the top with a waxed paper disc, press it down over the jam. Then cover with a lid or a plastic top with an elastic band.

Remember to make sure that you have sterilised your jars. Wash them in warm soapy water, let them drip dry, place on a try in an oven set at 140c/ 275f for about 20 to 30 minutes.