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WI jam

Serves: Makes about 5kg (10x 1lb jars)

Ingredients

  • 2.4 kg damsons
  • 750ml to 1.25 litres water
  • 3 kg sugar

Method

Sterilise the jars and set in a warm oven until ready.

Wash the fruit and place in a preserving pan with the water.

Simmer until tender, the skins soft and the contents are reduced by a third.

Remove as many stones as possible as they rise to the surface.

Remove from the heat and test for pectin.

Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

Return to heat, bring to a boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached (more on this below).

Ladle into warm jars and cover immediately.

Clean the filled jars and label them with details of contents and date of making.

Store in a cool, dry, dark, well-ventilated place.

A good jam should:

  • keep well
  • be clear and bright
  • be characteristic in colour
  • be well set, but not too stiff
  • have a distinct fruity flavour

You can use most fruits to make homemade jam, as long as they contain sufficient pectin. This ensures that the jam will produce a good gel when the fruit is cooked with sugar and acid. Fruits differ in the amount of pectin they contain, but fruits with poor pectin can be combined with those with good pectin content.

Pectin test

A simple way to test for pectin is to simmer some of your chosen fruit in water until soft. Then, pour 1 teaspoon of the juice into a cup and let it cool before adding 3 tablespoons of methylated spirit. If the juice is high in pectin, it should solidify into a clot or ‘blob’. If it is low, it will remain liquid.

Setting point

There are several ways you can test for setting point:

  1. Saucer/wrinkle test - Have a plate chilling in the fridge. Place 1 teaspoon of jam on the plate and return to the fridge for 1 minute. If the surface wrinkles when you push your finger through, the jam has reached the setting point. It is important to keep the jam pan off the heat during the test otherwise the jam may go beyond the setting point.
  2. Flake test - Dip a spoon into the boiling jam. Holding the spoon above the pan, twist it horizontally to cool. Allow the jam to drop off the spoon. If the jam runs together and forms a flake on the edge of the spoon it has reached setting point.
  3. Temperature test - Place a sugar thermometer in the jam then boil until it reaches a temperature of 220◦F (this is when it is ready).

Mereworth Jam Centre, 1943