Spiced plum jam

So, my neighbour has a secret apple and plum tree. Secret from me until last week, that is. And he doesn't use the fruit from them at all...?! Seems like madness to me! So when he mentioned that he had these trees and he didn't want / use the plums, I went along like a little tramp with lots of carrier bags to gather some local wares.

The plums were almost over, but there were about a Sainsbury's (other supermarkets are available) bag full which hadn't gone off yet. I have no idea what variety they are, they are golden in colour with quite a sweet flavour but a slightly tart skin.

People often think jam takes ages, but please don't listen to them... I collected the plums (10 minutes), stoned and quartered them (15 minutes) and made the jam (30 minutes)... Less than an hour for some lovely homemade jars of smugness :)

These would be nice as presents, or I imagine would last well. See previous posts on how to sterilise your jars so you don't get green furry things living on your jam.

Makes 3 1/2 lbs / 1.7 kg
800g plums, stones and quartered (I like chunky jam, if you don't just blitz it before bottling)
800g granulated sugar plus one sachet of pectin or 800g jam sugar
cinnamon stick*
a couple of star anise*
squeeze of lemon juice*

* all optional and to taste.

Method: This is pretty tricky. Keep up.
1. Put fruit (fresh or frozen works just fine) in a big non metallic bowl. I froze the plums a week or two ago, so mine were in a lump.

2. Plonk sugar and spices on top (if using). Squeeze over lemon juice. Or don't. Then stand bowl on a plate and put another plate on top.

3. Microwave for 6 minutes on full power. Stir. Put back in for another 6-8 minutes until the jam passes the 'wrinkle' test - dip a cold spoon in the jam, then push it with your finger - if you see a little wrinkle on the surface of the jam, it's ready. If not, give it another minute or two.

4. Spoon into (hot) jars being very careful - hot jam is like napalm. Screw lids on tightly.

5. Cool upside down for 45 mins or so, then turn right side up - this will mean the fruit sets evenly throughout the jam rather than being all at the top. 

And that's it! Now you can gloat at being hugely middle aged before your time! Who would have thought my age begins with a '2' still?!!

JB x

Little jars of sunshine... kind of!

Lilt Marmalade

OK, newsflash: I do not like marmalade. I am certainly well known as eating pretty much anything, and could spend 20 years on death row trying to decide what the heck my last ever meal would be. But, generally speaking, I have three issues:

• Offal on it's own; in pies, paté, etc it's delicious. Kidneys on their own taste like the smell f a school dissection class to me despite my best efforts to overcome my repulsion, it still stands.
• Rice pudding: Kinda getting better now,  I can eat home made and tinned without too much of an issue. But it would never be my first choice (and Mr B LOVES it so I've been a bit swayed by his passion for stodgy custardy pud).
• Orange marmalade. Lime, yes, lemon, yes, orange not to much. It's just soooo bitter and tastes weird. But recent attempts to get myself on side with marmalade have lead to this post...

Pineapple and grapefruit marmalade (AKA Lilt marmalade)

This sounded like a good idea to me. Fruity enough to not be actually too marmalade-y, and home made is always better than shop bought (except some stuff. Like ketchup.)

The results were pretty good; sweet and tangy but nice and tropical. Let's see if we still like it after 5 jars!

Ingredients

• 3 grapefruits (I used ruby)
• 700ml water
• 900g granulated sugar
• 1 small lemon
• 2 tins (450g ish) crushed pineapple in juice

Method

• First, peel the grapefruit (after washing in warm water to remove any wax) and shred it finely.

• Your kitchen will smell amazing already! Then, juice the grapefruit and put in a huge pan with the peel. Keep the pith and pips and put it in a muslin bag (or a piece of old cloth) and splosh it in. Then, add the water.
• Boil for 1 1/2 hours (ish) - maybe a bit less if you've shredded the peel really finely.
• Then, add the pineapple and juice and boil for another half an hour or so.
• At this point, fish out the bag and let it and your mixture cool until you can pick it up, then squeeeeeeeze it into the mixture; this adds pectin from the seeds and pith which will help your marmalade to set.
• While the bag is cooling, warm the sugar in the oven at about 75 or 80 degrees.
• Once you've squeezed the bag out and chucked it away, add the sugar, juice of the lemon, and bring it to the boil gently, stirring occasionally. Then boil the heck out of it for a good 15 minutes minimum (it can take a good while to reach setting point, keep checking. Here's how; put a plate in the freezer for a few mins and keep dripping a bit of your mixture onto the plate. it's at 'setting point' when you can see the marmalade wrinkle as you push the blob with your finger).
• Spoon into sterilised jars (washed in warm water then 10 mins at 140 degrees in the oven) and seal. This recipe makes 5 x 450g (ish) jars.