Want good jam? Make it yourself!
27 November, 2022
Foodie stuff is never far from our thoughts at CMRT. Central Victoria is blessed with an abundance of produce, and epicurean destinations will dot the traverse of our trail-to-be. There’s fewer more seasoned epicureans than CMRT’s Janice Simpson. Here’s an easy and delicious summer preserve from her kitchen.
Michelle Shocked sings that “if you want a good jam, you have to make it yourself”. The Grammy Award nominee is so right.
The stuff in shops is generally not true to fruit like the jam you make yourself. And the good news is that all you need to make strawberry jam is strawberries, preferably from your garden, lemon juice and sugar.
Recipes vary but if making a small quantity to eat soon, you can use less sugar than conventional recipes call for. I think a good mix is 500gms strawberries, cut into quarters, 350gms sugar and enough strained lemon juice to make the jam set, say the juice of one or two lemons.
Put the lot on low heat, making sure the sugar doesn’t stick to the bottom of the saucepan and that it is dissolved before turning up the temperature for 10 minutes or so. Test for setting by placing a teaspoonful of jam on a cold saucer and running your finger through it.
If it wrinkles, it’s ready. Pour into sterilised jars (100 degrees C in the oven for 20 minutes is good) and seal immediately.
And then of course you need to make the scones and whip the cream…
Crabapple Jelly is ever a thing of beauty
