Christmas Jam
A festive take on strawberry jam.
Ingredients
- 500 grams Hulled strawberries cut into medium chunks
- 200 grams 200g Cranberries fresh or frozen
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 700 grams White sugar
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- Steralise jars and lids
- Place all berries and water in a large saucepan
- Simmer for around 1.5 - 2 hours to soften the berries
- Add lemon juice
- Simmer and reduce until correct consistency - this should be a syrup-like state, not runny, but not as thick as honey
- Remove from heat and cool slightly with lid on to avoid further reduction
- When the jam has cooled slightly add to jars and seal immediately
Notes
Generally, with jams there is a 1:1 ratio between the fruit and the sugar.
The hull or calyx is the green leafy top of the strawberry, which is generally removed before cooking or serving.
White sugar keeps the flavour crispier, brown sugars, I find, tend to make the jams darker, less fruity and I have found can spoil the jam.
To check the right consistency pre-freeze a saucer in the freezer. When you want to check, take the saucer out and put a small amount of the jam on it straight from the saucepan. After about 30 seconds, try to roll the jam around on the saucer, if it rolls a bit like jam should, i.e. doesn't stick or slide, then the jam is ready!