Oh Jam, how you have consumed my life for two days.  As I was deciding on my annual Christmas cooking you were suggested by Dave ever so casually, almost as if I make Jam all the time.  A willy-nilly Jam maker I am not.  I have in fact only ever made something to preserve in jars once before – a delightfully colorful and tasty Beetroot Chutney, so I am still quite nervous about adequate sterilization, the necessity of a water-bath blah blah blah.

Shall we make some Jam?

Step 1:  You will need 1kg of jammy fruit, this will make 3-4 jars. I have used Strawberries and Blackberries in this batch, HUGE price difference. I got Jam Strawberries from a grower for $2 per kg, whereas the blackberries were $10 per kg (but totally worth it!).

Step 2:  Hull the strawberries.  I actually googled what this meant as I had no idea – just cut the stem / leaf and white part out of the end

Step 3:  Mash the berries.  You don’t need to go hard out and smash them to a pulp, just a light mash is fine and I didn’t bother at all with the blackberries

Step 4:  Add 6 cups of sugar to berries.  Make sure you are using a heavy bottomed pan or pot as the mixture is going to get HOT

Step 5: Bring to a good rolling boil, stir frequently for 5 min.  Add 1.5 teaspoons of tartaric acid, boil for at least another 5 min – I did at least 10 minutes

Step 6:  When jam is good and boiled funnel it into your sterilised, still-warm jars almost to the top and seal (as you can see I have made my own funnel!).  I then boiled my jars in a water bath for 10 min.  Once the jam has cooled the little poppers on the lid will suck down and you will know that you have a good seal.

Step 7: I got a small square of Christmas fabric from spotlight to make covers for the lids and printed some labels

And that is how you make jam everyone!  It is sooo delish, the boys love the strawberry but I can’t get enough of the blackberry on my toast.  I plan on giving these as gifts with homemade shortbread.