Tasty Tasty Jams

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

• 1kg strawberries, hulled
• 700 g sugar
• juice of 2 lemons

Method

1. Sprinkle the strawberries with sugar leave overnight to macerate
2. The next day, simmer on the lowest possible heat for 10 mins, skimming often
3. Drain the strawberries in a large sieve placed over pan
4. Cook the syrup until it becomes thick
5. Leave overnight
6. Add the strawberries and simmer for 15 minutes
7. The next day, add the lemon juice and cook until the syrup coats the fruits and the jam has a soft set
8. Put the hot jam in jars, distributing the strawberries and syrup equally. Cover immediately.

This jam is called a preserve because of the high quantity of fruit. It will last for six months unopened.

Tips

• To make a strawberry jam that is not too sweet, with a deep ruby cast and an intense flavor, in which each berry remains intact, choose small, perfectly ripened strawberries
• Use a copper pan
• Before hulling the berries, wash them rapidly removing them immediately with wide spread hands, fingers splayed to a colander. Do this in several batches, changing the water for every batch.
• Hull them and spread them loosely on a tray to avoid crushing them

Chunky Orange Marmalade

Ingredients

• 1kg oranges
• 100 g limes
• 1.2 kg sugar
• 600 ml water
• juice of 2 lemons
• 5 ml oil

Method

1. Peel the oranges and chop the peel
2. Put chop the peel
3. Put chopped limes (de-seed by hand) through a mixer
4. Boil orange peels and limes together in half the quantity of water until peel is soft
5. Boil the orange segments in the remaining water and put through a mixer
6. Put everything into a copper pan
7. Add sugar
8. Give one slow boil to melt the sugar and leave overnight to macerate
9. The next day, bring marmalade to a fast boil
10. Add lemon juice and oil (to prevent frothing) stir and skim and fill while hot

Tips

• The secret to good whole fruit marmalade is that you soak the fruit in sugar for at least 24 hours so that the sugar gets completely absorbed in the rind. It will then take very little time to cook.
• Cook in a copper vessel to retain the aroma and flavor
• Don't overcook the marmalade because it will caramelize
• To test marmalade for a set: the plate test - put a few drops on a plate, wait for few seconds. If the jam or the marmalade forms a skin, it's ready. If it's still running, it needs to be cooked a little more. Also if the peel is translucent, it's your cue that your marmalade is ready.