Malcolm managed to buy some extremely cheap raspberries the other day. I came home from work and there were mad amounts of fruit in the kitchen. He had also bought some strawberries, and he made some industrial quantities of strawberry jam. I made raspberry jam and it is as red as rubies, and speckled with pips, absolutely glorious on scones.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 kg raspberries
- 1 kg sugar
- Juice of 1 orange (optional)
METHOD:
- Warm the sugar in the oven
- Meanwhile, put the raspberries in a large jam pan with the orange juice, and bring to a simmer
- Add the sugar, and bring to a hot boil, and keep boiling until you reach setting point. I use the thermometer as a general guide, and the flake test to be sure. Don’t be afraid, a fast boil on full heat works best.
- Pour into clean warmed jars and seal.
The flake test:
Dip a clean wooden spoon into the jam. Hold the spoon over the pan and twist it to cool the jam, then allow the cooling jam to drip from the edge of the spoon. If the drips run together and start to set, forming wide-based ‘flakes’, then the jam is at setting point.