Mixed Berry Jam
Mixed Berry Jam is a whole fruit jam that uses a mix of soft fruit that you can adapt to whatever you have available. This simple recipe works with lots of different fruit and berries and the combination of flavours makes it extra delicious.
It was time to clean out the freezer, it was getting beyond a joke, the drawers were difficult to open and I spotted some frozen green goo in the bottom of one of them, I thought my ice cream maker had burst and leaked but it hadn’t so I’m not sure quite what that was, but it’s gone now! As part of my ‘storecupboard empty’ campaign I had been trying to use up things in the freezer and not fill it full again until I had cleaned it out.
Down near the bottom of the freezer were several boxes of berries. Blackcurrants from the garden, blackberries from the hedgerow, a few redcurrants (that had been there for about three years!) and half a pack of cranberries from I bought and froze in December. I decided it was time to clear them out and make a mixed berry jam.
Blackcurrants are really easy to make into jam, they are full of pectin and give a good set, I made double the amount in the recipe, and it’s an easy one to adapt to the number of berries you have at your disposal.
If you have never made jam before, read this excellent article, published in the Guardian Lifestyle, by Darina Allen which should answer any questions you have.
But really, it’s not that difficult, you don’t need sugar thermometers or liquid pectin, my mother and grandmother never used them. A cold saucer in the fridge, a teaspoonful of jam, let it cool, then push with your finger and if there is a ‘skin’ then it is set, if not boil for another 5 minutes and try again.
Mixed Berry Jam (Jelly)
Ingredients
- 450 g (1 lb) mixed berries including blackcurrants
- 450 ml (2 cups) water
- 550 g (2.75 cups) sugar
Instructions
- 450 g mixed berries including blackcurrantsRemove the stalks then wash the fruit.
- 450 ml waterSimmer gently with the water until the skins are really soft.
- 550 g sugarAdd the sugar; stir until dissolved
- Boil rapidly until setting point is reached.
- Fill into sterilised jars and seal.
I've never used a sugar thermometer either. I don't make preserves often, but I can do a tolerable job when I do…though perhaps not up to your mixed berry jam!
ahhh… that wonderful feeling when you've cleared out the freezer… and then the fabulous results of your labours…. i've never made a traditional berry jam like this but I have a gazillion empty jam jars so I may just find me a weekend to do it!
I have so many old berries languishing in the freezer. Definitely time for a clearout!
For these fruits did you use caster, granulated or jam sugar? I want some of this on my toast ASAP! I love jam 🙂