Recipes, SummerVanessa GerbrandyOctober 18, 2016redcurrants, preserving, jam, summertime, summer

Easy Redcurrant Jam

Recipes, SummerVanessa GerbrandyOctober 18, 2016redcurrants, preserving, jam, summertime, summer

We love my mother-in-law's redcurrant jam. At the end of each summer the currants are picked from the bushes which sit by the edge of the garden and they are lovingly preserved and eaten on cooler mornings in autumn. I realise jam isn't the healthiest of options with the sugar content but once a spoonful of homemade jam is tasted you'll never buy it mass produced again.

The pleasure from picking fruits with loved ones, the chatter around the table plucking the teeny stalks from the juicy fruits, and the instant gratification waking up in the morning opening that jar and tasting that particular summer's day again is nectar.

This recipe is one of the simplest forms of making jam. It's perfect for a child to start out with but be careful as with any jam making the fruit and sugar mixture will get really hot and can easily burn. I tend to allow Florence be part of the fruit picking process but I ask Helena to help me with the actual jam making.

It's also important to note that to make this jam perfect it's all about the timings. Too much boiling makes the jam far too stiff and you lose the lovely red colouring from the fruit, so you must take care and use a timer.

We managed to pick a kilo of currants so the measurements listed below are specific to the amount we picked. But basically you use the same weight in redcurrants to jam sugar.

Ingedients (Makes 4 Jars)

1kg redcurants
1kg jam sugar

First up make sure your jam jars are sterilised. There are many ways of doing this but I prefer to use the oven method. Simply separate the jar and the lid and but both of them in the oven at 140 C / 280 F for about 20 minutes.

Once you have carefully plucked the stem from the fruit, place all of the berries in a large pan together with the sugar.