My second guest post – to get prepared for winter time. I never like the marmelade or jam with too much sugar. So I decided to make it myself with just the right amount of sweetness. 🙂
Ingredients
- fruits – cherries, apples, wild berries, plums, nectarines, or whatever you like
- sugar, preferably brown sugar
- preserving jars
Recipe
Prepare the fruits by coring and peeling them. Cut them in small cubes (approx. 2×2 cm).
Add three tablespoons of sugar into a big pan and set the stove to medium heat. Leave the sugar to caramelize and then add the fruits. The caramelized sugar will become hard but will melt again when the fruits are cooked. Cook the jam for 20 to 60 minutes – it’s up to you how mushy you like the jam. You may have to add some water, if the fruits are not moist enough.
Season with more sugar (usually berry jams are acidic and require more sugar), cinnamon (goes well with apples), vanilla (fantastic with plums) etc.
Boil some water and rinse the jars (including the lids) with boiling water after you’ve cleaned them properly. Before filling the jam, I usually keep them in the oven at 120°C to keep them as sterile as possible. Fill one jar with jam all the way to the top so that only a little bit of air is left. After screwing on the lid, put the jar upside down for one minute. Let to cool down.
The nectarine jam is my favourite!
Patrick
Â