Thursday, July 19, 2012

Blackberry jam

Imagine some warm blackberry jam on freshly toasted English muffin. You bite into it and  the flavors explode together - sweet ,tangy, and the rich taste of caramelized fruit.
And what if I told you it came together in less than 20 minutes - start to finish. This is one of those perfect recipes - because it can't be simplified  any further. Just 3 ingredients - berries, lime juice and sugar.
You can make this with raspberries(as per the original recipe). I made 3 small batches; plain, with Serrano peppers and with cardamom.
A kitchen scale, wide mouthed funnel and jar holders are really helpful. A wide thick bottomed skillet is a must have. I couldn't have made this without the kitchen timer.

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Simple Blackberry Jam
(Adapted ever so slightly from BlogLily)
 Yield- One  12 ounce jar + cook's reward

First set a saucer with 2 or 3 teaspoons in the freezer. This will help you test the doneness of the jam.
 Prep your jars.
 Weigh and add to skillet
  • 18 ounces of blackberries (roughly 4 cups)
  • 6 ounces of sugar (roughly 1/2 a cup)
 Add
2 tablespoons lime juice. (roughly juice of one lime)

Flavors (totally optional)
2 Serrano peppers seeded and diced or
6 pods of cardamom                          or
1 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh ginger



Set the skillet on medium high and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring the fruit to a boil. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes. The fruit would have thickened by now.
Turn off the stove and test the jam.
Take a spoon out of the freezer and spoon some jam onto it. Stick it back into the freezer for 2 minutes. Nudge the jam with your finger. If it wrinkles up , it is done. If it is still runny, you need to cook it some more.Cook in 1 minute increments and repeat the spoon test.

When the jam is done, ladle the hot jam into sterilized glass jars. I don't 'can' the jars, i just seal the lids and store them in the fridge.  Canning directions can be found here





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