THE JAM SEASON.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 21, 25 January 1934, Page 15

THE JAM SEASON.

RECIPES FOR BERRY FRUITS,

The housewife who likos to have sonic little pots of superfine jam for special occasions should try this method when using berry fruits such as strawberries, raspberries or blackberries. lo pi eserve perrect colour and flavour, fruit should never be cooked for too long a period once the sugar is added. For this reason as much superfluous moisture as possible should be evaporated off before the sugar is stirre.l in, and the jam should then be boiled as quickly as possible until it bubbles rather thickly like a syrup. By testing a little on a saucer it is easy to prove when the jam is ready to set When cool the sample should be stiff enough not to "run" when the sauccr is tilted, and if pushed with the tip of the finger, the surface should wrinkle. It is very hard for the housewife that so much of her jam-making has to be done in the hot weather, but if she will wet two or three boxes of berry fruit at a time and make her special jams in small quantities, the trouble in preparation is negligible. No exact time can be given for the preliminary cooking before the sugar is added, but for small "boilings," from 10 to 20 minutes is ample; if over-reduced the jam wnl burn when the sugar is put in.

Blackberry. For blackberry jam allow a generous 21b of sugar, and the juice of a large lemon to two boxes of berries. Wash the berries and put into a five-pint aluminium saucepan with about half a breakfastcupful of water. Simmer trcntly until the fruit is thoroughly cooked and soft. If the berries are ripe and cook very quickly, continue to simmer until any surplus water in the juice is evaporated. With unripe berries the liquid will be sufficiently concentrated by the time the fruit is soft. Now add the strained juice of the lemon and the 21b of sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved and the jam starts to boil. Then boil as fast as possible until the consistency is right. It will have to be watched carefully, and the saucepan lifted off the heat from time to time, as it shows signs of boiling over. Never remove scum from berry fruit jam during boiling process. Wait until the cooking is complete. Then stand the saucepan_ on one side for a minute until the jam settles, remove any scum with a spoon, turn the jam into little pots, and when cold pour a little melted wax into each pot, and screw on the lids.

Raspberry. Easpberry jam is made in exactly the same way, but the amount of sugar can be reduced to just under a pound to each box of fruit. Strawberry jam requires an exact poimcl of sugar and the juice of two lemons to each box of berries. No extra water is needed —the hulled and washed berries being lifted straight from a bowl of water into the saucepan. Proceed exactly as for blackberry jam, only simmer the fruit ,a little longer before adding the sugar, as strawberries contain a lot of water. When red currants are available they can be used in place of lemon juice. Allow a box of red currants to two boxes of strawberries, and add two or three ounces of extra sugar to the usual proportion to balance the extra quantity of fruit liquid from the red currants. Wash the currants, but do not bother to remove stems. Simmer until the fruit is tender and the juice extracted, and then strain through a fine wire sieve. Add the juice to the strawberries, and put both on to simmer. The preliminary cooking may • take up to 20 minutes owing to the extra liquid from the red currant juice. The colour of this jam is most beautiful.