in) of the top of a sterilised jar. Cover the surface of the hot jam with a greaseproof disc, and seal with screw-top lids or cellophane covers with rubber bands (moisten outside of cellophane first to ensure a tight fit). Label the jars and store.JAMS
Although few of us now want to devote a day to jam-making, or indeed feel the need for a large store of jam, a new generation of cooks is discovering the pleasure of making just a few pots when a favourite fruit is in season. Jam is made by boiling fruit with sugar (firm fruits are first cooked without sugar until tender) until the mixture is pulpy and will set, when cool, to a soft jelly-like consistency. It is perfectly practical to make a small quantity and does not take long providing you understand a few basic points.
Pectin: The substance in fruit which, with the right balance of acid and sugar, causes jam to set. The fruit used should be firm-ripe as it contains more pectin than when fully ripe. When making jam with fruits that are low in pectin, such as cherries, apricots and strawberries, the setting can be helped by adding some high-pectin fruit (apple, plum, quince, black or red currants) or some lemon peel, including the high-pectin white pith. Commercial pectin is also available.
Setting point: The fruit is usually simmered until soft, then sugar is added and the jam is boiled vigorously until setting point is reached. Test for setting point by using the spoon method or the saucer method below.
The spoon method: Dip a clean wooden spoon into the jam and remove a spoonful. Allow to cool for a few moments, then turn spoon over gently. If jam breaks distinctly from the spoon in heavy, jelly-like drops or flakes, it is ready.
The saucer method: Place a small teaspoon of jam on a cold saucer, cool for 20 seconds, then run a finger through it. If it wrinkles at the edges and stays in two separate sections, it is ready.
Sterilising jars:Wash glass jars in detergent and water, then rinse in fresh water. Boil jars in water for 10 minutes or dry them upside-down in a warm oven for 15 minutes just before filling.
Potting and sealing: Remove jam from the heat, cool slightly and stir gently to distribute the fruit evenly. Use a clean, hot jug or cup and fill to within 3 mm ( in) of the top of a sterilised jar. Cover the surface of the hot jam with a greaseproof disc, and seal with screw-top lids or cellophane covers with rubber bands (moisten outside of cellophane first to ensure a tight fit). Label the jars and store.
Storing: Store in a cool, dark place. Once opened, store in the refrigerator. Unless otherwise specified, all jams and preserves in this book can be kept for at least 1 year. However, it is wise to use them before the next season’s replacement for optimum flavour.
PLUM JAM
Blood plums, satsumas or angelinas make particularly good plum jam, rich and tart, so try to get one of these varieties.
1 kg (2 lb) firm plums, halved
butter
½ cup water
1 kg (2 lb) sugar, warmed
Remove stones from plums, crack a few and remove kernels. Butter a large heavy saucepan, add plums and water and cook gently for 15–20 minutes or until tender. Add warm sugar and heat until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Add kernels, bring to the boil rapidly and boil vigorously for about 20 minutes or until setting point is reached. Remove pan from heat immediately, cool a little, stir gently and pour into hot sterilised jars. Cover and seal. Makes 3–4 × 500 g (1 lb) jars.
BLACKBERRY JAM
1.5 kg (3 lb) firm blackberries, including a few red ones
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
sliced peel (including white pith) 1 lemon
1.5 kg (3 lb) sugar, warmed
Place blackberries in a large, heavy buttered pan. Add water, lemon juice and peel tied in a muslin bag. Press berries with a wooden spoon to release juice. Bring slowly to boiling point and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bag of peel. Add sugar gradually to berries, stirring until dissolved, then boil quickly until setting point is reached. Remove pan from heat immediately and cool jam a little. Stir gently and pour into hot sterilised jars. Cover and seal. Makes 4–5 × 500 g (1 lb) jars.
TOMATO JAM
butter
1.5 kg (3 lb) very firm, red tomatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
1.5 kg (3 lb) sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
sliced peel (including white pith) 1 lemon
pinch salt
Butter a large heavy saucepan and add tomatoes and sugar. Bring to the boil slowly, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then add lemon juice and peel tied in a muslin bag. Boil quickly until setting point is reached. Stir in salt and remove pan from heat immediately. Remove bag of peel, cool jam a little and pour into hot sterilised jars. Cover and seal. Makes 4–5 × 500 g (1 lb) jars.
PEACH AND PASSIONFRUIT JAM
10–12 passionfruits
6–8 large, firm peaches, peeled, stoned and chopped
sugar
lemon juice
Cut passionfruits in half and scoop out flesh. Mix with peaches. Measure fruit and for every 5 cups, allow 1 kg (2 lb) sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Put all ingredients into a heavy saucepan and bring to the boil slowly, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Boil rapidly until setting point is reached. Remove from heat immediately, cool a little, stir gently and pour into hot sterilised jars. Cover and seal. Makes 3–4 × 500 g (1 lb) jars.
JELLY, PRESERVE
Jelly preserves are made from the pure juice of fruit cleared of all other matter, to which sugar is added and the mixture boiled until it reaches setting point. As in jam, pectin, sugar and acid must be present in the right proportions.
The fruit used should be slightly underripe because it has more pectin than when fully ripe. Choose fruit such as grapes, crab apples, guavas, quinces or any fruit high in pectin and acid to establish a good firm jel. Good jelly must be clear in colour, well flavoured and set so that it holds its shape.
Jelly preserves are made by boiling fruit, cut into small pieces with the skin on, with just enough cold water to cover, until fruit is tender. This dissolves out the pectin and acid. Soft fruits such as berries need very little water. The pulp is then strained through a jelly bag and allowed to drain quite undisturbed, usually for about 12 hours. The liquid is measured into a pan and sugar added in the correct proportion. The mixture is then boiled rapidly until setting point is reached.
The jelly bag can be purchased ready for use, fixed in a stand, or can be made at home: buy a square of coarse flannel and sew strong white tape across each corner to make a loop just big enough to fit the legs of a chair. Up-end a chair firmly onto the corner of a table (never stand it on the side of a table), slip the tape firmly onto the legs and pour boiling water through the flannel to cleanse and open the cloth. Have a large earthenware bowl under the strainer; empty and replace the bowl. When fruit has been boiled until soft and broken down, pour the contents of the saucepan into the jelly bag and leave to drain undisturbed. Do not press fruit or squeeze bag as this will give a cloudy jelly. Measure juice back into the saucepan by dipping with a cup measure, leaving any sediment behind in the bowl.
Small quantities of fruit can be drained through several thicknesses of cheesecloth in a colander over a bowl, instead of a jelly bag. Setting point is tested in the same way as jam.
see Jams: Sterilising Jars; Potting and Sealing; and Storing.
See also Grape Jelly ; Guava Jelly ; Redcurrant Jelly.
QUINCE JELLY
1 kg (2 lb) firm, ripe quinces
about 1 kg (2 lb) sugar
Cut quinces into chunks and put them in a saucepan with 6 cups water. Bring to the boil and simmer until fruit is soft.
Strain liquid from quinces through a jelly bag, or a colander lined with several thicknesses of cheesecloth, into a bowl; allow to drip undisturbed without pressing or squeezing. Measure juice by dipping with a cup measure from bowl into saucepan. Do not use sediment. Add 500 g (1 lb) sugar for every 2½ cups juice. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar before liquid starts to boil, then boil rapidly until a few drops of the mixture dropped onto a chilled plate will set as they cool. Skim if necessary and pour into warm sterilised jars. Seal while hot. Makes 3–4 × 500 g (1 lb) jars.
NOTE: A good jelly can be made using a mixture of quince and apples. Quinces or apples may also be used in combination with fruits that have a low pectin content, such as raspberries or blackberries, either fresh or frozen.
VARIATION
APPLE JELLY: Make in exactly the same way as Quince Jelly, using good tart apples.
JELLY, SWEET AND SAVOURY
Many of us first associate the word ‘jelly’ with those high moulded puddings, in bright shimmering colours, served at children’s birthday parties, but popular sweets such as Turkish delight are jellies, too, and other types of table jellies can be clear or opaque.
Jelly (sweet): Popular sweets such as Marshmallows, fruit jellies, jujubes and Turkish Delight come into this category. These are based on a sugar syrup which is stiffened by adding gelatine, gum Arabic, cornflour or arrowroot, and reduced by boiling.
Jelly (table): A sweet mixture to which a setting agent such as gelatine is added to give a set firm enough to hold its shape when unmoulded. For savoury dishes, an aspic jelly is often used (see Aspic). Vegetable juices, tomatoes, cooked vegetables or seafoods are often set in jelly form.
There are three main types of table jelly – clear, whipped, and made with milk, cream and egg. Clear jellies: Transparent jellies of good colour, made from fruit juices or commercial jelly crystals. These are usually set in moulds and turned out to serve, or set in glass dishes. A very attractive effect can be achieved by setting fruit in layers in the jelly. Whipped jellies or jelly whips: The jellies are whipped when they are just on the point of setting, and resemble the consistency of unbeaten egg white. Milk, cream and egg jellies: Milk, custards and creams set with gelatine. Some classic desserts such as Bavarian Cream come into this category.
To unmould jellies: See Gelatine.
ORANGE JELLY BASKETS
6–8 large oranges (enough to give 2 cups juice)
3–4 lemons
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
thinly peeled rind 2 oranges
3 tablespoons powdered gelatine
12–16 thin strips angelica, 13 cm (5 in) long
Halve oranges and lemons, scoop out flesh and press it through a sieve, or put in a blender, to remove juice. Gently press orange skins to flatten their bases so that the halves will sit flat. Put water, sugar, orange rind and gelatine in a saucepan and stir over gentle heat until sugar and gelatine are dissolved. Cover, remove from heat, and set aside for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine nylon sieve and add strained orange and lemon juice. When cool, pour into prepared orange skins and leave to set. Dip strips of angelica into boiling water to make them pliable and bend each into a half circle. Before serving, fix angelica handles over jellies. Makes 12–16.
PORT WINE JELLY
An old-fashioned dessert, definitely not for children.
2 tablespoons powdered gelatine
1¼ cups water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons redcurrant jelly
2 cups port wine
few drops red food colouring (optional)
whipped cream
Soften gelatine in water in a saucepan for 2 minutes. Add sugar and redcurrant jelly and stir over a gentle heat until dissolved. Stir in port and food colouring, if using. Strain through muslin or disposable cloth, pour into a wetted mould or into individual wine glasses and chill until set. Top with whipped cream, or unmould and serve with whipped cream. Serves 6–8.
STRAWBERRY JELLY WHIP
1 packet strawberry jelly crystals
2 egg whites
whipped cream and fresh strawberries to decorate
Make jelly according to packet instructions and leave until just beginning to set, then whip it until light and frothy. Whisk egg whites until standing in soft peaks and fold into whipped jelly mixture. Pour into 6 individual glass dishes and refrigerate until set. Serve decorated with a swirl of whipped cream and a whole strawberry. Serves 6.
NOTE: This recipe can be varied by using other jelly flavours and proceeding as above.
MILK JELLY
2 cups milk
¼ cup caster sugar
3 thin strips lemon rind or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon powdered gelatine
3 tablespoons water
Place milk in a saucepan with sugar and lemon rind, if using. Place over gentle heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Turn off heat and allow to infuse for 10 minutes if using lemon rind, or stir in vanilla. Soften gelatine in water and dissolve over gentle heat. Add to cooled milk, strain into wetted 2½ -cup mould and refrigerate until set. Turn out and serve. Serves 4.
SEAFOOD MOUSSE
1 tablespoon powdered gelatine
¼ cup cold water
¾ cup very finely chopped celery
1½ cups flaked canned or cooked lobster, crab or salmon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
¾ cup Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 small clove garlic, crushed
½ cup cream, whipped
shredded lettuce or watercress to garnish
Soften gelatine in cold water, then dissolve over hot water. Combine celery and seafood. Season with salt and paprika. Stir gelatine into mayonnaise, and add lemon juice, Tabasco and garlic. Stir in seafood mixture. Fold whipped cream gently into mixture. Spoon into a wetted 4-cup mould and chill until set. To serve, unmould onto a platter garnished with shredded lettuce or watercress. Serves 6–8.
JELLIED BEETROOT
1½ tablespoons powdered gelatine
½ cup cold water
3½ cups chicken stock
juice ½ lemon
1 tablespoon dry sherry
3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 sprig parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
salt and freshly ground white pepper
500 g (1 lb) cooked beetroot, peeled and sliced
watercress to serve
Soften gelatine in cold water, then dissolve over simmering water. Heat stock, lemon juice, sherry, cloves, bay leaf, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper and when just at the boil remove from heat and stir in dissolved gelatine. Cover and keep warm for 10 minutes. Strain into an 8-cup mould and add beetroot. To serve, unmould onto a bed of watercress. Serves 6–8.
JUNIPER BERRY
The flavour of ripe juniper berries is sweet, aromatic and rather like pine because they contain elements of turpentine. Juniper berries are used to flavour gin and other spirits. In fact, it is considered that 6–8 of these berries soaked in a marinade for a long time – or cooked slowly in a stew – give a seasoning equivalent of ¼ cup gin.
Juniper berries are used in marinades for wild boar, pork and venison, in stuffings for chicken and other small birds, and in pâté. In Germany, juniper berries are a common flavouring for Sauerkraut, and in Britain they are used in the curing of country hams.
The berries are usually crushed before use. They go well with herbs – parsley, thyme, fennel, marjoram, bay and garlic – as well as with brandy or port, and with other spices when used in meat dishes. The berries may be bought dried – look for ones that are still plump.
JUNKET
This favourite English dish is made of warmed milk, sweetened and flavoured, and coagulated with rennet or junket tablets made with the enzyme rennin extracted from calves’ stomachs. Vanilla-flavoured junket tablets are available, or some packs offer an assortment of flavours.
JUNKET
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
1 junket tablet
½ cup thickened cream nutmeg (optional)
Warm milk just to blood heat. Add sugar and vanilla. Crush junket tablet in a little water. Pour milk into a china dish, stir in dissolved junket tablet and leave to set in a cool place (not the refrigerator). Pour cream over surface of the junket. If liked, a little nutmeg may be sprinkled over the top. Serves 4.