This video shows how you can make organic jam from soft fruits. Marina O’Connell demonstrates how easy it really is to make your own organic foods.

Fresh organic gooseberries and frozen plums are the fruit that Marina has chosen. She puts the fresh fruit into a pan with a little water to stop them from burning. Do the same for frozen fruit, it will defrost as you heat the water. You don’t need to remove the plum stones from the fruit at this stage.

Traditionally you use the same amount of sugar as the weight of the fruit. Marina prefers to use slightly less, about 70% of sugar to fruit weight. Add the sugar once the fruit is simmering. Organic raw cane sugar is what is used here – you don’t need to use highly processed preserving sugar.

Once the sugar has been added, boil the mixture at a roiling boil for about ten minutes. For the plum jam, this is the point at which you can remove the pits for they are easy to see at this stage. Be careful that the jams don’t catch (or burn) on the bottom of the saucepan at the boiling stage, otherwise you will have burnt jam.

To test the setting point, chill a plate in the freezer. Put a spoonful of jam onto the plate and put back in the freezer for around five minutes. If the jam has set on the plate after this time it is ready. It is important to put the hot jam in warm-to-hot sterilised jars. The heat of the jam will ensure a vacuum forms between the jam and the lid once it has cooled. This will stop any mould developing on the top. The vacuum is what makes a jam jar ‘pop’ when you open it.

To sterilise jars, simply place glass jars on newspapers in oven at around 160 centigrade for ten minutes. Alternatively put clean jars through dishwasher on a hot cycle – you won’t need to use detergent if the jars are already cleaned. Other methods such as boiling and microwaving can be found online.

It really is as simple as that, a delicious addition to your organic lifestyle. I, for one, will be trying this out with organic plums and freshly picked blackberries.

Filed under: Organic Kitchen

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