Central Otago Black Cherry Jam

There is nothing better for me than getting back to our quiet little corner of the burbs after a great holiday with the family. Our travels took us through some of the best fruit growing areas that Central Otago has to offer, so we called in at the Jones Fruit stall in Cromwell to stock up on some beautiful seasonal fruit. With the car laden down with all our holiday acquisitions and the fruit haul, we trailed out way home. These black cherries were a bargain we could pass up at just $20 for a huge box. 

We divided our fruit haul with my parents, and I thought I would experiment with cherry jam. Cherries don't set very well in jam, so I got some Chelsea Jam Sugar. It cost a little more but guarantees a great setting jam. It sets strawberry jam really well too.





Central Otago Black Cherry Jam

1 kg Pitted black cherries
1 kg Chelsea Jam sugar
about 4 or 5, depending on the size, jars with lids

It doesn't matter what quantity of cherries you have as the recipe calls for equal quantities of fruit and sugar. I wouldn't make any more than about a kg at a time or it becomes difficult to handle.

Clean and sterilise the jars and lids. The dishwasher is handy for this, or you can wash them in hot soapy water then heat in the oven set at 100deg.C. Have the jars and lids ready to go before you start.

Weigh the cherries once the stones are removed. The stones must be removed before the cooking starts. 

Place the cherry flesh into a food processor and pulse until it is roughly chopped. I did this in a couple of batches. Don't over-process or you will end up with slush.

Place the processed fruit and the sugar into a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Heat gently, stirring constantly until the sugar is all dissolved. 

It might seem like there is not enough liquid in the beginning, but don't worry the mixture will soon start to liquefy. 

Increase the heat and boil rapidly for 4 minutes only. 

It should be boiling rapidly enough that stirring the pot does not stop the boiling. 

Keep a close eye on it so the jam doesn't boil over. Skim and discard any foam that forms on top.

Take the pot from the heat and take a teaspoon of jam and place it onto a cold plate. Place the plate into the fridge or freezer to cool quickly. Test the jam for setting by pushing your finger gently through the jam. If the surface wrinkles the jam is set. 

Using a cup and jug, pour the jam into the prepared jams. Having the jars on a wooden board should prevent any jar breakage caused by differences in the temperature of the jam. Immediately screw the tops on the jars and leave them on the bench to cool completely. Label the jars and store them in a cool dry place.

What a great mid-winter reminder of our summer break. It will be great on toast or croissants, or as a baking ingredient too.

Elderberry Jelly

Autumn is creeping in and the humble and much maligned Elderberry trees around Mum and Dad's place are weighed down with fruit. The blight of anyone who has hung white washing out lately, the fruit are vibrant and enticing. Having missed out on making Elderflower cordial this year, I decided to put these lovely fruit to work.

Yes, that is me in the ridiculous, yet very cosy, woollen 'round the farm' hat. I got totally carried away with my clippers and picked way too many heads of berries. In need of a recipe I consulted with that age old oracle of cooking knowledge: The Aunt Daisy Cookbook, first published 1968. The recipe calls for apples to aid the jelly setting; lucky the tree in the garden had plenty to spare.

Elderberry Jelly

Gather berries while dry. Pick off stems and clean. Leave the smaller stems on. 
To the amount of berries add one third the quantity of apples. Cut the apples up, pips, skin and all; add to berries and barely cover with water - leave over night.






Next day boil until soft and pulpy then strain through a clean tea towel.

If I was my grandmother I would have left it overnight and undisturbed to drain.







Put cup for cup of juice and sugar into a large pan and boil until a small amount put onto a plate sets with a skin on top. Pour into sterilised jar and seal while still hot.








Everything went swimmingly until the next day when I realised my beautiful red jelly had not set according to plan. 

While I contemplated offloading it to relatives as elderflower ice cream topping, the only real solution was to pour it back into the pan and try again.





Luckily I had a packet of jam setting mix in the pantry. 
A bit of mixing and five more minutes of boiling and I had a much better setting result.  

The jelly turned out really well. The colour is really vibrant and the fruit gives the Jelly a nice balance of acid. I'm thinking this will make great gifts for friends and family. 

Delicious Plum Jam

The humble plum is much overlooked among today's vast selection of seasonal fruit. Many of the trees that once grew in everyone's back yard have been felled in favour of less maintenance intensive specimens. As such, many of my plum supplier options have dwindled. So when I spotted a case of Black Doris Plums in our local growers market, I knew they just had to be coming home with us. So many plums, so many possibilities, so getting riper by the minute. I just love plum jam. It's generally better to make small batches of jam, however, care of the chef, almost all of the case load was waiting all stoned and ready to make into after work jammy goodness.

I used the old standby recipe ratio of equal parts fruit and sugar by volume: 2 litres of cooked fruit pulp and 2 litres of sugar. Put the clean jars into the oven - set at 120deg. C - for about 15 minutes to sterilise them.


Add a little water to the pan to help the fruit cook down into  pulp. Use a potato masher to encourage the fruit to break up. Once the fruit is pulp, add the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.









My Grandmother would have told you that you shouldn't stir the jam until the sugar has melted, but I am not willing to risk the fruit catching on the bottom of the pan and burning. 
Boil the jam for about 10 minutes.










Take the pan from the heat and test a tablespoonful for setting by putting it on a plate in the fridge.

It will form a skin on top once its sufficiently set.

I also checked the temperature with a sweet thermometer. It should reach 104Deg C. If the jam hasn't reached the setting stage return it to the heat for another few minutes.




Use a jug to pour the jam into the hot jars and seal immediately. Leave to cool before storing in a cool dark place.


I always put a little of the newly made jam into a small container ready for my morning toast. 







At winter's height, there is nothing more satisfying than getting the home made jam out to fill a cake or make a jam tarts.

Gooseberry Jam

Today I made this gorgeous Gooseberry Jam. It looked so marvelous in the jars that I just had to share it with you. I am always amazed at the lovely pink colour that comes out of all those little green beauties. 
I followed the tried and true formula of equal parts of fruit and sugar. This is 1 kg of raw topped and tailed gooseberries: cooked until they breakup, and 1 kg of sugar: dissolved in the fruit and boiled until it sets. 
I checked the setting by using a sweet thermometer to check that the jam reaches 106 deg. C, and by putting a teaspoon of jam on a plate and into the freezer: if a skin forms on the top then the jam is ready. Put the hot jam into sterilized jars, lids on, and your a domestic goddess already.

This is the smaller batch of raspberry jam I made earlier in the week. We have really enjoyed some great raspberry picking this season. All I need now is a few days of sun for the strawberries to ripen, and my season's jam making will be done.