Making Jam...Beginners luck?

Mulberry and Blackberry Jam.

Its summer, and recently we have had a nice crop of Mulberries from our backyard tree, so I decided to make some jam. I have never made jam before now so I have looked up countless websites on how to boil, pot and store the jam. I decided hat I could take a lot of my time up researching how to make jam and never get around to doing it. So I kinda mashed a few recipes together and hoped for the best. I didn't have four cups worth of Mulberries from our tree so I bought and thawed some frozen Blueberries from the Coles freezer section

Ingredients
4 Cups mixture of Blueberries and Mulberries
4 cups sugar 
pectin
lemon juice
dash of water.

Wash the jars in warm soapy water and simmer the lids in water until ready to use. Special preserving jars are best. They have a lid and a ring. I bought mine from Coles for $3.00 each.

Boiling the lids

Heating up berries

50g of Pectin

• Thaw the berries and mash them up a bit in a big pot, heat them on the stove top. Don't boil it yet
• Add half the sugar and half the packet of pectin, stir it.
• Add a table spoon or so of lemon juice
• Add 1/4cup of water. 
• Boil it for about a minute
• Then add the rest of the sugar and stir. 
• Boil for another minute.
• Keep stirring if you feel to, so the jam doesn't burn at the bottom

Spoon in iced water

Testing the jam

To check if the jelly will set the way you like:

• Put a metal teaspoon in iced water
• Scoop up half a teaspoon of jam and let it cool to room temperature.
• If the jam is still runny add more Pectin one teaspoon at a time until it is just right.
• Keep testing with the iced spoon trick.

To bottle the jam.

• The lids must sill be hot and the jars completely dry.
• Carefully bottle the jam to 1/4 of an inch to the top
• Wipe off any mess you may have made.
• Put the sealer and the ring firmly on the jar

Bottling the jam 1/4 inch to the top

Sealing the Jars

• Boil a large pot with about 2 inch of water in it. Reduce to a simmer.
• Gently place the jars in the pot.
• Put the lid on the pot and let them simmer for about 5-7 minutes.
• Take the pot off the heat.

Boiling the jam jars

By this time the jar lids may have 'popped' (sealed) if not, that's OK because mine didn't seal until they had been sitting out of the hot water for ten minutes. Place the hot jam jars somewhere they wont get knocked overnight. 

Once they have cooled label them. This jam will last about six months in a sealed jar.

Keep them somewhere safe overnight while they cool.

Enjoy your yummy jam, friends!

Delicious and decorated.

Have Fun

Renee x