Homemade Jam

Well, I know most of you are expecting and wanting to see Ivy pics.  You will just have to wait until the next post.  I just wanted to do a post on what I made last Friday.  Well , since I am not working I am trying to get into making more homemade items as well as do some baking.  As some of you know Kevin had a work party and I made this beautiful pie. 

It was a peach pie, probably the prettiest one I have made yet. It must have tasted delicious since Kevin didn't come home with any left overs.  Instead he brought home this chocolate swirled cheesecake a lady from his work made, marble pound cake, and some other delicious dessert.  So the baking inspired me to make more things.  The problem is finding the right ingredients in a language I still don't know.  I had picked up some Johannisberren (currents) from the local vegetable stand.  I decided to make Jam.. I found this great UK website with recipes on Jellies and Jams and most of them are without using pectin. Its a mix of fruits that contain high and low pectins to get the right amount so you jellies and Jams gel.  Well, this recipe was pretty simple so I decided to try. If you know anything about currants and making them into jam its the right balance of sugar and water.  Currants contain high levels of pectin.  I also added a hint of lemon. First  I cleaned the red currants and rid them of all stems. 

 

 

Then I added the water, 1 lb of berries so I used  3/4 pints of water.  I brought the water to a boil and let it simmer for 15-20 min.  Then I removed it from the heat and added 1 1/2 cups of sugar and a dash of lemon juice.  I put it back on and let it boil for another 15-20 minutes.

 

 

Here is the tricky part.  To do a test to make sure your jam has set you put a silver spoon in the freezer (2-3 spoons)  and let it get real cold. Around the 15 minute mark you take the cold spoon and dip it in so see if the jam gels or if its set.  If it falls off the spoon its not ready.  If it starts dripping slowly to the point of almost not dripping its set.  You do this to your preferred thickness of your jam.  Honestly I got 2 jars of jam.  After a few hours they were still to runny for my liking, so I dumped it all back in the pot boiled it for a few more minutes and added some lemon juice and walla I had great Jam.   This was my first time ever making Jam.   

This pic was from the first time boiling. After the second time I only had 1 and 1/3 jars of jam.  Next time I understand the set test better and I think 1 lb of berries would yield 2 jars.  It was delicious and we all are enjoying it. Even Ivy thinks its rather tasty.  I am pretty proud for the first time making it.