Peach Melba Jam

I'm feeling rather smug this evening. Yes, I had my first attempt at jam making and I am now feeling like a domestic goddess extraordinaire. You can surmise from that, that it was a complete rip-roaring success.

I've been meaning to venture into jam making for a good while now, for two reasons really. Firstly as a bit of a hobby and secondly, because we have fruit trees and bushes around here that quite often go to waste.

I really wanted to make strawberry and rhubarb jam however rhubarb is like gold-dust around here, I guess I am slightly out of season? however I do have a crop growing in the garden at the moment. In the end I settled for peach and raspberry as that's an amazing combination isn't it?

This recipe makes 2.5lbs of jam (roughly about 1.1kg).

Peach Melba Jam

Ingredients

450g fresh peaches - skinned, stoned and chopped (prepared weight)
450g raspberries - washed
700g sugar
a knob of butter

Method

Crack the peach stones with a nutcracker or hammer and remove the kernels. Tie the kernels in a piece of muslin.

Put all the fruit and the muslin bag into a preserving pan along with 150ml water and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until the fruit is tender. Remove the muslin bag, squeezing well.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar, stirring until it is all completely dissolved. Add the butter and boil for about 15 minutes or until setting point is reached.

(An easy way to test for a set jam is by using a jam thermometer. Jam is ready when the temperature reaches 105c/221f. The other good way is by dropping a spoonful of jam onto a saucer and popping it into the fridge for a minute. Push your finger through the jam - if it wrinkles, it's ready).

Remove any scum with a slotted spoon, then pot and cover.

You should pot the jam when it's hot. If you forget it's best to let the jam go completely cold. Never pot it when it's warm as this can promote the growth of mould.

Some other quick points.

1. With regard to sugar, you can use caster sugar however I used jam sugar because peaches and raspberries are relatively low in pectin and I wanted to be sure it would set. The jam is quite firm and I suspect it would be looser if I'd used caster sugar.

2. Cracking peach stones is not as easy as it sounds. If all else fails, do as I did and crush them in a vice.

3. During the last boiling stage you may want to stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan. However if the worst does happen and you're left with a black sticky mess at the bottom of the pan when it's cleaning time here's my handy hint - put a small amount of water in the preserving pan, around a 1/3 full and a dishwasher tablet. Pop it on the hob and bring to the boil. The majority of the sticky goop will lift away with a bit of careful brushing and anything left behind can be removed with a blunt knife (not for non-stick pans though!).


I actually loved making jam. The preparation was a bit of a faff and the cleaning up after wards wasn't the most pleasant of experiences however on the whole I thought it was great fun!

love & kisses
Mrs M x