We have some amazing raspberries in stock at present. All of them are English Raspberries which is even better, but then of course it is that time of the year.
We have smaller 150g punnets which grown very locally between Shedfeld and Wickham and are the tastiest raspberry around.
The larger punnets are English as well, but not quite so local – these are also a delicious dessert raspberry, or breakfast raspberry, or a general, “I fancy eating a few rasperries” kind of fruit!! The reason these are standing out this week is because they are 350g punnets at the amazing price of £3.00 per punnet. Not only delicious for eating, but at that price brilliant for jam making too.
Did you know Raspberry Jam is the easiest jam to make, and with bargains like these really cheap too.
Nigel makes a super raspberry jam which is so so simple, and below is his preferred tried and tested recipe, if you fancy having a go yourself!
The quantities are simple – use the same amount of raspberries to granulated cane sugar (no need to buy the special jam sugar). Use half a lemon per 500g of raspberries. With the large punnets of raspberries in stock this week, we would use 2 punnets of raspberries and the juice of about 3/4 of a lemon.
The lemon replaces the pectin in the jam sugars and also helps to keep the vivid raspberry colour.
Method
- First clean the jars, to do this, preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1. Wash the jars well in warm soapy water then rinse thoroughly under running water. Leave the jars and lids to dry, upside down, in the oven. (Or you can clean the jars by putting them through the hot cycle of a dishwasher.)
- Place a saucer or 2 in the freezer to chill. These will be used to test if the cooked jam has reached setting point.
- Place the 700g (2 punnets) of raspberries into a wide-mouth preserving pan, or if you don’t have one of those, a large saucepan is more than sufficient, together with the lemon juice. Have it on a very low heat for just a few minutes, stirring every so often, until the raspberries start to break down slightly.
- Add the same quantity of granulated cane sugar (in this case 700g) continue to heat slowing until all the sugar has completely dissolved. It’s important to have the heat low so the sugar dissolves rather than melts and sticks to the pan.
- Bring the fruit mixture to a rapid, rolling boil (when the bubbles cannot be calmed down by stirring with a spoon). Cook for 3-5 minutes until the jam reaches setting point. As your jam approaches setting point, it will thicken and start to boil more slowly, with thicker, heavier bubbles.
- To test if the jam has reached setting point, first remove the pan from the heat while you test the jam – this is very important. Spoon a little of the jam onto one of the cold saucers from the freezer, leave to cool for a few minutes, then push your finger into the jam. If it wrinkles, it is ready. If not and it runs over the saucer, return the pan to the heat and cook the jam for a minute or two more and test again.
- When the jam has reached setting point, carefully ladle it into the sterilised jars (a funnel is very useful otherwise a small spoon so as not to spill it everywhere) and twist the lids on while the jam is still hot, ensuring there is no sticky mixture around the rim. The jam will thicken up as it cools and the seal on the jars should dip. If a jar doesn’t seal, it doesn’t matter, it just wont keep for quite as long. Simply store the unsealed jam jars in the fridge and use the jam within a couple of weeks – which when you taste it, won’t even last that long!
- Sealed jars can be kept in the cupboard for months, although after six months the flavour begins to deteriorate.
- Enjoy!
To enjoy your raspberries this week, pop down to buy some or add to your order here https://clanfieldgreengrocers.co.uk/how-to-order/