Thursday 31 October 2013

Making Jam

A few weeks back we came across some deliciously sweet strawberries.
Well, with that box of super juicy awesomeness we knocked out a few jars of strawberry jam.


 
We don't have any secret recipes. We just followed this recipe and a few hints from all those wandering in and out of the kitchen as we went.
 
The first step was to chop up all our strawberries for the 1kg weigh-in. But blow us down, after gathering a box full of them, when it came to the weigh-in, we were short! It seems that it's simply impossible to chop up a strawberry and not taste one or two along the way...bit like peeling prawns. And with so many people stopping by to check out what was going on it's easy to see how one or two lead to 20 or 30.
 

 
After a quick wander through the paddock and pick of the bush lemon tree we were ready to go.
 
When we were younger we'd ride our horses most school holidays looking for something to entertain us. We'd generally pick a few lemons on the way and compete with our cousins over who could eat it without pulling a "cat's bum face" (yukky sour lemon face for those not with the lingo). First person to pull a face often ended up with the job of getting off to open/close all the gates for everybody else.
 
We pretty much followed the recipe (with a few minor reductions in measurements) from then on.
 

 
Like all the old girls in the family, Mum had a stash of recycled glass jars ready for just this occasion. Her recommendation is to only keep the pretty ones or those that are just perfect for a particular purpose otherwise you'll be over run with jars.
What she didn't have was a funnel. Lucky for us any stray drips were quickly swiped clean by stray fingers passing by.
 
 
 
Just as the recipe noted, this was a rather runny jam although our funky measurements could've had something to do with that. But the executive decision was made that anyone not keen on runny jam could use it as a gourmet dessert topping.
 
 
We've tried both options - jam and icecream topping - and don't mind saying that it was sweet as for both.
 
 
 
 

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