Thursday 25 September 2014

The Kitchen Front - Greengage Jam

Much of my September has been spent in the pursuit of the perfect set, this time, it had nothing to do with my hair, but everything to do with my Victory Garden harvest!


~ Greengage Jam ~

Ingredients: 
2lb of greengages 
1.5lb of caster sugar 
The juice of a lemon 
Half a pint of water 
4 1lb jars 
Wax disks and labels


1. Wash your fruit and check over for creepy crawly holes cut out any bits you think may be harboring maggots, maggot jam is not particularly pleasant!


2. Sterilize your jars. I filled mine with boiling water, left them to cool a little and then tipped out the water and then placed them on a tray in my gas oven on the lowest setting until the were needed.



3. Count how many greengages you have as you put them into the pan. This may seem super tedious and I know a few people who don't bother with this step, but I am not a fan of finding stones in my jam, so I like to do my best to get them all out and ensure no teeth are broken.



4. Place your fruit into a stainless steel pan and add the water and lemon juice, boil until fruit is soft. The smell at this stage is just lovely!


4. Once the fruit is soft it is time to scoop out all of your stones, this is where the counting the fruit as you put them in pays dividends!


5. Add in the sugar and set on a rolling boil for 10 mins, after 10 mins you will need to test the set, to do this take your plate and drizzle a little of the jam into the centre leave to cool for 2 minutes and then push your finger through the middle if the jam forms ripples, then it is ready to bottle if it's still runny then boil up for another 5 mins and then test it again! Repeat until you are happy!


Once you are happy with the consistency, ladle the jam into your jars and cover with wax discs, seal either with screw tops or cellophane circles and an elastic band, whilst still warm to ensure the jam stays fresher for longer!

Enjoy x

6 comments:

  1. Looks delicious and can imagine the smell when cooking was fabulous.
    We very nearly bought a greengage farm in France - can you imagine the jam making!!
    Heather :)

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    1. Thank you Heather! Yes the smell was so yummy, Wow owning a whole greengage farm would be amazing!! xx

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  2. Thank you Heather! Yes the smell was so yummy, Wow owning a whole greengage farm would be amazing!! xx

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  3. That looks so delish! I don't think we have greengages in the USA. Are they a kind of plum? We do have a lovely pear tree - I need to get crackin' on preserving them. :)

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  4. Thank you Michelle, Yes they are like a plum (I'm pretty sure they are related) they taste very similar just a bit more fragrant if that makes any sense! Oh enjoy all of those pears, my folks have a tree and my mum makes a mean pear and apple crumble, its delicious! xx

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  5. Looks so tasty! And the counting of stones is a must for me too :) xx

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