Lady Marmalade
Back in the day, I never bothered to try my hand at making conserves; I thought it was alchemy! Technical components like thermometers and funnels, muslin bags and pectin, filled my head with scepticism. I could barely cook so the chances of my knowing when I’d reached Setting Point were imperceptible.
That is, until a friend, very experienced at jam making, said to me, ‘You don’t need all that stuff! It’s simple!’ Grapes and blackberries from our allotment, apples and plums from customers’ gardens, damsons from next door’s tree that just fall straight onto our roof terrace; I had to do something with them, so, with Anne’s help, I gave it a go.
As the old retail adage goes, ‘Failure to prepare, prepare to fail’, I gathered together my largest stainless-steel saucepan, several recycled jars, my jam sugar, funnel, a couple of small plates and teaspoons in the freezer, and my fruit. BBC Good Food blackberry jam recipe at the ready, I set to work. All that nonsense about thermometers! Pah! Bring to a rolling boil for about 15 minutes then do the frozen plate test thingie to see if it wrinkles. If Yes then it’s ready and if No – and this was the part I dreaded, I might have to use my initiative – just keep boiling it for another five minutes until it does. And it did! And as I ladled the mixture into my sterilised jars – just run them through a hot dishwasher setting to sterilise. Washing them, drying them in the oven, leaving overnight? Nah! – I felt like a goddess! A magician! I am one of the initiated!
So, I got the bug. Apple jelly, grape jelly, damson and plum jam, moving onto mixed summer berries (aka leftovers). Confidence established, always one for a challenge, I turned my hand to marmalade. Over the winter break, with time on my hands, I made Lemon and Lime marmalade and finally Naval Orange marmalade. That recipe was a Pig! Despite following the instructions to the letter, it hadn’t set after 24 hours, so I poured the whole lot back into the pan, re-sterilised the jars, and what d’you know, I used my initiative and it worked. And the ultimate accolade? I won first prize in the Jam Making class at our local Horticultural Society Flower Show. How about that!
Love, Caroline
