[simonj]

The first of the Jam recipes. I think this is the first jam I have made myself.

Blackberries are coming into season now. A few hours picking and bartering gives months of conserves and satisfaction.
The great thing is the berries are coming into season - and free.

Even in this first attempt I am determined to reduce the amount of sugar,
I used a little honey in place of some of the sugar.

Another tip is to use a small percentage, say about 10%, of under ripe berries, also helps the jam to set.

And even with the sugar reduction it worked out fine.

For a standard procedure in preserve making, visit the generic advice page on production made easy posting at the blog,

http://connemaracroft.blogspot.com/2010/08/preserve-production-made-easy.html

I'm only going to type that one up once, and will refer to it when doing preserve recipes

Ingredients.
250 grm. Rhubarb, sliced thinly
200 grm Blackberries, washed, steeped in slightly salty cold water for an hour (to knock off any little nasties) then rinsed
200 grm granulated white sugar
150 grm granulated Demerera sugar
50 grm rich dark sugar
50 grm honey
150 ml water

1 Tsp lemon juice
1 Tsp grated ginger

This will yield about 500ml of preserve

You can add spices to the jam if you wish, but I think its pretty perfect the way it is

pictures soon