jam recipes/fruit substitute

[Rosendula]

I need to make space in my freezer, and it's raining. Of course, that means jam-making
There's a nice, simple recipe in the Ish Bible for blackcurrant jam, but I want to save my blackcurrants for wine. Can I just use redcurrants instead, or would I have to adjust the amount of sugar/water I use?

[Green Aura]

I'm not a hugely experienced jam maker rosey - but I think the ratio of sugar to fruit is pretty constant.

It used to be 1:1 - 1lb sugar to 1lb fruit. I know these days that people try to reduce the sugar content, which is great for taste, but it reduces the preserving abilities.

[Annpan]

Yup, go for it

or I can look out a specific redcurrant recipe if you like?.... what am I saying? welcome to the internet.... google it....

[Rosendula]

Thanks for the replies. I made the jam yesterday. The recipe stated more sugar than blackcurrants is needed, so on the basis that my redcurrants are a lot sweeter than my blackcurrants I did reduce it a little bit. I still put more sugar in than fruit though. It seems to have worked. Most of the jars are in my shed and are at the syrupy-consistency stage this morning. Because I didn't sterlize enough jars, I also have a small tub of it in my fridge to use straight away, and that is a definite jam-consistency.

Another success And a bit of space in the freezer

[red]

yay for successful jam
I often make mixed jam to use up bits and pieces - i cook down the mixed fruit a bit, then measure by volume and then add the same or slightly less volume of sugar... it works

[ina]

Can somebody, please, explain to me why everybody in Britain seems to cook the fruit down first? We never did in Germany.... It seems such a waste of time and energy, and destroys some of the fruity taste!

[Annpan]

I don't But then I wasn't taught how to make it... I learned from books.

[ina]

I don't But then I wasn't taught how to make it... I learned from books.

Yeah, and the British books all advise you to cook the fruit to death first... I just don't understand it. If you add water, you just have to boil it longer to evaporate it again!

[Broad Bean]

Depends on the fruit, something like gooseberries which have thick skins are better being cooked down a bit but softer fruits like straws / rasps just need about 5 mins of warming up gently so that you can disolve the sugar OK.

[snapdragon]

Hmm I wonder should i attempt to make jam from the "i have no idea what it is" fruit on my tree (currently they look like little yellow plums and are dropping off the boughs - so I'm guessing they're ripe)

[ina]

Hmm I wonder should i attempt to make jam from the "i have no idea what it is" fruit on my tree (currently they look like little yellow plums and are dropping off the boughs - so I'm guessing they're ripe)

I would!

[snapdragon]

I would!

well I ate one this morning and I'm still here
Stone is more like a cherry than plum, not very juicy, but yellow and ripe - they fell into my hands
Have two carrier bags full and there's still three quarters left that I can't reach (and it's only a little tree) I had to grab them before we needed a snowplough to get to the road
Would love to know what they are though

[Thomzo]

Snapdragon, my cherry has fruit that are ripish when yellow and gradually go to a light orange. They never get to red though as the birds get them first. Like many fruit and veg, cherries come in a wide range of colours, it's only the supermarkets that have convinced us they should be dark red!

I would imagine they are a type of cherry.

Zoe

[snapdragon]

Snapdragon, my cherry has fruit that are ripish when yellow and gradually go to a light orange. ......

thanks Zoe - Mine are bright yellow, larger than cherries, and falling off ripe - theres a wild chery next to the tree - but the birds tend to snatch them before I get to them - looks like these are safer from bird greed
i googled and googled until my eyes went wobbly, nearest I can find is a wild plum called cherry plum (there is another name M..? something) which with damsons was the predecessor to cultivated plums so I made what was going to be fruit butter with a kilo of them (to use less sugar) but as I don't have a large seive to press it through (and it seemed a lot of work) it's ended as a loose jam tastes good
the pits/stones are nice and loose, no difficulty in pitting them - just have another two kilos in bowls, two kilos in carrier bags,
and a half hundredweight on the tree to go

[snapdragon]

Hmm I wonder should i attempt to make jam from the "i have no idea what it is" fruit on my tree (currently they look like little yellow plums and are dropping off the boughs - so I'm guessing they're ripe)

I would!

I did