This is such a simple wartime recipe for a small quantity of delicious, velvety, deep-purple, mouthwatering blackcurrant jam. You HAVE to try it and so crazy-easy to attempt for your first go at making jam!

Fresh blackcurrants are preferable but to make it even easier I made this small-batch from frozen fruit perfectly! (In fact DON’T WAIT for fresh berries to come into the shops. It might be wise to buy some bags of frozen berries. Our British fruit pickers (over 90%) come from Eastern Europe each year performing vital services to our fruit harvesting industry. With our current ‘Coronavirus Pandemic’ situation, our normal guaranteed and reliable agricultural workers from overseas may be restricted from their normal annual travel to the UK which could be devastating for UK farmers if they cannot recruit enough British workers.)

Next time I go shopping (trying to restrict it to a maximum of once or twice a week for fresh produce), I’ll certainly be buying myself a bag or two of more frozen berries while they are available.

I enjoyed two slices of bread I made yesterday slathered in this ‘juicy assed jam’ with a nice cuppa tea and I recommend you do exactly the same.

It will make you smile.

Take care, stay safe, stay home

C xxxx

Blackcurrant Jam (makes 3 x 1 lb pots)

Ingredients

• 4 cups of frozen berries
• 3 cups of sugar
• 1/2 lemon squeezed (not vital)
• 1 teaspoon of pectin (not vital but I always add to all jams I make)
• Clean jam jars (rinse, heat in oven at 140C for 15 minutes)
• Clean lids (rinse, place in a small bowl, cover with hot pre-boiled water until ready to seal jars)

Method

1. Put the 4 cups of frozen berries in a large thick-bottomed saucepan and put onto a medium heat.
2. Stir until berries are defrosted and simmering gently (about 5 mins). Remove from heat.
3. Mash with a potato masher a little so some of the berries burst to the consistency you like.
4. Mix the sugar and pectin and add to the berry mix and stir until all mixed together.
5. Add in the 1/2 squeezed lemon.
6. Return to medium heat and keep stirring slowly adjusting the heat so as not to burn.
7. You need to bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring all the time and maintain this for about 10 minutes until the setting point has been reached (105 C or 220 F). If you don’t have a thermometer drop 1/2 teaspoon onto a cold plate and if after a minute it thickens and becomes fairly firm instead of liquid then it has reached the setting point.
8. Once the correct temperature has been reached, keep stirring and give the mixture another minute.
9. Remove from heat and stir again.
10. Remove hot jars from oven (see above)
11. Using a ladle and funnel, add the hot jam mixture to the hot jars and twist on the clean hot lids.
12. Set aside, the jar will be hot and will take at least a few hours to cool.
13. Jam is ready to use once it has totally cooled down and unopened will keep for a year or two.

People have asked me where I have been getting my cute jars and labels. The links are below:

JARS: 24 jam/chutney jars with gingham printed lids

>>CLICK HERE<<

LABELS: Re-usable and removable labels for jars and containers with chalk pen.

>>CLICK HERE<<

CANNING FUNNELS: 2 sizes, stainless steel for all jam/chutney/relish making.

>>CLICK HERE<<