Transform soggy fruit into a delicious preserve with this easy 'use it up' jam recipe!
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Gift-able, delicious, and great for breakfasts, jam is a pantry staple that can last you for years when stored correctly.
But before you head off to the shops to buy berries to make a batch, here's a way to use up the soft summer fruit you might have but almost forgot was in your fridge.
We all know that feeling when we realise that the fruit you bought a few days ago is starting to rot. That’s where this jam recipe comes in! It spots a potential outcome of throwing the fruit away and offers something better – an opportunity to give it a delicious new lease on life.
The beauty of this jam recipe is that it allows you to turn the smallest fragments of fruit into a long-lasting preserve. The best fruits for this recipe are cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mango, passionfruit, and peaches.
It’s not that difficult to jam soft fruits, all you need to do is:
You can even tailor this recipe with whatever fruit you have. Just be sure to add ¾ or 75 per cent as much sugar as you have fruit. One example is this mixed jam recipe where you can use any kind of fruit:
You need:
To put it into perspective, suppose you have 350g mixed raspberries, blueberries, and mango. Add 262g of sugar to suit the weight of the fruit (350g of fruit x 75% = 262g of sugar) and ½ lemon’s worth of slices. About 1-2 lemons are good to use as well.
First, wash the fruit in warm water and then trim off the no-good bits. Then, you chop larger fruit into smaller chunks and remove pips from stone fruit. Combine all these in a large pot with the right amount of sugar.
Next, wash the lemon and slice it in half if you haven’t already. Squeeze the juice into the pot and stir well until combined, cover, and then leave it to macerate for a few hours.
Macerating is the process of drawing the fruit’s juices using the sugar, which then turns the sugar into liquid. This process will let you boil the jam to a set – meaning the fruit will likely stay in pieces rather than turn to mush once boiled. Now, once the sugar has liquefied, place the pot on the stove and boil the mixture.
A good way to know if the jam has set is when it gels enough to form a ‘wrinkled skin’ when you push your finger through it. Test this out by dripping a bit of boiling jelly on a cold plate and letting it cool for five minutes, and then giving it a poke. If it doesn’t look gelled enough, boil it for another five minutes and try again.
Once that’s done, pour your jam into sterilised jars and seal while hot. Store in a cool, dark place and voila! You made your own jam.
Will you try this recipe, members? If you’ve got some stories or recipes to share, we’d love to hear them in the comments! We also have our own recipe forum here, so feel free to check it out if you want more cooking ideas or tips.
But before you head off to the shops to buy berries to make a batch, here's a way to use up the soft summer fruit you might have but almost forgot was in your fridge.
We all know that feeling when we realise that the fruit you bought a few days ago is starting to rot. That’s where this jam recipe comes in! It spots a potential outcome of throwing the fruit away and offers something better – an opportunity to give it a delicious new lease on life.
The beauty of this jam recipe is that it allows you to turn the smallest fragments of fruit into a long-lasting preserve. The best fruits for this recipe are cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mango, passionfruit, and peaches.
Strawberries are delicious summer fruits but now they can be enjoyed all year long! Credit: Pixabay/Pexels
It’s not that difficult to jam soft fruits, all you need to do is:
- Mix fruit with ¾ its weight in sugar.
- Leave until it goes runny.
- Heat until it goes jelly-like.
- Seal it in a very clean jar.
You can even tailor this recipe with whatever fruit you have. Just be sure to add ¾ or 75 per cent as much sugar as you have fruit. One example is this mixed jam recipe where you can use any kind of fruit:
You need:
- Soft fruit
- Sugar
- Lemon
Mangoes can be used for healthy fruit smoothies as well. Credit: Daniel Dan/Pexels
To put it into perspective, suppose you have 350g mixed raspberries, blueberries, and mango. Add 262g of sugar to suit the weight of the fruit (350g of fruit x 75% = 262g of sugar) and ½ lemon’s worth of slices. About 1-2 lemons are good to use as well.
First, wash the fruit in warm water and then trim off the no-good bits. Then, you chop larger fruit into smaller chunks and remove pips from stone fruit. Combine all these in a large pot with the right amount of sugar.
Next, wash the lemon and slice it in half if you haven’t already. Squeeze the juice into the pot and stir well until combined, cover, and then leave it to macerate for a few hours.
Macerating is the process of drawing the fruit’s juices using the sugar, which then turns the sugar into liquid. This process will let you boil the jam to a set – meaning the fruit will likely stay in pieces rather than turn to mush once boiled. Now, once the sugar has liquefied, place the pot on the stove and boil the mixture.
A good way to know if the jam has set is when it gels enough to form a ‘wrinkled skin’ when you push your finger through it. Test this out by dripping a bit of boiling jelly on a cold plate and letting it cool for five minutes, and then giving it a poke. If it doesn’t look gelled enough, boil it for another five minutes and try again.
Once that’s done, pour your jam into sterilised jars and seal while hot. Store in a cool, dark place and voila! You made your own jam.
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