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Wednesday 21 June 2017

Beating the Heat

I had a reasonably early night last night and thanks to the fan I slept well. I hit the ground running around 5:30 this morning and after a quick cuppa I was out the door.
 Ben was still in bed snoring, I was on the hunt for wild strawberries, they grow in abundance here, I picked a fair amount and then stripped all the ripe ones from the plants in my garden. I had a few when I moved in and have encouraged them to grow. Free ground cover and tasty treats all in one.

Together with the strawberries from the garden and some early raspberries I had just under 3 lbs of fruit. Perfect for a small batch, in with 12oz of sugar per 1 lb of fruit ( I still make jam and chutneys in Imperial) and the juice of a large lemon, microwaved for 20 seconds to release more juice, and on to a very low heat to dissolve all the sugar. Then up to a boil, with the jam thermometer stuck in and in around 12 minutes I had setting point.

I now have 4 jars of summer for the pantry and a "bonus" dish to try out.
I made a small batch of scones to try out the jam, well I just had to, I think it is the law.
Oh My Word. it is good. I had to stop myself from spooning it from dish to mouth. (I did scrape round the maslin pan with a spatula. and I am not ashamed to share that) I was being frugal NOT greedy.

Who am I kidding, it was pure unadulterated greed. And ever so good. For a few moments I was 4 years old again.

Now I just have the washing up to do and put the kitchen to rights before I settle down to some sewing fun.

I did put the sofa throws in the wash and they are out on the line, probably completely dry.

                           TTFN                                            Pam

PS. I saved enough raspberries to add to some rhubarb and apple for a crumble for tonight. Naughty but very nice.

16 comments:

  1. Thank goodness for fans eh Pam?
    Mine is the only reason I am getting any sleep at the moment-x-

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    1. I do like the heat but it would be lovely to ease into it rather then jump from fridge to hot oven in 60 seconds.

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  2. I totally agree such fun to be 4. The jam sounds delicious.

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  3. The jam sounds yummy. Cooks perk to lick the spatula

    Julie xx

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    1. Mmm if only I had left it at that, but i almost scraped the pan clean.

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  4. How nice! And, it is the law - you did have to make scones. Also, greedy can sometimes be good. I love to make jam, but it is a hot, hot process...Ig you've never tired it, add some fresh grated ginger to your jams - oh so very, very good!!

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    1. I make rhubarb and ginger jam using fresh ginger root, itis sublime. I also make a plum version and load in the ginger for use as a stir fry sauce.

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  5. I have never tried to make jam, sounds scary, but fresh jam and scones, oh my, I might have to give it a go.

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    1. warning, these are far too moreish. I only make 6 at a time and put 5 in the freezer as soon as they are cold.

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  6. Hi pam did you use jam sugar or normal sugar as I want to make strawberry jam but trying to avoid the expense of jam sugar x

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    Replies
    1. I used granulated sugar as the raspberries give a good set. I also only use 75% sugar to fruit, you get a slightly tart jam that tastes of fruit rather than sweet. I added the juice of a lemon and if I want a more traditional strawberry jam I will add a finely grated Bramley apple to the mix, this disappears and leaves no noticeable taste but does help with the set. I did spot jam sugar in poundstretcher a few days ago for £1 a bag. Not sure what it retails for anywhere else as I never buy it.

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  7. Wow a pound a bag for jam sugar that's half the normal price and I have a pound stretcher nearby thankyou xx

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