Graciesbakes

Mr. C and I spent a lovely weekend in Cork, visiting his family and also seeing the lovely and very talented Josh Ritter and band, complete with a 24 piece Corkestra (Ritters Joke, not mine) in the Marquee on the banks of the Lee. It was great to get out of Dublin for the weekend and just relax. The weather was lovely for most of the weekend, but rain or no, I always enjoy my trips to Cork.

Around this time 2 years ago, on another trip to see Mr. C’s family, I was introduced to Loganberries. I had never heard of them and thought that they were just giant raspberries (everything is bigger in Cork, it being the “real” Capital!!). However, following a little research on Wikipedia, I came across the following nugget of information:

” The Loganberry is generally thought to be derived from a cross between the European red raspberry and the  American blackberry. It was accidentally created in 1880 or 1881 in California by the American lawyer and  horticulturalist, James Harvey Logan, hence the name. Logan was attempting to cross 2 varieties of blackberries but  accidentally planted them next to an old variety of red raspberry, all of which flowered and fruited together“

And So the Loganberry was born…

Anyway, following an hour in the garden, I was given just under 3 lbs of  loganberries to bring back to Dublin to do with them what I wanted.  I immediately knew what I was going to do! The berries are quite sour and I find them a little too sour to eat alone, but I am sure that they would be great in a crumble or in a trifle, with creamy vanilla ice-cream, or freshly whipped cream.

However, I decided that I was going to take a stroll down the route of JAM!

When I was little, around this time of year, the smell of sweet fruit and sugar mixing over heat would permeate through my grandmothers house. Even now, if I get the smell of fruit breaking down in a pan, I am instantly transported back 20 odd years. Funny how smells of thins can evoke such powerful memories. I also remember the HUGE pan that she used to make the jam. It is not as large as I remember, but then again, I was littler back then!

Anyway, making the jam is not as difficult as you may think. I found a lovely recipe in the Avoca Cookbook and decided that the fact that the recipe was one half of a page, I couldn’t go too wrong.

You don’t need any specialist equipment or ingredients, but there are a few things that you will need to do in advance that will make things easier. You need to sterilise your jars well in advance. I found a really easy way to do this from Nigella’s  How to Be a Domestic Goddess . Wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. Place in an oven preheated to 140C and let them dry while your jam is cooking.

To make the jam you will need a heavy based saucepan. The ingredients are very easy. You need the same amount of sugar as fruit. I had just under 3lbs of berries and so used just under 3lbs of granulated sugar.

DIRECTIONS

Place the fruit in the saucepan on a low heat and cook through without stirring. When the juices start to run off the fruit, gently fold the fruit so that the top fruit is moved to the bottom of the pan. Let it cook for about 15 minutes on a low heat until the berries are all softened. Meanwhile, place the sugar in a large bowl in the oven to heat through, however watch it as it may start to stick to the bottom of the bowl if left for too long.

Gently add the sugar to the fruit and carefully stir the pot. Leave to simmer on a low heat, stirring every now and then, for about 15 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved completely. Turn up the heat and bring the jam to a rapid boil for 10 minutes, or until setting point has been reached*

Once you reach setting point, take the jam off the head and let settle for about 15 minutes. Skim the foam and froth off the top, place in the sterilised jars and allow to cool. Once cold, place a circle of parchment on the top and seal. Label and store in a cool dark place, and see whether you can resist on hot buttered scones, or freshly made brown bread.

*To test setting point, place a small amount of jam on a cold saucer from the fridge for a few minutes. When you push it with your finger, it should wrinkle and have a little skin on it.

Another tip is to turn off the oven while cooking the jam (about half way through) so that the jars will have cooled a little. Be careful though as the jars AND the jam will be hot. I wouldn’t recommend that little hands help with this as there is too much risk of splashed hot jam.

You can use any berries to make this jam. Logan, raspberries, blackberries. Or why not try cranberries.

Enjoy,

Orls xx