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Author Topic: Making nectarine jam  (Read 10443 times)

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Making nectarine jam
« on: September 02, 2012, 12:21:02 am »
I've been making jam for half a century at least and I have my usual method - cook til it sets then pour it into hot jars, cover and Bob's your uncle.  I bought some nectarines (for a change, as we have little fruit on our trees) and when I looked up suitable recipes online I found that the American ones always tell you to boil the jars up after the lids go on, as you would for Kilner Jars.  Does anyone else do this with their jam here, or is it peculiar to America or to nectarine jam?
 
Does anyone have a good old British recipe for peach or nectarine jam with the ingredients in pounds and pints, or mls and kgs ie not cups?
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Mammyshaz

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • Durham
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2012, 07:56:10 am »
I made jam for the first time, this year  :excited: . A strawberry and a raspberry after taking kids fruit picking to make up for the poor harvest in their own garden patch  :-\ .

We had some jars, borrowed some and bought some. The couple I bought had a leaflet in advising boiling jars once they were full. I followed a book advising washing and heating in the oven until jam was ready so I followed this method. I just thought it was another way of ensuring the minimum amount of air was in the r before it was sealed. There may be a more sensible reason given soon .

I've been making jam for half a century at least

I know who to call for advice when I try different jams next year  ;)



Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2012, 09:39:39 am »
I love making what I call 'summer garden jam' which is anything that's ready mixed together, so it changes from batch to batch.  It's always good to have some raspberries in it, but it might also have strawbs, or rhubarb, or blackcurrants and other coloured currants, brambles (without the rasps as they don't go for some reason), goosegogs, apples, or any combination, sometimes even cherries (I don't use it with plums, gages and mirabelles as we like them pure).  It really is lovely.  You can also make a similar jelly called 'hedgerow jelly' with anything you can find including rowan and elderberries, crab apples and so on - it comes out a dark rich red or purple.    That way if you don't have enough of one type of fruit, you can still make some jam  :yum:
 
I wondered with the 'boiling the jars' method if it's maybe that they use less sugar, so it's a mix of canning and jam, but I have little clue how much a cup of anything is  ::)   The recipes gave the fruit sometimes in pounds, but the rest in cups, so I'm lost  :dunce: ;D     I've never had a problem with my jam keeping so I would rather just stick to what I know  :yum:
« Last Edit: September 02, 2012, 09:41:16 am by Fleecewife »
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Mammyshaz

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • Durham
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2012, 10:04:03 am »
Fleece wife, found this website with American cup conversion chart. It seems to depend on the ingredient being measured as to how much a cup is in g or oz.
www.Deliaonline.com/conversion-tables.html
HTH

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2012, 11:50:17 am »
Thank you mammyshaz that's a good link  :thumbsup:    It doesn't really help though if the nectarines are given as cups - is that nectarines squashed into the cup as tight as possible, chopped or whole?  I wonder why they would even think of measuring butter in a cup  ???    Presumably the answer is that people have been cooking since long before everyone had balance scales, so once it was a convenient way to weigh.
The conversion link will be useful for other American recipes though so thank you  :)
 
I have decided to make the jam using a recipe I have for fresh apricots.  The nectarines cost me only £3 so if it turns out horrible I can use it up in a jammy sponge  :hungry:   :yum: .   I'll let you know if it works.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2012, 12:10:18 pm »
Fleecewife,
I think that if you were using the cup measurement the nectarines should be chopped so that you can get a good cup full but not squashed down. 
When I was in the US I bought some cup measurements because it was always frustrating me if I saw cup measurements in recipes.
Sally
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

luckylady

  • Joined Aug 2009
  • Yorkshire
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2012, 09:07:15 am »
You can also make a similar jelly called 'hedgerow jelly' with anything you can find including rowan and elderberries, crab apples and so on - it comes out a dark rich red or purple.    That way if you don't have enough of one type of fruit, you can still make some jam  :yum: 
 
In my mum's village they recently had a victorian garden party and my mum researched the 'hedgerow jelly' recipe from that era and made it using their methods.  Turned out perfect.  :yum:   The jars went in the oven prior to filling and thats the method I've always used too. 
Good luck with the nectarine jam.  Let us know how it turns out.  :fc:
Doing that swan thing - cool and calm on the surface but paddling like crazy beneath.

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #7 on: September 08, 2012, 06:33:09 pm »
Here is my jam - sorry I don't know how to make the pic expandable.
 

Fleece's Nectarine Jam  :yum:
 
3lb nectarines ( 12 fruit)
half a pint of water
3 lb sugar
tbsp lemon juice
a drip of cooking oil
 
Wash the fruit, cut in half and remove the stones.
Crack the stones to remove the kernels - this is not easy.  My kitchen nutcracker didn't touch them, my brass alligator nutcracker ( ::) ) didn't touch them, and eventually my OH with a hammer managed the job.  Blanch the kernels as you would almonds and pop off the brown skins.  Chop and add to the jam.
 
Chop up the fruit and bring to the boil in the water.  Some recipes recommend the fruit is skinned but it really doesn't need it.  Simmer until the fruit is cooked and the volume has reduced by one third.
 
My recipe ( for apricots) says to check for pectin but I didn't - I should have though  :-[
 
Remove the pan from the heat, add the sugar about half a pound at a time, stir til dissolved ie no crunchy sounds. Add a drip of your usual cooking oil - I use olive oil.  It only needs to be a drop, enough to cover the surface one angstrom (molecule) thick to prevent scummy froth forming.  Bring to a 'rolling boil', stir occasionally and test for setting when the bubbles start to thicken.  Once setting point is reached, remove from the heat and leave to stand for a couple of minutes while you get the warm jars in position, then stir the jam and pot up.  Cover immediately with a waxed disc and a lid.
 
Yield should be 5 lb jam per 3 lb sugar used and I did get the correct yield.  However, the jam is very slightly runny so could have done with some pectin, a pint of crab apple juice plus another 1 lb of sugar, or some apples and the appropriate amount of sugar.  This would help with setting and the apples would add a degree of tartness which is missing.
The jam is quite sweet and has a slight flowery taste, ideal for use in cakes  :hungry:
« Last Edit: September 08, 2012, 08:09:22 pm by Fleecewife »
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #8 on: September 08, 2012, 09:18:12 pm »
It looks lovely and such a nice colour  :thumbsup:
Sally
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

luckylady

  • Joined Aug 2009
  • Yorkshire
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #9 on: September 08, 2012, 09:42:44 pm »
 :yum:  looks like a resounding success.  :thumbsup:
Doing that swan thing - cool and calm on the surface but paddling like crazy beneath.

SmallTimeSmallholder

  • Joined Dec 2011
  • South East
Re: Making nectarine jam
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2012, 08:44:49 pm »
Hi Fleecewife,
I'm glad you found a recipe for nectarine jam- what a good idea, I might use that one myself!  :eyelashes:
The reason you would boil a jar after preserving is to extend the life of your preserve. In my humble opinion, it is not necessary for jam, but some chutneys or sauces would benefit from the treatment (heat seal) as it extends the life from approximately 6 months to 2 years, depending on what you're making.
Hope that helps  ;)

 

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