[Bert]

I have been very clever this year ( not really, some may say disorganised  ) I've been picking all my soft fruit and freezing it. Unfortunately I froze it mixed  . So dose anyone have a jam recipe for mixed summer fruit jam ? If its any help there will be red & black currents, raspberry, tayberry, loganberry, josterberry and gooseberry going into the jam.

[Ina]

1 kg mixed fruit, 1 kg sugar, packet of pectin - leave overnight to draw some juice; boil for 5-10 minutes - bingo!

Works with any fruit, mixed or not.

[Fleecewife]

I wouldn't use any pectin as most of those fruits have plenty of their own.   I call it 'summer garden jam'.  You can also make jelly from it, using an equal weight of sugar to the pints of juice obtained (1 lb sugar to 1 pint juice)

[doganjo]

or put it in the slow cooker and go and do something else for a few hours 

[bloomer]

please help whats a josterberry?

[Bert]

please help whats a josterberry?

They are a cross between black currents and gooseberries 

[Fleecewife]

Bert, do you find your jostaberry is a thug, rampaging and taking over all the space?   We had a Worcesterberry, which is the same cross, and eventually we had to take drastic measures to get rid of it.  It never cropped very heavily anyway, just crowded out my other fruit bushes.

[Ina]

I wouldn't use any pectin as most of those fruits have plenty of their own.   I call it 'summer garden jam'.  You can also make jelly from it, using an equal weight of sugar to the pints of juice obtained (1 lb sugar to 1 pint juice)

You'll have to cook it for longer, though.

[MelRice]

I always cook off the fruit first then add sugar (or in the case of jelly drain through jelly bag and add sugar) It then only heeds a couple of mins of rapid boil with sugar in and its ready to pot.

[Bionic]

Bert, do you find your jostaberry is a thug, rampaging and taking over all the space?   We had a Worcesterberry, which is the same cross, and eventually we had to take drastic measures to get rid of it.  It never cropped very heavily anyway, just crowded out my other fruit bushes.

If its a cross between a blackcurrant and a gooseberry then, in my opion, drastic action is the best course for them. Whats worse than a gooseberry? - a blackcurrant 

[Lesley Silvester]

My jostaberry is going berserk. I really need advice on pruning it. I picked all the fruit the other wekk and tried to make jam in the slow cooker. Sadly I left it for too long and now I have a sort of fruity toffee. Quite nice though.

[Bert]

Thanks for all the advice    very helpful. Looking forward to starting my jam making, I've nearly finished harvesting it all.

Bert, do you find your jostaberry is a thug, rampaging and taking over all the space?   We had a Worcesterberry, which is the same cross, and eventually we had to take drastic measures to get rid of it.  It never cropped very heavily anyway, just crowded out my other fruit bushes.

My jostaberry isn't doing very well, it's about 15 years old.  the person that planted it tried to train it into a fan shape on a fence. So no my jostaberry isn't trying to take over, but like yours it isn't cropping very well. I'm considering getting another one and letting it grow how it is meant to, to see if I can get a better crop out of if.

My jostaberry is going berserk. I really need advice on pruning it. I picked all the fruit the other wekk and tried to make jam in the slow cooker. Sadly I left it for too long and now I have a sort of fruity toffee. Quite nice though.

Prune it in the same way as you would a blackcurrant. As soon as the last fruit is picked. I did my jostaberry & blackcurrant yesterday. I was very nervous , I've never pruned a soft fruit bush before, I had my pruning book by my side. Really hope I get some fruit off them next year 
I'm liking the sound of fruity toffee 

[Fleecewife]

My jostaberry is going berserk. I really need advice on pruning it. I picked all the fruit the other wekk and tried to make jam in the slow cooker. Sadly I left it for too long and now I have a sort of fruity toffee. Quite nice though.

The book I'm currently reading, set in the 15th C, has a line: '.....chewed on a lozenge of quince leather'.
I think fruit leather is like the stuff you produced only firmer, a bit like the blackcurrant pastilles you get for a sore throat.   I have 2 quinces this year - maybe I need to wait a while before I can make my leather 

[bloomer]

i feel its only fair to offer


if any of you need guinea pigs to try all these yummy sounding jams i'm available!!!