Tastes & Treats

I love jam! Yes I admit it and yes I do know it is definitely not good for my hips ! I just love a slice of toast smothered with cream cheese and topped with whole fruit jam. I have been searching the internet for ages to find a recipe that uses very little sugar, does not need gelantine or artificial pectin and was really convinced it could not be done until recently when I read the blog from one of our bloggers here ( so sorry I just cannot remember who it was and posted a delicious recipe for strawberry jam that took 10 minutes to make) . The recipe worked amazingly well using my new wok with a glass lid (in order to see what cooking underneath …

Plumb Jam

I first started using her method  ( gosh I wish who it was so I could thank her ..) and made apricot jam using  50% sugar. I left a few pips in just in case
and it took exactly 15 minutes and I had the most perfect whole fruit jam thatwas not watery nor rock solid. However I still have this bad conscience whenever
I eat my favourite toast with jam… so now…. Eureka !!!  today I made plum  jam with exactly 30% sugar and it is PERFECT !
so here goes the how to:

1 kg fruit ( apricots, plums, peach)

300 g sugar

1 wok

1 side plate in the freezer
Cut the fruit into big pieces, add the sugar, add a few pips and cover with a cloth.
Let the fruit stand for a few hours until all the sugar has “melted”.
Transfer the fruit / sugar into the wok and on high heat with the lid on cook for 5 minutes ( or until all the mixture is boiling).
Wait for another 5 to 7 minutes (depending how much fruit is there) and then do the plate test by spooning a little of the jam onto
the cold plate. If it is not runny, its done !!
Ladle the jam into jars right away but insert a silver fork into the empty jar while filling it, like this the glass won’t break.AND THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO IT ! perfect jam a la minute !