A few weeks ago, Mr Man and I took a day off of work and went berry picking. It was so much fun! The sun shone, the orchards were beautiful and the fruit was ripe. Obviously, we got carried away and came back with KILOS and KILOS of beautiful berries.

We gave a couple of punnets away, froze some for future smoothies and we ate loads – dunked in freshly whipped cream, ofc!

I also made about eight (small) jars of raspberry jam.

Future me is going to thank present me for this delicious jam. Prepped and ready to sandwich layered cakes, to slather onto toast on a winter morning or maybe even just swirl into some yoghurt.

If I didn’t bake so often (read: if I wasn’t so greedy), I would give a few jars away. They’d make for a great edible gift.

Tip: Make sure to properly sterilise your jars, I place mine in the oven for about 20 mins to kill off any bacteria, and then pour the hot jam straight in. Something about the cooling of the air inside creates a vacuum and seals the jar.

You can then store it away like you would normally – a cool cupboard shelf, out of direct sunlight. Then, once open, store in the fridge and use within a couple of weeks.

^ This colour! 😍 I adore the ruby red – it’s even more beautiful bubbling away on the hob. I wish I’d taken a picture to show you!

There’s a special kind of magic that takes place when you make jam, the flavours intensify, the colours sparkle and the kitchen smells magnificent.

And honestly, I know it sounds like the biggest faff to make your own jam, but it really is worth the extra effort. It’s a fairly quick and simple process, you can probably be done in about 30-35 mins.

You just have to combine three simple ingredients – raspberries, lemon and jam sugar and heat through until it all breaks down. Easy peasy.

Enjoy,

-Kay

Ingredients

• 1,250g fresh raspberries
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• 1kg jam sugar

Instructions

1. Start by placing a small plate in the fridge – you’ll use this later to test the jam.
2. Add the raspberries to a large sauce pan on a medium heat and add the lemon zest and juice.
3. Cook down, stirring every minute or so for 20 mins or until the raspberries break down completely. Use a wooden spoon and press any whole berries against the wall of the pan to help speed things up.
4. Add the jam sugar and stir to combine and allow the mixture to bubble for five mins, stirring occasionally. [I like my jam quite tart, if that’s not to your liking, I’d up the ratio to 1:1 of fruit to sugar.]
5. After the five mins have passed, scoop out a teaspoon of jam and place on the chilled plate before returning to the fridge. Leave for two mins then test to see if it has reached setting point. (If you gently push it with your finger, does the top wrinkle up?)
6. Take the jam off the heat and set aside for a few mins until it stops boiling.
7. Carefully pour into sterilised jars and seal. Allow to cool to room temperature and use when ready.