Sometimes things just gel and so it is with this fruit-forward jam. The wild blackberries are more intense than their farmed cousins and they marry pleasingly with the tart under-ripe windfall apples. The shiny black jars tho’ make the scratches and the brushes with stinging nettles all worthwhile!
Cooking time is rapid – the pectin in the skin-on apple chunks looks after the set and the speed preserves the fruit flavours.
As the jam is low in sugar and uses such tart fruit it works as well with soft cheeses like camembert and brie and my personal favourite, on top of some home made goat’s milk labneh on toast.
Ingredients for 6-8 small jars
- 1.2kg Wild blackberries, washed with a dash of vinegar
- 600g cubed under-ripe apples with the skin on (granny smiths will do at a pinch)
- 900g sugar (1/3 of the total weight)
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
How To
Place everything together in a thick bottomed pan or a Dutch oven (here I used a Le Creuset caserole) and warm slowly until the sugar is dissolved and the juices flow from the blackberries.
Bring to the boil and keep it on a rolling boil for 15-20 minutes
Test for a set and take care not to overboil this jam
Pot in warm sterilised jars