Luxury in a jar - Berry and rhubarb jam

Just the other morning while I was filling out the little jars at work with breakfast jam, I thought to myself,

"Such luxurious times we live in".

Centuries ago, jam was a delicacy only the royalty enjoyed. These preserves were made from fruit picked from the garden and glasshouse on the palace grounds. Fast forward to the present and I am portioning jam from a large bucket and everyone can enjoy a jam sandwich. Isn't it funny how we take these little luxuries for granted?

Of course there are jams, and there are jams. What sets the standard for the heavy-weights is the percentage of fruit. To me, any preserve containing a minimum of 45% fruit is called a jam. Anything less, it is a jelly or a fruit spread - and this is by no means my personal dismissal of its quality, merely a question of semantics.

Although I was tempted to make this jam without the use of commercial pectin, the idea of gathering enough apple pips or making an apple peel stock had me change my mind at the drop of a spoon. The truth is, most commercial pectin is derived from apple anyway but is conveniently crystallised for use. Initially, I planned on using raw sugar in my jam but spotted jam-setting sugar conveniently packaged in 1kg bags at my local grocery which is just the amount I required. Although, it costs a fraction more than raw or white sugar, it really does make the whole process, less of a process - that is, there is no need to:

1. measure pectin then mixing it through the sugar to prevent it from clumping together

2. determine the appropriate amount of citric acid required to activate the pectin and,

3. be left behind with a jarful of pectin that you may never use again, unless you are considering jam-making as a hobby.

The jam I made is a no-fuss-cook-in-30-minutes-soft-set variety. The advantage of the short cooking time is you get to preserve the vibrant colour and taste of the fruit and as a result, a more robust jam in both flavour and visual appeal. Some recipes call for a knob of butter to be added when the jam has come to its setting point. This does not affect the flavour of the jam and is merely done to help disperse the foam that accumulates during boiling (scientifically, its job is to break the surface tension of the jam). Some argue that this step may affect the shelf life of the product but I cannot personally remark on this as I have very little jam-making experience. I find skimming the foam off the surface of the jam before placing them in jars just as easy.

If you wish to read more about proper jam-making, this site offers some good guidelines. As does this site. However, I must add my jam (although breaking a few rules highlighted in aforementioned sites) is pretty spectacular and should you try it, you would probably think so too.

So try it, and let me know what you think.

Berry and rhubarb jam

500g raspberries

300g strawberries, hulled

300g rhubarb, peeled, cut to 2cm pieces and cured overnight with 1/2 cup sugar

1kg CSR jam-setting sugar

peel of 1 orange

peel of 1 lemon

1 vanilla pod, split and scraped

(makes 5-6 250ml jars)

mix berries and rhubar in a large bowl with jam setting sugar

place fruit in a large non-reactive pot and gently heat to dissolve sugar

add citrus peel and vanilla seeds and pod

bring to a rolling boil for 5-6 minutes

test to see if jam has set by placing a small amount on a cold plate. It is ready when a skin forms and it fails to run all over the plate (NB this jam is soft set, just the way I like it. You may need to use additional pectin if you prefer a firm set jam)

remove peel and vanilla pod

place in hot sterilised jars (I wash my jars and lids in hot soapy water then place them in the oven set at 120C to dry. I keep them at this temperature until I am ready to fill them with jam)

screw the jar tops on while jam is still hot and place in a cool dark place to store.

Lemon-raspberry roulade and Coffee cream puffs

Yes, finally a post for the month of February and I do apologise for going all quiet. The thing is, I am on vacation. That's right, 1000s of miles away from work and soaking in the company of the people I love most and for the past fortnight, I have been caught in the usual flurry of activity surrounding Chinese New Year festivities and playing host-n-guide to a mate of mine visiting from Australia.

Anyway, I have been meaning to show off this lemon-raspberry and mascarpone roulade made to christen a very good swiss roll tin by baker's secret I scooped up at a bargain price. Incidentally, it is my first EVER sweet roulade! The dessert was inspired by the 2 classic flavours of summer - refreshing citrus and berry. I chose mascarpone to cream because I love the slight subtle yoghurt-like tang of the cheese. Also, I find it is less cloying.

For the sponge, I followed the recipe card so generously provided by the tray's manufacturer and I apologise for not including it here because well, I simply forgot to write it down before I tossed the card in the bin. Still, it isn't difficult sourcing a basic sponge cake recipe from the web which you can use as your very own blank canvas. Here, I spread lemon curd on the sponge base before smoothing on a layer of sweetened mascarpone marbled with crushed raspberries.

I found it hard to refrain from sneaking a peek or two while it was in the refrigerator - just like a proud mother watching her new born baby rest in the nursery. Ah yes, this is my Baby - even if for one day. Eventually, the mascarpone firmed up enough for me to slice the cake and to say those whom I served it to were rapturous would be just a blatant lie. They were underwhelmed by it, "The flavours are great but the sponge is just too dry".

To me, it is my baby and it is just PERFECT.

I hadn't the faintest idea how much mascarpone was required for the roulade so I played it safe and purchased 2 tubs, an equivalent of 500g. Needless to say, I used less than half the amount I had and was left pondering what to do with the rest. I entertained the thought of a tiramisu for a while but didn't have all the necessary ingredients so I made some coffee cream puffs with orange dark chocolate drizzle instead.

Simple yet elegant.

The coffee cream is made by sweetening mascarpone with some icing sugar (I always use a 1:10 ratio of sugar to cheese/cream), then adding a tablespoon of coffee/hazelnut liquer and a teaspoon of ground coffee (I find it best to use a wooden spoon when working with mascarpone as over-mixing can result in a curdled mess). Pipe into cooled choux puffs and drizzle with melted chocolate.

Take a step back, lick fingers and take delight in these sweet adorable specimens.

Too easy!