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.

And a dessert in between...

I have just started at my new job -- one that is less demanding than the last, thus leaving me more time to the setting up of my little project. The 2-month hiatus I took has obviously done me some good as I finally have clarity of thought and the might of a nourished spirit to actuate what I have been pussy-footing about the past couple of years. Yes, it's about bloody time!

I thought I would leave loyal followers of this space a little something I made whilst awaiting my post-interview news earlier this week. Admittedly pleased, I was a little astonished by the girl-y pallette of the final product as most of you may already have realised, I struggle a little with the concepts of pretty and cute. I consider my style: rustic.

The inspiration for this dessert came from my longing for the warm weather I have grown accustomed to during my time away. I wanted to create something bright and summery but not incredulously so, like a summer berry pudding in the middle of winter, so I settled for the flavours of rhubarb and tangelo - both currently in season, in a Charlotte.

My initial attempts at incorporating the puree of poached rhubarb into a mousse base resulted in a curdled mess and my suspicion lies in the puree being too acidic (but I could be wrong) so I altered my game plan and made bavarois flavoured with fruit instead.

bavarois

130ml whole milk

3 egg yolks

50g sugar

130g rhubarb puree/tangelo juice

1/2tsp vanilla paste/grated zest of 1 tangelo

11g sheet gelatine, allow to bloom in cold water

250ml cream, lightly whipped

pre-chill a medium sized stainless steel bowl heat milk with vanilla paste or tangelo zest until the surface is just quivering whisk yolks and eggs in a medium bowl gradually add heated milk to egg mix and whisk to mix return milk and egg mixture to saucepan and cook gently until custard coats the back of a spoon add gelatine and stir until melted and dissolved add rhubarb puree or juice at this point and mix well strain custard into a pre-chilled bowl and set over a ice/cold water bath stir custard until gelatin just begins to set and mixture is visibly thicker remove from water bath and whisk in 1/3 softly whipped cream then fold remainder of the cream into the mixture pour into cake ring lined with a thin layer of genoise.

Although lengthy in procedure, one can definately derive a lot of satisfaction in delicately folding the flour into the genoise batter and then painstakingly piping regular lengths of batter for the ladyfingers that "fence" the perimeter of the cake. Again, if you lack the patience or would rather challenge your technical skills another day, you are most welcome to use store bought sponge cake and ladyfingers, also known as savoiardi - but they wouldn't be pink! I do urge you however, to give the recipes below a go because you will be rewarded with a product with less sugar and superior in both quality and taste.

genoise
preheat oven to 190C line the base of a 20x30cm baking tray with baking paper melt 110g unsalted butter and set aside to cool sift 150g flour 3 times and set aside whisk 360g eggs with 180g sugar until triple in volume (NB it helps if the eggs are at room temperature) add flour into egg mixture at once and gently fold without compromising too much volume remove a third of this mixture and place into a medium sized mixing bowl stir melted butter into this mixture until well combined fold butter-ed mixture into the remaining batter pour into prepared pan tap the pan on the counter top to ensure no large bubbles are trapped bake for 15 minutes or until the cake springs back when press gently.

lady fingers
preheat oven to 180C line the base of a baking tray with baking paper and draw lines measuring the height of the cake ring you decide to use for your Charlotte (NB this helps with piping equal length lady fingers) whisk 3 large egg yolks with 75g sugar until thick and pale (it should form a ribbon) **optional add colour of your choice** whisk 3 egg whites in a separate bowl until frothy and gradually add 50g sugar, whisking the entire time until sugar has dissolved and a shiny stiff meringue is obtained fold meringue into the yolk mixture then sift 75g flour into the egg mix and fold to combine well pipe ladyfingers onto the prepared baking tray sift icing sugar over the piped ladyfingers allow to stand for 10 minutes then bake for 10-12 minutes allow to cool before removing from baking paper

to assemble Charlotte
line the outside of the mold you decide to use with the ladyfingers place a disc of genoise on the bottom to fit snugly brush with tangelo juice or the liquid used to poach the rhubard in top with the rhubarb bavarois allow to set in the fridge for 15 minutes place another genoise disc and top with the tangelo-flavoured bavarois allow to set for 3 hours or overnight finish with a berry jelly (heat 150g strained raspberry puree and 10g sugar add 5g gelatin sheet (bloomed) allow to cool).