This year, I became a jamstress...in order to get a good night’s sleep.
The fig tree in my backyard was covered in late summer fruit.
Each morning as the sun rose, there would be a complete ruckus – all the neighbourhood birds would flap, squawk and brawl over the ripened figs.
Enough was enough, I declared and promptly huffed off to the hardware store to buy a tree net, only to discover they didn’t sell nets in my tree’s size.
My ladder-and-tree-net-owning neighbours came to the rescue, erecting a net for me, and joked that I should repay their kindness in fig jam.
Having successfully stopped the birds, I was now overloaded with figs so I took up the art of home made jam making.
It was hardly rocket science – cut fruit, add sugar and a splash of lemon juice, boil and spoon into jars – I wondered why I hadn’t become a jamstress sooner.
I didn’t even need to invest in any fancy infrastructure. As long as you have kitchen scales and a thermometer, you’re sweet.
With each batch, I became more and more experimental. I tried infusing the jam with aniseed, ginger and vanilla bean seeds during the cooking process with great success.
Spread on fresh bread or bagels from the farmer’s market and you’ll descend into the sweetest food coma of summer flavours.
It also makes a delightful addition to chocolate cake batter.
Home-made jam makes a great gift, in an age where people have everything.
Unlike mass produced jam, you can taste the real fruit and there’s no additives or preservatives.
Once you have mastered one jam recipe you can apply the technique to all kinds of fruit.
I later moved on to kiwifruit, rhubarb, apricots and then went traditional with strawberry jam.
I’ve also had a crack at making lemon curd, after receiving a bag full of lemons from friends.
The only problem with becoming a jamstress is that people become addicted to your wares and you’re left empty-handed.
FIG JAM
Collect 1kg or more of figs, weigh, wash, remove stems and cut in half.
Place in a large bowl and add half their weight in caster sugar. Refrigerate overnight.
Transfer to a large saucepan, add a splash of lemon juice and bring to boil. Remove the fruit. Continue boiling the syrup until it reaches 110 degrees. Return the fruit and cook for 15 minutes. Pour the jam into sterilised jars. When cooled, store in a cool dark cupboard. Note: To sterilise jars and lids, immerse in boiling water and let dry.
Source: SBS Food
Collect 1kg or more of figs, weigh, wash, remove stems and cut in half.
Place in a large bowl and add half their weight in caster sugar. Refrigerate overnight.
Transfer to a large saucepan, add a splash of lemon juice and bring to boil. Remove the fruit. Continue boiling the syrup until it reaches 110 degrees. Return the fruit and cook for 15 minutes. Pour the jam into sterilised jars. When cooled, store in a cool dark cupboard. Note: To sterilise jars and lids, immerse in boiling water and let dry.
Source: SBS Food