LOW SUGAR JAM RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• Cut the oranges into thin slices. Remove the pips and tie them in a muslin bag. Place the orange slices in a preserving pan with the apple juice and the pips. Bring to the boil then simmer very gently for 30-40 minutes, or until the orange peel can be pierced easily with a fork. The mixture will be very thick, with little liquid.
• Add the jam sugar and stir over a low heat until it has completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Bring to a good rolling boil then bubble for 4 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and skim any scum from the surface. (To dissolve any excess scum, drop a small knob of butter on to the surface, and gently stir.)
• Remove the muslin bag and leave the marmalade to stand in the pan for 15 minutes to cool a little, and to allow the peel to settle; pot in sterilised jars, seal and label.

Steps:

• The night before you make your jam, layer the blackberries and sugar together in a very large bowl, then cover and set aside at room temperature. This helps the sugar to start dissolving so you don’t run the risk of over-cooking the fruit when you actually begin to make the jam. The next morning, give everything a quick stir, then set aside again until you are ready to start cooking.
• Before you start, put a small saucer in the freezer. Take a preserving pan or a large, wide-based pan (the wider and more open the pan, the faster the jam will be ready, so a preserving pan is really ideal) and tip the berries in, scraping out all the juices and any undissolved sugar. Stir in the lemon juice, then collect all the pips and secure them inside a tea-leaf strainer or piece of muslin before adding them to the pan (cooking the pips along with the fruit extracts the pectin they contain, helping your jam to set).
• Start the blackberries over a low heat until all the sugar is completely dissolved, then bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins. Turn off the heat and spoon a little hot syrupy jam onto the chilled saucer. Once it's cool, push it with your finger. If it wrinkles a little, it’s ready and has reached setting point. If it's too runny to wrinkle, return the pan to the heat and boil in 2 or 3-minute stages, removing the pan from the heat each time you do the saucer check, until the jam wrinkles.
• Skim off any excess scum, then stir in the knob of butter, if you want – this will help to dissolve any remaining scum. Leave the jam for 15 mins before ladling into sterilised jars – this allows the fruit to settle so it doesn’t sink to the bottom. The jam will keep in a cool, dark place for at least 6 months. Refrigerate jars once opened.