Mixed Berries Jam

If it wasn't for blogging I would have just picked up a jar of Mixed fruits Jam from Tesco, instead of the three berries that I did last weekend. Blogging, especially reading other blogs has inspired me to try out a lot of different things which otherwise, though doable, had never crossed my mind. Apart from introducing me to a variety of cuisine, some that I had never known, blogging has increased my knowledge about food and food related things a lot.

So there I was at the counter with the berries among the other things, smiling to myself, thinking that I would actually be attempting to make Jam at home this time. After going through some web sites, I determined the basics and then set out to make it.

This recipe is not from a particular site, mainly because I have a very bad (?) habit of not following any recipe completely. I always read through a recipe only to get an idea about how the thing is made and then go about making it with any improvisation that comes to my mind while making it. Even the quantities are changed while cooking. I tend to go with my instinct about how much of a particular thing will be good for the dish. In a similar manner, for this Jam I added sugar after I had tasted the berries & gauged their tartness instead of following the cup measurements given in the recipes. For the records I made a note of the quantity and that is what I am presenting here.

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

• 5 cups Mixed Berries (I used Blackberry, Raspberry & Blueberry)
• 2.5-3 cups Sugar (Adjust this according to your taste)

Method:

Take the sugar in a large pan and heat it, covered for 2 minutes. This will warm the sugar making it easier to dissolve. Alternatively, the sugar can also be heated in the microwave and then added to the berries. Take care not to heat the sugar too much.

Once the sugar is a little warm, add the berries and heat on high. Stir the contents while mashing the berries with a potato masher.

Cook on medium high till the mixture starts thickening. Once it reaches a point where its more like gel and flows heavily from an inverted spoon, switch off the heat and allow it to cool. It will thicken further while cooling.

Store in a dry, sterilised bottle and cool further.

Conclusion: The Jam turned out great but a little thicker than I wanted it to be. Next time I will have to be careful about when to stop heating it.

This Jam is on its way to Sunshinemom for her Food in Colours event