Nothing
like mother nature to get the ball rolling when it comes to weeding
out any mamby pamby views on shooting - the other day my 11 year
old daughter came in to the house in floods of tears, she had
witnessed a magpie stealing a blackbird chick. Although she loves
to go beating, got a gun for Christmas and almost shot her first
pheasant, she very much believes what lives in our garden is off
limits as far as shooting goes but after the chick incident she
dried her eyes grabbed her gun and said “no mercy for magpies”
- talk about girl power!
There are a few golden rules when making jams, jellies and
marmalades.
Use dry unblemished Fruit.
All equipment must be scrupulously clean.
First of all your jars and lids must be sterilized. All this
means is that if you have a dishwasher, put them through a high
heat cycle then place them on to a baking tray and slide into
a hot oven, 160c for 10-15 minutes. Keep them warm when you
pour in the jam. Always seal jams etc when hot.
Use as little water as possible and cover the fruit with a
tight fitting lid.
Skim scum frequently when the jam is boiling or add a small
knob of butter to disperse it.
To test for a good set put a few saucers into a freezer before
you start to cook the jam. When you have done the first 15-20
or so minutes of rapid boiling and you want to test for a set,
take out a saucer form the freezer and drop a small spoonful
of the jam on to the cold saucer. Allow it to cool for a minute
then push your finger through the jam. If it wrinkles it is
ready, if not, boil for a few more minutes. Carry on testing
until a set has been reached. Always remove the jam from the
heat when you are testing so that if it is ready you will not
overcook the jam.
Strawberry Jam
2kg Strawberries
1kg Jam Sugar
Juice of ½ a lemon
Put the sugar into a preserving pan or heavy-bottomed saucepan
– not cast iron. Hull and pick through the fruit, discarding
any blemished fruit. Put the strawberries and lemon juice into
the pan and stir gently. Leave for 30 minutes to an hour. Put
the pan onto a medium heat and gently stir constantly until
the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and boil rapidly for
about 15-18 minutes. Skim off any scum as it appears. Test for
a set then using a jam funnel, spoon into the prepared jam jars.
Seal tightly with a screw top lid while it is boiling hot and
label.
Top Tip
I always like my jam with a little Jerusalem it so don’t be
surprised if you see the nation’s finest women heading towards
the Albert Hall on June 6. The WI’s AGM will be putting Baroness
Hayman direct from the House of Lords, Stuart Rose CEO of M&S
and Alan Cook the MD of Post Office Ltd through their paces
so once again you can sleep easy happy in the knowledge that
the WI are on the case!
This article by Amy Willcock appears in The
Shooting Gazette June 2007, and is reproduced here with permission.
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