Jam-making is not just for the WI! Yelvertoft food expert shares her mouth-watering recipe

Yelvertoft mother Milly Fyfe is a farmer’s wife and writer of our Countryside Kitchen feature.

She lives on a livestock and arable farm with her husband and two young boys.

Jam making…it’s not just for the WI!

Preserving is one of my favourite things to do. Being able to savour the flavour and enjoy fruit or vegetables at another time of the year to when they’d usually be in season.

It’s always a great thing to do when you have an abundance of fruit; plums, raspberries or strawberries for example.

I never really appreciated how good home-made jam and chutney’s were until I started making my own.

Once you start making your own too, you’ll realise how much tastier they are and how much more flavour you can notice from each spread. And you can control the sugar content much better, tweaking the recipe to suit your own palette.

Not forgetting the provenance too. You will certain benefit from knowing exactly what have gone into the recipe and often with much lower food miles, especially when using British sugar.

With the end of school term in sight, Wimbledon in full swing and National Preserving week kicking off from July 24, there is no better reason than to enjoy making some strawberry jam to give as a gift or enjoy as part of an afternoon tea picnic.

Here’s how I make mine:

Homemade strawberry jam

You will need:

1kg of fresh strawberries

800g preserving jam sugar (with pectin in)

1 knob of butter

Juice of 1 lemon

Method

- Prepare the strawberries by removing the stalks and chopping into 2-3 small pieces

- Place the strawberries in a large pan and mix in the sugar. You can leave the strawberries to absorb the sugar if you have time, up to 24hrs.

- Add the lemon juice and set on the pan on a low heat on the oven hob.

- Cook very gently until all the sugar dissolves

- Then boil hard for 5-10 minutes until the mixture reaches 105c. Alternatively you can test to see if the mixture is ready by placing a blob of the mixture on a cold saucer. If it wrinkles and doesn’t run after 30 seconds it is set, if not allow to boil for another 2 minutes then repeat the cold saucer test.

- Once set, use a ladle to remove any scum from the top of the mixture that has formed and add the knob of butter.

- Leave the jam to settle and cool then place into sterilised jam jars and seal.

- The jam will keep for up to 1 year if you keep stored in a cool dry place. Once opened refrigerate.

I’ve a real passion for growing food and cooking delicious meals the whole family can enjoy.

That’s why I created a food blog and Facebook page called No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents.

I’ve also recently launched the second season of my podcast called ‘The Countryside Kitchen Meets’ which can be listened to on all the major music streaming sites.

You can find more tasty recipes in my new e-book No Fuss Meals For Busy Parents by visiting: https://www.millyfyfe.com/store/No-Fuss-Meals-for-Busy-Parents-E-Book-p516676969 or follow the pages on social media @NoFussMealsForBusyParents or www.nofussmealsforbusyparents.com