Seriously, what is it with this year?
Here I am with an introduction all prepped about the joys of autumn and the annual glut of apples from my parents' apple tree, only to find that the old gal has been on furlough this year and has no fruit. Diddly squat. Nada. "Oh well" I thought, "better get down to the community orchard then - I bet it'll be bursting with fruit, ripe for the picking". Nope. Wrong again. Not an apple in sight.
How disappointing.
How 2020.
Well, for those of you with ready access to cooking apples please enjoy the following recipe for apple jam, and if anyone knows where I can lay my hands on some apples this year please let me know - you'll be hansomly rewarded with jam!
My forays into the world of apple jam started on holiday several years ago when we stayed in an agro-hotel in Cyprus. The hotel grew, cooked, preserved and served food directly from their gardens. At breakfast each table was provided with a bread basket and a small ramekin of jam, but this jam was not your regular strawberry/raspberry hotel staple. It was unlike anything I'd ever tasted before. It was tan coloured, almost like marmalade, and was perfumed with cinnamon. Each morning the jam was piled onto slices of fresh bread and the ramekin was left scraped clean.
When asking about the jam we were told that it was locally produced from apples. Indeed, when we drove around that day we noticed plenty of signs advertising an apple festival (sadly for the week after we left). I had never thought of making apples into jam, as my mind tends to think of soft fruits for jam, but it makes an excellent toast-topper. The key is to use cooking apples which yield when heated, otherwise you end up with a clear jelly with bits suspended in it, which still works, but is much less satisfying to spread (and looks like golden shred!). As I often do when returning from holiday I tried to recreate the food we had tasted while we were away, and one thing I was itching to try was apple jam.
After some research (there really weren't that many apple jam recipes out there) here's what we came up with. This recipe is very much a joint effort with my husband who has become somewhat of a jam dealer to our friends and family, even earning himself a theme tune (all you need to do is sing "Simon's Jam" to the tune of "Fireman Sam")!
Recipe - Apple and Cinnamon Jam
Makes approximately 6 full-size jam jars (but if you're like me and have a real hodge-podge of jars then it's anyone's guess!)
Equipment
Scales
Veg peeler
Sharp knife
Bowl
Measuring jug
Lemon juicer
Large saucepan (we usually use a huge Ikea pasta pan)
Wooden spoon
Plate for the jam test, put in the freezer
Ladle
Jam jars with tight fitting lids (at least 6)
Roasting tin
Jam funnel (we have a pound shop plastic funnel with the skinny part lopped off!)
Ingredients
1.2kg cooking apples, something like a bramley
900g caster sugar
1 Lemon, the zest removed in ribbons and the fruit juiced
300ml Apple juice - from concentrate or fresh, whichever your tastebuds and wallet prefers
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method
First of all pop a plate (or 2) into the freezer. This will be used later to test whether the jam has set and it should be well chilled.
Peel and core each of the apples, and cut each piece into thin slices. I find that quartering the apples to remove the core works well, I then cut that section into thin slices (if it's a large apple halve each quarter first). Try to go fairly small with the slicing, no thicker than a £1 coin.
Now on to the fun part. Place the sugar, cinnamon (sticks and ground spice), lemon zest, lemon juice and apple juice into your saucepan and stir on a low-moderate heat until the sugar has dissolved and the volume reduced slightly. It will bubble and foam during this stage, so make sure your pan has high sides to avoid any overflowing issues.
Turn on your oven to 140°c / 120°c fan/gas mark 1.
Add the apple slices to the pan and cook on a medium heat until the slices have turned translucent and are beginning to break down. Keep stirring to ensure that the jam isn't catching on the base of the pan, but carry on heating at a rapid simmer to reduce the mix by around one third.
Meanwhile clean your jars and their lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse the jars in fresh water to remove any suds then place them in a roasting tin and put in the pre-heated oven until they've dried. This will sterilise the jars and help your jam stay fresh. I tend to keep the jars in the oven until needed so that they're not in the way. Don't add the lids as they will usually have a plastic/silicone sealant in the lid which could break down if exposed to too much heat. Instead let the lids dry on a rack.
When the jam looks thickened (quite literally jammy) and the fruit has broken down the jam is ready to test. This will let you know whether it has set. Take your plate from the freezer and spoon a small amount (between a teaspoon and a level desert spoon) onto the plate. Return your test plate to the freezer for 5 minutes or so to cool. When that time is up, take the plate out and run a teaspoon or your finger through the blob of jam. If it has set correctly then it will ripple in front of your spoon/finger and you will leave a clean line through the centre of your jam. If it is too runny cook the jam for a few more minutes and periodically re-test it until it has set to your liking. I tend to keep a couple of plates in the freezer for this stage in case one gets too warm or too covered in jam!
When the jam is ready to jar turn off the stove and get your jars out of the oven. Carefully remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon peel from the pan and give everything one last stir to even out the distribution of the remaining fruit pieces. Fill each jar until just shy of brimming. I use ladle and a funnel to help get the jam into the jars without spilling any over the rims or down the edges of the jars. Once filled, twist the lid onto the jar as firmly as you can. You may need to use oven gloves or a teatowel to do this as the jars will be hot.
This recipe can be easily scaled up (provided you have a big saucepan and lots of jars) and it will keep for many months in a cool dry place. You could also try adding to the spice, cloves, nutmeg and star anise would give the jam a lovely mulled-wine vibe, or a pinch of ginger or cayenne could give it a warm note. We have tried adding a dash of brandy, but the result wasn't to my taste (especially as this tends to be my breakfast).
Also, make sure that you are in ear-shot of your kitchen while the jam cools - nothing is more satisfying than hearing the safety lid of the jam jars click and pop as the jam cools.
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