Mirabelle Rosemary Jam Recipes

ROSEMARY JELLY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine boiling water and rosemary; cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Strain, reserving liquid. If necessary, add water to measure 1-1/4 cups. Return liquid to pan; add sugar and vinegar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add pectin, stirring until mixture boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. , Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Add food coloring if desired. Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

MIRABELLE-ROSEMARY JAM

Steps:

• Pit the mirabelles and weight 720 grams. Puree them to a degree you would like th fruit to be in your jam. I use the food processor for mashing.
• Put them mirabelle puree into a suited pot and add the super gelling sugar and mix.
• Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrap out the seeds. Put seeds aside.
• Add vanilla bean halves and the rosemary sprigs to the fruit mixture. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly. Cook for 4 minutes strirring all the time.
• Take from heat and remove rosemary sprigs and vanilla bean halves.
• Add lime juice and vanilla seeds and mix.
• Fill into prepared twist off preserving jars and close jars. Let stand for 1 minute and then turn up side down. Let stand for 10 minutes and turn over again. Let cool completely.
• NOTE on "Dr. Oetker's Super Gelling Sugar 3:1". Dr. Oetker is a well known brand in Germany. There are several gelling sugars available. The "3:1" super gelling sugar already contains pectin and you only need 1/3 of sugar. If you can't get it, you could also use Dr. Oetker's 2:1 super gelling sugar (the use 360 g sugar). Follow the instructions on the package.
• NOTE on "yellow plums". Use mirabelles, which are very small yellow plums. They are different from plums though. Mirabelles is not recognized as an ingredient. So I used the term yellow plums.

PEACH-ROSEMARY JAM

Steps:

• Halve and pit peaches, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Transfer to a large bowl. Add lemon juice; toss. Add sugar and rosemary; toss. Cover; let stand, tossing every hour, for 4 hours (sugar should be completely dissolved).
• Put peach mixture into a large, wide pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until liquid is syrupy, 12 to 13 minutes. Crush lightly with a potato masher, leaving one-quarter of the wedges intact. Skim foam from surface. Discard rosemary sprigs.
• Seal and process: Fill hot, sterilized 4-ounce jars with hot jam, leaving 1/4 inch space in each jar's neck. Wipe rims with a clean, damp cloth; cover tightly with sterilized lids and screw rings. Transfer jars, using tongs or a jar clamp, to the rack of a large canning pot filled with hot water, keeping jars upright; cover with water by 2 inches. (Jars should be spaced 1 inch apart and should not touch sides of pot.) Cover; bring to a boil. Process jars in gently boiling water 5 minutes. Transfer to a rack; let cool 24 hours. If lids pop back when pressed, they are not sealed; refrigerate immediately, and use within 1 month.

ANGELA'S 'FLEXIBLE' JAM RECIPE

Steps:

• Put the fruit into a preserving pan or large heavy-based saucepan. For blackberries, add 50ml of water and 1½ tbsp of lemon juice; for plums (halved and stoned), use 150ml of water; for strawberries, add 3 tbsp of lemon juice (no water); and for raspberries, add nothing. Bring to the boil.
• Lower the heat. For blackberries, simmer for 15 minutes; for plums, simmer for 30-40 minutes; for raspberries, simmer for 2 minutes; for strawberries, simmer for 5 minutes. The fruit should be soft.
• Tip in the sugar, stir over a very low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Raise the heat, bring to a full rolling boil, then rapidly boil blackberries for 10-12 minutes, plums for 10 minutes, raspberries for 5 minutes or strawberries for 20-25 minutes - don't stir though - until the setting point of 105C is reached.
• Remove from the heat, skim off any excess scum, then stir a knob of butter across the surface (this helps to dissolve any remaining scum). Leave for about 15 mins so the fruit can settle. Pour into sterilised jars, label and seal.